The historic achievement was celebrated this morning as Minister David Maynier released the Class of 2025’s individual results, showcasing not only Silikamva’s success but also remarkable improvements across the Western Cape’s education system.
From struggle to success
Founded in 2013, the Quintile 3 no-fee school’s journey to excellence began with a fundamental shift in approach. School management, working with their collaboration partner Common Good, focused on building a strong academic culture, improving discipline, and fostering relationships with parents and the broader community.
“Our results are a reflection of the strong academic culture we have inculcated as a school, the use of data to improve results, the commitment of our educators and the support of parents,” said proud principal Siphathisiwe Nkahla-Nkohla.
The transformation has been nothing short of remarkable. Beyond the perfect pass rate, Silikamva achieved an outstanding 76.0% bachelor’s pass rate – a clear indicator that the school isn’t just helping students pass, but ensuring they’re well-prepared for higher education. Students earned 75 subject distinctions, with 100% pass rates across eight subjects, including the challenging Physical Science.
Provincial excellence
Silikamva’s success reflects a broader pattern of improvement across the Western Cape. Two districts have achieved pass rates exceeding 90%, with the Overberg Education District taking first place at 92.4% – the third-highest district pass rate in the country.
Metro East Education District maintained second position with a 90.2% pass rate, while all remaining districts scored above 80%:
- Metro North Education District – 89.2%
- Eden and Central Karoo Education District – 89.1%
- Metro South Education District – 87.7%
- West Coast Education District – 87.4%
- Metro Central Education District – 87.0%
- Cape Winelands Education District – 84.6%
Closing the gap
Perhaps most encouraging is the progress of no-fee schools across different quintiles. All quintiles now achieve pass rates above 80%, with Quintiles 2 and 3 schools actually outperforming Quintile 4 schools in terms of pass rates.
Quintile 1 schools achieved 82.0% pass rate with 36.1% bachelor passes, while Quintiles 2 and 3 achieved 85.5% and 84.3% respectively. Significantly, their bachelor’s pass rates (38.2% and 38.9%) exceeded Quintile 4’s 34.4%, demonstrating that no-fee schools are rapidly catching up in quality education delivery.
The number of underperforming public schools with pass rates of 60% or below has dropped dramatically from five schools in 2024 to just two in 2025.
Looking ahead
For students who didn’t achieve their desired results, the education department offers several options including re-marks, re-checks, or sitting for June exams. Counselling support is available through schools or the Safe Schools Hotline (0800 45 46 47).
As for Silikamva, whose name means “we are the future,” Nkahla-Nkohla expressed pride in the achievement: “We look forward to our matriculating learners using this solid foundation to access further education, meaningful opportunities and to become responsible, contributing citizens in the future.”
With results like these from both individual schools like Silikamva and across the province, that future indeed looks very bright for the Western Cape’s Class of 2025.
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