Matric (NSC) Study Guide

The National Senior Certificate (NSC) is the qualification South African learners earn at the end of Grade 12. It is a 130-credit certificate at Level 4 on the National Qualifications Framework, and it is built over three years: Grades 10, 11 and 12. You choose your subjects in Grade 10 and must offer the same subjects through all three grades, so the package you pick at 15 is the package you write at 17 or 18.

Group A: the four compulsory subjects

The national policy on programme and promotion requirements splits NSC subjects into Group A and Group B. Every learner takes four subjects from Group A:

1. A Home Language: one official language at Home Language (HL) level.
2. A second official language: at Home Language or First Additional Language (FAL) level. One of your two languages must be the language of learning and teaching at your school.
3. Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy on the Academic (General) pathway. Learners on the Technical pathway take Mathematics or Technical Mathematics instead.
4. Life Orientation.

Group B: at least three electives

On top of the four compulsory subjects you choose a minimum of three subjects from Group B, for example Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, Accounting, Business Studies, Economics, Geography, History, Information Technology or Consumer Studies. On the Academic pathway, up to two of these three may be extra languages. On the Technical pathway, the electives are fixed: a technology specialisation (Civil, Electrical or Mechanical Technology), Engineering Graphics and Design, and Physical Sciences or Technical Sciences.

Rules that catch people out

• You cannot take both Mathematics and Mathematical Literacy, and an Academic pathway learner cannot take Technical Mathematics.
• The same language cannot be offered at two levels (for example English HL and English FAL).
• Only one language may come from the same group: isiXhosa, isiZulu, siSwati and isiNdebele form one group; Sepedi, Sesotho and Setswana form another.
• You may take more than seven subjects, but the extra subject must also run for all three years, with all of its school-based assessment completed.

Your final NSC mark in a subject is not just your November paper. The policy splits it into two parts:

• School-Based Assessment (SBA): 25%. Tests, assignments, practical tasks, the mid-year exam and the trial (preparatory) exam you write at school during Grade 12. The SBA is externally moderated.
• The external end-of-year exam: 75%. The national papers set by the DBE and written from October.

The same 25% and 75% split is used for the internal end-of-year marks in Grades 10 and 11.

Life Orientation is different

Life Orientation has no external end-of-year exam paper. Its SBA component makes up 100% of the mark. In Grade 12, the final mark is built from internal assessment (externally moderated) together with a Common Assessment Task (CAT) that is set and moderated externally. The Physical Education Task is one of the Life Orientation tasks and counts 80 of the 400 Life Orientation marks (20%).

Rounding

Final marks are rounded to the nearest whole number: 70.3 becomes 70, while 70.6 becomes 71.

Example: an SBA mark of 72% and an exam mark of 58% give 0.25 × 72 + 0.75 × 58 = 18 + 43.5 = 61.5, which rounds to 62% (achievement level 5). The SBA helps, but it cannot carry a weak exam: three quarters of the final mark is decided in the exam room.

Who checks the marks: Umalusi

The DBE sets, runs and marks the public NSC papers. Umalusi, the quality assurance council, quality assures the assessment and issues the certificate. Before results are released, Umalusi's Assessment Standards Committee standardises each subject: under the GENFETQA Act it may adjust raw marks, comparing them with the subject's historical performance. Umalusi's published principles say adjustments should generally not exceed 10 percentage points, and that for an individual candidate an adjustment should not exceed 50% of the raw mark. Marks can be moved up, moved down, or left raw.

Condonation

If a Grade 12 candidate is short by at most 2% of the 30% or 40% they need, a condonation may be applied in one subject only, and only if that lets the candidate obtain the NSC.

The final NSC exams run from October to December. The DBE publishes the national timetable on its NSC page; the 2026 October/November timetable starts on 13 October and has its last scheduled sessions in late November, with the Life Orientation CAT written earlier, on 1 September 2026. Papers start at 09:00 or 14:00.

Mathematics (2 papers, 300 marks)

Both papers are 3 hours and 150 marks, marked externally. According to the DBE's Grade 12 examination guidelines:

• Paper 1: Algebra, equations and inequalities (25), Number patterns (25), Functions and graphs (35), Finance, growth and decay (15), Differential calculus (35), Counting principle and probability (15).
• Paper 2: Statistics and regression (20), Analytical geometry (40), Trigonometry (50), Euclidean geometry (40). Trigonometric functions are examined only in Paper 2.

Every Mathematics paper is pitched across four cognitive levels: Knowledge 20%, Routine procedures 35%, Complex procedures 30% and Problem solving 15%. That means about 55% of each paper is straightforward method. An information sheet of formulas is provided.

Mathematical Literacy (2 papers, 300 marks)

Two 3-hour, 150-mark papers. Paper 1 is weighted roughly Finance 60%, Data handling 35%, Probability 5%. Paper 2 is weighted roughly Measurement 55%, Maps, plans and other representations 40%, Probability 5%. Question 1 of Paper 1 is about 30 marks of Level 1 questions, which is where you bank early marks.

