Scenes of jubilation were seen across Nelson Mandela Bay on Tuesday as thousands of matrics returned to their alma maters one last time to receive their final results and close the chapter on their school careers.
From Summerstrand to Motherwell, Kariega to the northern areas and everywhere in between, the district’s class of 2025 celebrated as they reaped the rewards of more than a decade of dedication to education.
The Nelson Mandela Bay district has made it onto the podium for best-performing districts in the Eastern Cape with an overall 87.4% pass rate.
The Bay has achieved a steady upward trajectory in its pass rate over the past five years, improving by 0.7 of a percentage point from 86.7% in 2024 and moving one position up from fourth.
Evidence of the successes and shortfalls were etched on the faces of matriculants on Tuesday.
At Walmer High School, one of the top-performing township schools with a 96.6% pass rate, a traffic vehicle with sirens blaring ushered staff onto the premises as hundreds of pupils, parents and residents danced, sang and ululated.
Meanwhile, at Soqhayisa Senior Secondary School in Motherwell, the spirit of excellence shone just as brightly inside the school halls, where teachers and pupils honoured another cohort of high achievers.
At Ithembelihle Comprehensive School in New Brighton, the pride was also palpable after its historic 96.6% pass rate, with returning pupils embracing one another and the teachers who had helped make it all possible.
The energy at Nelson Mandela Bay’s former Model C schools was also electric.
Excited matriculants visited their schools to collect their results, some bringing along parents or friends.
Pearson High School in Summerstrand achieved a 100% pass rate for the second year in a row.
Deputy principal Paul van den Berg said the pupils had worked hard.
Deputy head prefect Zunaid Bhika, who obtained seven distinctions, was excited to see his results.
“My maths marks could have been better, but the paper was horrible so all in all I’m OK with it.”
Bhika said he would be studying medicine at Stellenbosch University in 2026.
Lee Strydom was also one of the top achievers from Pearson, achieving six distinctions.
“I’m really happy with my results and I can’t wait to start studying BCom mathematics at Stellies.”
At Collegiate, one of the top-performing schools in the Bay, the excitement was tangible. Parents and matriculants arrived to collect the results as the school celebrated it 14th consecutive year of a 100% pass rate.
The proud mother of Collegiate deputy head prefect Yimitha Mbekeni said it was the end of the first hurdle for her daughter.
“She’s just turned 18 and this is the beginning of her real life,” Lamahlubi Mbekeni said. “I’m just a proud mom for all the milestones she has achieved. We are looking forward to tertiary now.”
At Strelitzia High School in Kariega, matriculants arrived in high spirits, many accompanied by parents and siblings. Some walked in quietly and nervously, only to leave smiling and expressing genuine excitement with their friends.
Strelitzia pupil Frinwill Coleman, 19, said he already knew he had passed but was just nervous about the overall results.
“I already know that I passed and I know I got one distinction, but I’m excited to see how well I did on the rest of my subjects,” he said before getting his results.
After the moment of truth had come and gone, he could not contain his excitement.
“I am so happy with my results,” he said. “It was a really challenging year but I know that without God, none of it would have been possible. I have been accepted to study electrical engineering so I will be doing that.”
A similar atmosphere was seen at Daniel Pienaar Technical High School, where groups of boys walked in together as a team and some teachers even came out to celebrate with their former pupils.
The excitement also spilt into the streets as groups of matriculants could be seen walking home, dancing around in the streets.
Meanwhile, most in the northern areas were happy and smiling but some were disappointed.
Arcadia High School matriculant Altoneisha Smith, 18, said she had mixed emotions in the lead-up to the results being made public.
“I had a very difficult matric year,” she said. “We had financial difficulties at home and on many nights my five siblings and I had to go sleep on an empty stomach.
“My father passed away when I was nine and my mom had to look after all of us. But when I got to school yesterday morning and got my results and saw the joy of all my friends who passed and the satisfaction of the teachers, I realised it was all worthwhile.”
The staff and pupils of Paterson High School were overwhelmed with pride after realising they were the top school in the northern areas.
Principal Rose de Doncker said to reach a 92.4% pass rate exactly 100 years after the school’s doors first opened was more than just a statistic; it was a testament that the “Paterson Spirit” was not just alive, it was thriving.
Paterson matriculant Jade Jacobs said: “Everybody was happy, and to get the news that we were the best-performing school in the northern areas was absolutely fantastic.
“We could have made it 100%, but I am sure those who didn’t make it will pick themselves up and make a success of their futures.”
Nelson Mandela University faculty of education lecturer Lukhanyo Boligello and executive dean of the faculty, Prof Heloise Sathorar, described the province’s outcomes as a mixed bag of results in a region of stark contrasts.
“The 2025 NSC results for the Eastern Cape present a profound contradiction,” they said in a joint statement.
“A provincial pass rate of 84.2%, the lowest of all nine provinces and distinctly below the national average, suggests a system in broad distress.
“Yet, this single figure conceals a deeply fractured reality, revealing not a uniform collapse but a landscape where islands of excellence exist within a sea of systemic strain.
“The Eastern Cape’s 2025 results are a mixed picture showing excellence in many schools but deep-seated challenges in others.
“Improvement will require targeted support, data-driven strategies, and collaborative effort across all levels of the education system.”
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