Interest in agricultural careers among high school learners continues to grow. Several school principals spoke to Farmer’s Weekly about the matric results at their schools, indicating that pupils are increasingly looking to the agriculture sector for their future.
Photo: Hoër Landbouskool Oakdale
The matric class of 2025 achieved an 88% National Senior Certificate pass rate, making it the highest in South Africa’s history.
According to the National Department of Basic Education, the national pass rate represents an increase of approximately 0,7 percentage points from 2024.
KwaZulu-Natal emerged as the top-performing province in the country, achieving a pass rate of 90,6%, followed closely by the Free State (89,33%) and Gauteng (89,06%). The Northern Cape was the most improved province with 87,79%, putting it in sixth place.
For the first time, all 75 school districts across South Africa recorded pass rates of 80% and above, pointing to more evenly spread performance across provinces.
Agricultural schools fared particularly well. Augsburg Landbougimnasium in Clanwilliam, Western Cape, achieved a 100% pass rate of its 70 matric students. Principal Buks Olivier told Farmer’s Weekly that interest in agricultural careers is growing, with more females enrolling in Grade 8 this year.
“The sector has become very diverse, and there are many different paths agricultural students can pursue, hence the increased interest,” he added.
Hoër Landbouskool Oakdale in Riversdal, Western Cape, achieved a 100% pass rate of its 86 pupils.
While the school offers an agricultural and mainstream curriculum, 40% to 45% of matriculants are estimated to pursue careers in the agriculture sector.
“Agriculture is certainly not looked down on, and such a career is held in high esteem,” Willem du Buisson, the school’s principal, said.
He noted that the expansion of job opportunities in the sector is exciting for students, as studying agriculture no longer means just becoming a farmer but can include work in technology, environmental regeneration, and business management.
“Around 25% of our matrics have enrolled at tertiary institutions to study agriculture. Many others will first go to the US to work on farms before coming back to South Africa to study further.
“Historically, we’ve found that even those who don’t pursue agricultural degrees remain in the sector in some way or another,” Du Buisson noted.
Hoërskool Waterkloof in Pretoria, Gauteng, celebrated its first matric class, which included students pursuing agriculture. The school introduced agricultural technology as a subject for Grades 10 to 12 three years ago.
Hoërskool Waterkloof’s head of marketing, Annette Grobbelaar, noted that 76 of the 939 Grade 12 pupils took agricultural technology as a subject.
“We’ve definitely seen a huge interest in agricultural careers,” she added.
