With the National Senior Certificate NSC exams set to get underway next week, 77 442 candidates are set to sit for the examinations in the Western Cape.
"Of these, 67 606 are full-time matric candidates, while 9 836 are part-time or repeat candidates. We have 3 231 more full-time candidates writing than in 2024," said Western Cape MEC for Education, David Maynier.
The exams will start on Tuesday, 21 October 2025, with 12 736 candidates sitting for the computer applications technology CAT practical exam in the morning.
In total, 112 exam papers will be written by the time the exams end on 26 November 2025.
As in previous years, Maynier said the subject with the largest number of candidates is Mathematical Literacy, with 53 206 candidates writing Paper 1 on Friday, 31 October 2025, and Paper 2 on Monday, 3 November 2025.
On the other end of the scale, two subjects have a single candidate writing in the Western Cape, and that is Sesotho First Additional Language, and Setswana Home Language.
Maynier stated that managing the exams is a large administrative task, with candidates scheduled to write at 473 exam centres and 2 046 trained invigilators appointed to closely monitor the proceedings.
Marking will begin in December, with 954 000 examination scripts being marked by 4 190 markers.
"We appreciate the incredible work that our examination officials do each year to ensure that the exams run smoothly. Our matrics and their teachers have also put in a tremendous amount of work to prepare for these exams, so we appeal to everyone in our province to put the best interests of our candidates first during the exam period.
"We wish our candidates all the best for the final days of revision and look forward to celebrating with them when the results are released," Maynier said.