As the Nelson Mandela Bay district muscled its way back into the top three provincially, the region’s best academic performers backed it up by leap-frogging to the top of the log and grabbing several other accolades along the way.
The district’s top performers were among those honoured at the annual Top Performer Awards event at the East London International Convention Centre in East London on Tuesday.
Collegiate Girls’ High School’s Maria Freercks took top honours as the overall best pupil in the province followed by Danel Muller and Emma Booyens, both from Clarendon High School for Girls in East London.
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.
Education MEC Fundile Gade made the announcement during a media briefing on Tuesday.
Other districts in the top five:
- Joe Gqabi took number one, achieving 88.4% from 85.2% in 2024;
- Chris Hani was number two, achieving 88.1% from 88.5%;
- Sarah Baartman took number four at 86.4%, up from 78.6%; and
- Buffalo City Metro achieved number five at 85.3%, up from 84.4%.
Gade said the Bay district had not been problematic as far as the National Senior Certificate outcome was concerned.
“It’s now making sure that their work ethic is kept intact. That’s why they have been in that spot,” Gade said.
“They were again able to maintain that status.”
He said the district also had a lot of pupils and these were studying gateway subjects.
“We will need a good recruitment plan for teachers of these subjects,” he said.
He said the top five districts with bachelor’s passes included Nelson Mandela Bay at number three with 44.54%, which was a decline of 0.66% from 2024.
Chris Hani led this category with 47.74%, followed by Buffalo City with 45.09% and Amathole East at 43.33%.
Commenting on the decline of bachelor’s passes, he said criminal activities were a factor.
“The provincial government has been working hard to fight crime.
“Crime in the communities cannot be isolated from crime in schools.
“That is why it spills over.
“So, it’s a matter that I think we can deal with at any given time,” Gade said.
It is a big day for matriculants around the country who receive their results today.
— The Herald NMB (@HeraldNMB) January 13, 2026
In Fountain Avenue, Walmer in Gqeberha, Walmer High School matriculants are already celebrating. #matric2025
📹 Eugene Coetzee pic.twitter.com/n4oPMWxHe0
Several of the leading top 50 performing schools in the Eastern Cape are also in the Bay district.
They include Pearson High School at number one and Collegiate in second place.
Riebeek College Girls’ High School is also in the top 10.
St Albans, Soqhayisa Senior Secondary School, Grey High School and EZ Kabane High School all made the top 50.
However, Loyiso Senior Secondary School (SSS), Reuben Birin Special School, Kwazakhele High School, St Jude’s Academy and Zanolwazi SSS all placed on the list of the worst 50 performing schools in the province.
Several of the top performers honoured at Tuesday’s awards included Cape Recife High School pupils Jayden Sueltz and Renaldo Lewis, who won the Top Learner Specific Learning Disabilities and Top Learner Autism categories, respectively.
The top pupil from special schools in cluster B (which includes the Bay) was Valentino Vogel, who is also from Cape Recife.
The second prize for top Historically Disadvantaged Learner in the region went to Lubabalo Wakie from Soqhayisa Senior Secondary, with Ethembeni Enrichment High School’s Obuhle Manga taking top spot.
The Premier’s Awards category for top pupil in the Bay went to Collegiate’s Jennifer Friskin.
In the Premier Award’s cluster B category, the top three pupils were Soqhayisa Senior Secondary’s Sesona Masingili, third, Brandwag High Schools Lourens Preller, second, and Pearson High School’s Yvonne Weitsz taking first.
