May/June National Senior Certificate exams start tomorrow!

11 May 2025 – Statement by Statement by Bronagh Hammond, Director: Communication, Western Cape Education Department

The 2025 June National Senior Certificate Examinations kick off on Monday, 12 May 2025, and over 37 000 candidates will write exams in the Western Cape during this session. This is a standalone exam session for candidates writing both the National Senior Certificate and the Senior Certificate.

25 615 candidates will write one or more of their matric exam subjects, to improve or complete subjects they enrolled for in their Grade 12 exams previously. A further 11609 candidates will write the exams for their Senior Certificate, which allow adults to complete a high school education. 

The exams begin with 4 candidates writing Arabic Second Additional Language on Monday morning, and 12 674 candidates writing English Home Language or First Additional Language in the afternoon. 

The subject with the largest number of candidates writing is Mathematical Literacy, with 16 584 candidates writing Paper 1 on Friday, 16 May 2025, and Paper 2 on Monday, Monday, 19 May 2025.

In total, 54 subjects will be written over the coming weeks, at 165 exam centres. The exams end on 25 June 2025, and the results will be available on 8 August 2025. 

This is a mammoth administrative undertaking, and we thank our officials for the hard work they do throughout the year to prepare for and run these exam sessions. 

We appeal to everyone in our province to support our candidates as they write their exams, so that they have the best possible chance of achieving their goals and having better career opportunities as a result.

Additional resources such as examination question papers and memos, and Grade 12 subject content, can all be found at:

https://www.westerncape.gov.za/education/national-senior-certificate-nsc-exams-june

Good luck to all of our candidates in the Western Cape!