If your matric results were not what you needed
This page is for the week in January when the results came out and they were not what you needed. It is not a pep talk. It is what to do, in what order, and which deadlines are about to close.
Two things are true at once, and both matter. This is genuinely a setback, and pretending otherwise is insulting. It is also, in the great majority of cases, a delay rather than an ending, and the people who lose a whole year are usually the ones who waited three months before acting, not the ones whose marks were lowest.
Do these first, this week
- Read your results statement properly. Find out exactly what you have: a Higher Certificate pass, a Diploma pass, a Bachelor's pass, or no NSC. These are different situations with different options.
- Check the re-mark deadline. It is roughly two weeks from results day. If a mark looks wrong, that window closes fast.
- Register for the Second Chance Programme. It is free and registering does not commit you to anything.
- Apply somewhere anyway, on the results you have. Late applications and walk-in periods exist, and an application costs far less than a lost year.
First, work out what you actually have
"Failed matric" covers several quite different situations, and the right move depends on which one you are in.
You passed, but with a Diploma or Higher Certificate pass
You have not failed. You have an NSC. What you do not have is degree entry this year. Diplomas and higher certificates are open to you now, and a Higher Certificate generally opens degree study the following year. See Bachelor's, Diploma or Higher Certificate pass?
You passed, but missed a subject requirement
Common and fixable. Your total may be fine while one required subject, usually Mathematics or a language, sits below what the programme needs. Rewriting that one subject is a much smaller job than repeating a year.
You did not get the NSC
You need to rewrite the subjects that fell short. The Second Chance Programme exists precisely for this and it costs nothing.
You are waiting on a supplementary or a re-mark
Carry on applying in the meantime. Do not hold your applications while you wait, the deadlines will not wait for you. See re-mark and re-check.
The Second Chance Matric Programme is free
This is the single most useful fact on this page, and it is not widely enough known.
The Department of Basic Education runs the Second Chance Matric Programme for learners who want to rewrite subjects or add subjects in order to meet the requirements of the National Senior Certificate or the Senior Certificate. Eligible candidates register to rewrite or add subjects without any payment.
It also comes with actual teaching support, not just an exam entry: face-to-face classes at centres around the country, online material, and television and radio broadcasts. If you are rewriting while working or at home, that matters.
| Cost | Free to register for eligible candidates |
| Where to register | Your school, your district office, or online |
| Registration, 2026 cycle | Opened 1 October 2025, closed 6 February 2026 |
| Support offered | Face-to-face classes, online programmes, TV and radio broadcasts |
| Enquiries | 0800 20 29 33 |
Source: Register to rewrite matric subjects, gov.za
Anyone charging you to register for a matric rewrite is not the Second Chance Programme. Registration is free. Private colleges do offer paid rewrite courses with their own tuition, which is a legitimate service, but it is not the same thing and you should know which one you are buying.
Rewrite one subject, not the whole year
People assume failing means repeating Grade 12. Usually it does not.
If your problem is one or two subjects, rewrite one or two subjects. Your other results stand. That is a far smaller undertaking than a full year, it leaves you free to work or study part-time alongside it, and it is the difference between losing a year and losing a few months.
Be honest about why the subject went wrong, though. If you did not understand the material, sitting the same exam again without changing anything will produce the same result. Use the Second Chance teaching support, or get help from somewhere, rather than just re-entering.
Routes that stay open regardless
Rewriting is not the only option, and for some people it is not the best one.
TVET colleges: entry is not APS-based
This is the one most people do not know. Public TVET colleges do not use an APS, and NC(V) and NATED programmes have entry points from Grade 9. Your matric result does not close this door, because the door was never gated on it. NATED also runs on trimesters, so there are several intakes a year rather than one. See public TVET colleges.
Higher Certificates
One year, NQF Level 5, a recognised qualification in its own right, and the standard bridge into degree study afterwards. The national minimum for a Higher Certificate is an NSC with 30% in the language of learning and teaching, the lowest formal entry point into higher education. See study options with a lower APS.
Institutions that score you differently
Your position is not the same everywhere. One subject under 40% costs you nothing at all at Rhodes. A strong Life Orientation mark is worth real points at UWC and nothing at UJ. TUT and VUT open considerably lower than the traditional universities. Run the calculator before deciding you are out of options.
Private colleges: with a warning
Private institutions set their own entry requirements and admission is often possible where your marks fall short. That is genuinely useful and it is also where people lose money. Check accreditation before paying anyone anything: how to check a college is accredited.
What not to do
- Do not wait until March. Almost everything on this page has a deadline in January or February. The single biggest cause of a lost year is delay, not marks.
- Do not pay anyone to "get you in" somewhere. No agent can secure a place. See the disclaimer.
- Do not enrol somewhere unaccredited because it is the only place that said yes. Three years and a worthless certificate is a much worse outcome than one year of rewriting.
- Do not disappear. Tell someone: a parent, a teacher, a school counsellor. The administrative side of this is genuinely navigable and much easier with one other person helping you keep track of dates.
One thing worth holding onto
A matric result is a measure of one set of exams in one year. It is not a measure of what you are capable of, and the South African system is unusually full of second entry points: rewrites, higher certificates, TVET, articulation, distance learning, mature-age admission.
People do arrive at a degree at 25 having failed matric at 18. It happens often enough to be unremarkable. What separates them is not marks, it is that they took the next administrative step rather than stopping.
Where to next
- Re-mark and re-check. If a mark looks wrong, the window is about two weeks
- Bachelor's, Diploma or Higher Certificate pass?. What your pass type actually allows
- Public TVET colleges: not APS-based, open from Grade 9
- Study options with a lower APS
- APS calculator. Your position differs by institution more than you would expect