The Oos Rand Secondary School matric class of 2017, with progressed learners included, received an 82 per cent pass rate, a three per cent decline from the previous year.
The school’s 2017 matric group consisted of 200 students. This included 15 progressed learners, who had failed Grade 11 twice and were moved onto Grade 12, according to the school principal, Lincoln van Ross.
• 21.3 per cent of learners achieved a pass that will allow them to go to university.
• 54.3 per cent achieved a diploma pass for college.
• 24.4 per cent obtained a higher certificate – a basic pass which allows admission to a technical or vocational and training college.
Van Ross attributed the decline to the high number of progressed learners who were allowed to write seven subjects during the examination period instead of the two-year examination plan for struggling ‘progressed’ matrics.
Normally, to ease the burden on progressed learners, the department allows those who struggle to write some of their papers in June the following year, thereby giving them a better chance of passing.
Of all the progressed learners, eight passed and six failed. The other contributing factor to the decline was that 18 of the students who took English as their home language, failed the subject
Other than that, the school principal said that by working with the department of education, his school tried its utmost to improve its pass rate and to meet its above 95 per cent target.
“We will continue with our intervention strategies aimed at improving learners’ performance in order to go back to our more than 95 percent pass rate. These strategies include extra classes, student camps and other strategies,” said van Ross.
Oos Rand Secondary achieved a 96 per cent pass rate in 2013, a 92 per cent pass rate in 2014, an 82 per cent pass rate in 2015 and an 85 per cent pass rate in 2016. -@MthuphaFanie
