Jewish schools’ class of 2017 post admirable results

JORDAN MOSHE

Having achieved 1 296 distinctions collectively, Jewish schools from across South Africa have maintained a 100% pass rate, as in previous years.

Although the department of education has lauded its 2017 pass rate of 75.1% – up from 72.5% in 2016 – the reality, as far as education is concerned, is far grimmer than the statistics would have us believe. Nic Spaull, senior researcher in the economics department at Stellenbosch University, assessed the true state of matric results in South Africa, and reached a bleak conclusion. “In 2017, there were only 401 435 passes compared to 442 672 in 2016 – that’s a 9% decline in one year.”

However, the IEB exams saw 112 130 pupils writing, with 88.5% of them having been eligible for a university degree, 8.96% able to study towards a diploma and 1.3% achieving entry at the higher certificate level. The respective results of the Jewish schools reflect the IEB’s level of achievement.

Hirsch Lyons’ 18 pupils from both the boys’ and girls’ schools wrote the matric exams, achieving a total of 71 distinctions, an average of 3.9 per pupil. In Maths, their average of 80% was above the national average, as was true for English, Science, Life Sciences, Accounting, IT and usiness Studies.

The 15 matriculants from Torah Academy had a total of 41 distinctions, an average of just under three per learner. In all the exams written, 39% earned an A and 59% a B or higher. Some 87% of Hebrew students achieved an A, while 80% of Physical Science pupils obtained a B or higher.

At King David Linksfield, 163 pupils scored 532 distinctions, an average 3.26 distinctions per pupil. And, 16% of their pupils achieved a full house or more, 76.4% of the papers written resulted in a B and higher, and 91.2% resulted in a C and higher. A total of 162 pupils qualified for university entrance, and all pupils who were part of the educational support programme obtained a university entrance. A total of 154 distinctions were achieved by the 48 students at King David Victory Park, with a 95.8% university entrance pass rate and a 4.2% diploma pass.

At Yeshiva College, 94% of its 51 pupils achieved at least a single distinction, with 214 distinctions in total, which equates to 4.2 distinctions per pupil. In addition, 19.6% achieved eight distinctions each, and 25.4% achieved a full house of distinctions.

Regarding Herzlia High School’s 93 matric pupils, 86 achieved university entrance passes, scoring 284 individual subject distinctions, an average of 3.3 distinctions per candidate. And, 45% of pupils achieved four or more distinctions, with all 15 pupils in the Educational Support programme having passed every subject.

Jewish matriculants have once again done their schools, the community, their parents and the country proud.