Curro Nelspruit continues to see huge success with IEB

With fewer than 100 days left until the start of this year’s matric exams, some parents are still wondering what the difference between the Independent Examination

Board (IEB) and the National Senior Certificate is.

Both sets of examinations follow the same South African National Curriculum, and each requires learners to take four core subjects, including two official languages, mathematics or mathematical literacy, and life orientation. Other similarities include both systems being given the same stamp of approval from Umalusi, the council for quality assurance in general and further education and training, which not only oversees the management and administration of all examinations in South Africa, but also issues certificates to successful candidates. For parents looking further ahead, both systems are recognised by local and international universities, although it is important to point out that several universities now require prospective students to write a separate entrance exam, regardless of which matric certificate they have.

What the IEB offers parents and learners is an alternative school leaving certification. The

IEB has been designed in such a way that learners can apply these capabilities in a wider context. This is beneficial to learners as they gain skillsets that go beyond subjectspecific knowledge.

Learners at Curro Nelspruit ready to outperform

Curro Nelspruit is one of the schools that has successfully adopted the IEB qualification, with its current Grade 12 learners preparing to beat the fantastic 100% pass rate achieved by their predecessors. The Class of 2021 attained a 100% tertiary exemption, with 12 A aggregates and 38 B aggregates as well as a 93.47% bachelor’s degree rate and a 6.53% diploma pass rate. They averaged 1.96 subject distinctions per learner.

“Our learners here have been writing IEB examinations for several years now, and I strongly feel it stands them in good stead for a bright future. Our Grade 12 learners have been working hard, and I am confident they will achieve as good results as the year before them, if not better,” said Michael Bownes, executive head of Curro Nelspruit.