TEST YOURSELFAre you smarter than a matriculant? Relieve exam results tension with our quiz from past papersByTakudzwa Pongweni

With matric results for the Class of 2025 just days from being announced by Minister Siviwe Gwarube, take our fun 20-question quiz drawn from past NSC exam papers. Test your English, mathematical literacy, life orientation and life sciences knowledge — minus the exam stress! See if you can outsmart a Grade 12 whiz.

The wait is almost over. The Matric Class of 2025 will know how they fared in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams in a matter of days. Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube will announce the national results on Monday, 12 January 2026.

While matriculants, parents, siblings and others await those much-anticipated scores, Daily Maverick thought a little fun quiz might ease the tension. It draws from past South African matric exam papers, testing your knowledge across key NSC subjects including English, mathematical literacy, life orientation and life sciences. Unlike the actual exams, which test pupils’ mastery of the CAPS curriculum across seven subjects through multiple-choice questions, data exercises, experiments, essays and rigorous problem-solving, this one is light-hearted and bite-sized, just 20 questions to challenge you without the pressure of an academic setting.

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See below for the correct answers. Don’t cheat, or we’ll tell Umalusi.

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