Physical Sciences (2 papers, 300 marks)

Paper 1 (Physics) and Paper 2 (Chemistry) are each 3 hours and 150 marks. Paper 1: Mechanics 65, Electricity and magnetism 55, Waves, sound and light 15, Matter and materials 15. Paper 2: Chemical change 92, Matter and materials 58. Separate information sheets are provided for each paper.

English Home Language (3 written papers + orals)

The CAPS document sets out Paper 1: Language in context (70 marks), Paper 2: Literature (80 marks), Paper 3: Writing (100 marks) and Paper 4: Orals (50 marks), done during the year and making up 50 of the 300 end-of-year marks. On the 2026 DBE timetable, English HL P1 is 2 hours, P2 is 2½ hours and P3 is 3 hours. English FAL P1 is 2 hours, P2 2½ hours and P3 2½ hours.

Other subjects at a glance (2026 DBE timetable)

• Life Sciences: two papers of 2½ hours each.
• Accounting: two papers of 2 hours each.
• Business Studies and Economics: two papers of 2 hours each.
• Geography: two 3-hour papers (P1 climate, weather, geomorphology and map work; P2 settlements, economic geography of South Africa and map work).
• History: two 3-hour papers.
• CAT and Information Technology: a 3-hour practical P1 and a 3-hour theory P2.

The seven achievement levels

Every NSC subject is reported on the same seven-level scale, set out in the national policy:

• Level 7: Outstanding achievement, 80% to 100%
• Level 6: Meritorious achievement, 70% to 79%
• Level 5: Substantial achievement, 60% to 69%
• Level 4: Adequate achievement, 50% to 59%
• Level 3: Moderate achievement, 40% to 49%
• Level 2: Elementary achievement, 30% to 39%
• Level 1: Not achieved, 0% to 29%

Getting the NSC itself

To be awarded the National Senior Certificate you must:

1. Achieve 40% in three subjects, one of which is an official language at Home Language level;
2. Achieve 30% in three other subjects;
3. Provide full SBA evidence in the subjects you offer.

Notice that this rule names six subjects. It is a minimum: what you can study afterwards depends on the higher-education levels below.

The three higher-education levels ("pass types")

The DBE lists minimum admission requirements for each kind of further study. All three start with an NSC and a minimum of 30% in the language of learning and teaching of the institution you apply to:

• Higher Certificate: NSC + at least 30% in the institution's language of learning and teaching.
• Diploma: the above + an achievement rating of 3 (40% to 49%) or better in four recognised 20-credit subjects.
• Bachelor's degree: the above + an achievement rating of 4 (50% to 59%) or better in four recognised 20-credit subjects.

The DBE stresses that institutions and programmes may require additional subjects and higher levels. A Bachelor's pass makes you eligible to apply for a degree; it does not guarantee a place.

APS (Admission Point Score)

Universities usually turn your NSC results into an Admission Point Score (APS), typically by giving points for the achievement level in each subject. There is no single national APS: each university, and often each faculty, decides how points are calculated, which subjects count, how Life Orientation is treated and what score a programme needs. Always use the calculation in the prospectus of the university you are applying to.

1. Work from the DBE's own papers and memos

The DBE publishes every November paper and the May/June papers, with memoranda, on its NSC examinations page, going back to 2008. These are the most realistic practice you can get, because the same national examiners set the next paper. Start with the last three November papers in each subject and mark yourself strictly with the memo.

2. Read the examination guidelines

For many subjects the DBE publishes Grade 12 examination guidelines that list exactly which topics are examined in which paper and how many marks each topic carries (the Mathematics and Physical Sciences weights in this guide come from them). Print the topic-weight table and use it to plan: 50 marks of trigonometry deserves more time than 20 marks of statistics.

3. Use Mind the Gap

The DBE's Mind the Gap study guides are linked from its NSC examinations page. They are revision guides aimed at Grade 12 learners.

4. Plan around the timetable

The national timetable fixes when each paper is written. Some papers come back to back (in 2026, Mathematics P1 is on a Friday and P2 on the following Monday), while others have gaps of a week or more. Once the timetable is published, map out your revision so the gaps go to the subjects written straight after them.

5. Practise each paper under its real time limit

Durations differ: English HL P3 runs 3 hours, while Accounting papers are 2 hours each. Write full papers against the clock at least twice per subject before October. Practise using the Mathematics information sheet and the Physical Sciences information sheets, which you get in the exam, so you know where everything is.

6. Know your second chances

The February/March supplementary exam has been phased out. If you need to improve results, you can register for the May/June NSC examination. After results come out you can also apply for a re-mark or re-check of a script; the closing date is usually about 14 days after results are released and is printed on the statement of results.