Three years ago, Daily Maverick visited Lavender Hill High School in Cape Town, which had a matric pass rate just under 70%, to explore the stories of success and adversity behind the statistics. Returning in 2026, we found the pass rate had risen to 89% for the class of 2025 - a 20% jump.

The class of 2025 at Lavender Hill High School in Cape Town has achieved a matric pass rate of 89%, up by 20% from 69.2% in 2023. Principal Fuad Viljoen told Daily Maverick that the achievement was the product of hard work and determination.

The school had already increased its matric pass rate to 80.3% for 2024, even as its throughput rate - the number of pupils who stayed in school to the end of their matric year - increased steadily.

Viljoen, who has a South African flag pinned to the wall of his office, said: "We are fiercely and passionately South African, and our DNA, I think, is a bit different to other nations. Adversity actually makes us stronger, actually pushes us to persevere and excel, and that's the true spirit of being at Lavender Hill High School."

The entire team at Lavender Hill is responsible for its success, from the teachers to the administrative and estate staff, to the counsellor, said Viljoen. Everyone played their part in bringing about the change in results.

"What normally happens is that the Grade 12 teachers get all the credit. But it didn't start in Grade 12. It started in Grade 8......