?“This sixth offering marks a most successful examination sitting for the IEB-ISC."
~ Prof Sarah Howie, Director of the SU-UIC
The Stellenbosch 万博体育官网 (SU) Unit for International Credentialling (SU-UIC) is pleased to confirm the approval of the release of the Independent Examinations Board's (IEB) International Secondary Certificate (ISC) and Further Studies examination results conducted between 5 and 27 May 2025. The SU-UIC found that the examination sessions were fair, valid, and reliable as well as being free from any irregularities that could have compromised the integrity or credibility of the examinations.
This May 2025 examination sitting was the sixth IEB ISC examinations to take place. The SU-UIC has been conducting the external quality assurance of the IEB ISC, Africa's first international school-leaving certificate and the Further Studies subjects since the former's inception in 2022.
The SU-UIC Quality Assurance Governance Committee, chaired by Prof Samuel Tshehla, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Strategy, Global and Corporate Affairs at SU, confirmed the approval of the release of the results of the ISC and Further Studies examinations on 26 June 2025, after extensive and rigorous quality assurance processes. The external quality assurance processes, amongst others, included the verification of IEB's internal quality assurance processes, external moderation and approval of the examination papers, interrogation of the quality and standard of the examinations, verification of the resulting data and standardisation of the results. Prof Tshehla announced “The SU-UIC Quality Assurance Governance Committee has approved the release of the Further Studies results of the South African students. The Committee, after studying all the evidence presented by the Independent Examinations Board is convinced that no irregularities were identified or reported which might have compromised the integrity and credibility of the May 2025 International Secondary Certification (ISC) and Further Subjects examinations administered by the IEB. Therefore, the Committee concludes that the examinations were valid, reliable and fair. It commends the IEB for conducting the 6th ISC examinations successfully.
In response, Prof Crain Soudien, Chair of the IEB Board, reflected on the growth of the ISC noting “the ISC's importance for the independent (schooling) community and in betterment of our society in general." Prof Sizwe Mabizela, Chair of the SU-UIC Standardisation Sub-committee, underlined the professionalism and integrity of the process irrespective of the scale of the examinations stating “We want to bring every ounce of integrity to this process and are committed to working cooperatively to ensure quality of assessments is at the appropriate level."
International Secondary Examinations (ISC)
The ISC, Africa's first international school-leaving qualification developed by the IEB, is rigorous and equivalent to South Africa's National Senior Certificate (NSC), allowing holders to gain admission to South African universities. The ISC is recognised by Universities South Africa and UK Ecctis as comparable to Australian, UK, and Kenyan school-leaving qualifications.
The ISC is offered in eSwatini, Namibia, and Mozambique. In May 2025, 79 learners from the three countries wrote the ISC examinations at six examination centres. All the candidates who wrote were part-time or repeating candidates. The ISC started offering examinations in May 2023 to offer candidates the opportunity to follow “more flexible learning pathways" in addition to the original November examinations. To date 195 learners have written the mid-year examinations, reflecting the need for an Africa-centred international qualification, that provides learners with an affordable and flexible alternative.
Further Studies Subjects
A total of 895 learners took the IEB May 2025 Further Studies examinations, compared to 699 in 2024. Further Studies courses in English, Mathematics and Physics are regarded as challenging, enrichment academic offerings. These optional examinations allow learners to enhance their academic credentials before entering tertiary education, providing an advantage for local and international admissions and students' success.
This year, 95% learners sat the examinations for the first time, while 5% retook specific subjects to improve their scores. Impressively, 5% were Grade 11 learners. The IEB Further Studies courses are available to learners pursuing the IEB ISC in eSwatini, Mozambique, and Namibia, as well as the National Senior Certificate (NSC) in South Africa from both independent and public schools. A UK ENIC (Ecctis) benchmarking exercise found the courses comparable to UK A-levels, underscoring their global competitiveness.
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