Academics 2009 by Mr Max Norman, Head of Academics
The first Grade 12 class to write the new NSC examinations was a particularly strong class. The 124 candidates in the class of 2008 met their goals and produced excellent results. The class achieved a 100% overall pass rate and 80% of the class passed at the level required for admission to a bachelor’s degree course. There were 190 subject distinctions of which 44 were for Life Orientation, 35 for Mathematical Literacy, 30 for Mathematics, 18 for Life Sciences, 14 each for Geography and Accounting, 13 for Afrikaans, 11 for History, 5 for each of Physical Sciences and EGD, 2 for English and 1 for isiXhosa.
Particularly impressive was the fact that 12 candidates achieved over 90% for Mathematics, with Sean O’Halloran scoring 99% and David Russell and Pratik Pokharel both 98%. Subject averages achieved by the class were healthy, with Mathematical Literacy (80%), Mathematics (76%), Life Orientation (73%) and Accounting (70%) leading the way.
The averages for Life Sciences and Geography were both 66%, History was 65%, Music was 69% and isiXhosa was 64%. EGD and Physical Sciences were both 59%, while English and Afrikaans were both 57%. Pratik Pokharel was the top candidate in the district, achieving over 90% on average. Both he and Bithun Babu achieved distinctions for 6 subjects. Ian Lang and Sean O’Halloran achieved distinctions for all 7 of their subjects. There were also 7 candidates who achieved distinctions for 5 subjects and 8 who achieved distinctions for 4 subjects. There were 16 candidates
who scored over 80% on average. The 147 candidates of the 2009 Grade 12 class make it the biggest matric class ever at Selborne. These candidates’ performance in the fi nals will be watched with interest. Results throughout the school have improved steadily during the year. All grades again wrote third term examinations.
We feel that this practice had a positive infl uence on fi nal results last year and will do so again this year.
Academic