At 9am on Friday, 23 October, the class of 2026 sits Mathematics Paper 1, and Mathematical Literacy Paper 1 is written in the same session. The split between those two papers starts before Grade 10, when learners pick one subject or the other, and this year's Grade 9s are making that pick now. CambriLearn, the accredited online school that has taught more than 80,000 students since 2008, wants their parents to slow down on that line of the subject form.
Last year 254,413 candidates wrote Mathematics, just 34% of the matric class, and the pass rate in the subject fell from 69% to 64%. Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube described the low uptake as a concern for the country's long-term access to scarce skills. In February, Joy Maimela, who chairs Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, said the committees knew that some educators and principals discourage learners from taking pure Mathematics to protect their schools' pass rates. She called for the practice to be condemned, because it makes the step to tertiary study very difficult for the learners concerned.
Stellenbosch University will only consider applicants for its 2027 engineering degrees who have at least 70% in Mathematics, and it makes conditional offers on final Grade 11 results. A child in Grade 9 today will write the marks that decide an offer like that in two years' time, and a result in Mathematical Literacy will not count towards it.
Mathematical Literacy is the right subject for some children, and plenty of humanities and education degrees accept it. The harm comes when adults steer a child who could have managed Mathematics away from it, which is the practice Maimela described. Parents can ask the current school whether Mathematics will run in Grade 10 next year, and why their child is being advised towards Mathematical Literacy if that is the advice.
How CambriLearn teaches Mathematics
Mathematics runs on all six of CambriLearn's pathways. A Grade 10 student on CAPS works towards the National Senior Certificate written through SACAI, and the KABV pathway teaches the same curriculum in Afrikaans. IEB students take Mathematics towards the NSC examined by the IEB. For families with an eye on universities abroad, the International British Curriculum and Pearson Edexcel both take Mathematics from International GCSE through to AS and A Level, a route that still counts at home, since Stellenbosch's 2027 engineering criteria score international applicants on their A or AS Level Mathematics. The US K-12 route runs through CambriLearn's sister school, Score Academy Online.
Subject specialists teach CambriLearn's Mathematics lessons live, and a student who lost the thread halfway through a trigonometry problem can watch the recorded explanation again that evening. The subject teacher marks the assignments that follow. CambriLearn's teachers hold recognised teaching degrees and on average they have spent more than eight years in a classroom.
Parents follow attendance and marks through CambriCommand, the parent view that comes with every enrolment, so they can see a slide in maths during the term instead of waiting for a report. Where a Grade 9 child sits on the line between the two subjects, CambriLearn's educational psychologist runs subject and career choice assessments, with two virtual consultations and results in about two weeks.
Starting Grade 10 in 2027
CAPS, KABV and IEB students in Grades 10 to 12 follow fixed South African term dates and examination-body deadlines, so a family choosing one of those routes starts Grade 10 in January with everyone else. CambriLearn's IEB pathway enrols Grades 10 and 11 now and opens Grade 12 in 2028, which means a child who starts Grade 10 on it in 2027 reaches matric on the same route. The international pathways take students in any month, and that gives families on the Pearson Edexcel or International British route more room on timing.
That January start puts the decision inside CambriLearn's Lock In Your Fees window. CambriLearn's fees go up in 2027, but a family that enrols or re-enrols by midnight on 31 October 2026 and makes the required payment keeps 2026 pricing for the child's 2027 enrolment. The payment is either the full course fee upfront or the first instalment on the 10-month bank-card plan, and for a new Grade 10 student on CAPS or the IEB it covers the first of the three years that lead to matric.
The lock covers new and existing students on eligible grades and packages. New enrolments carry a once-off registration fee, extracurricular courses such as the subject and career assessments fall outside it, and the full terms sit on the campaign page.
The class of 2026 expects its results in mid-January, and this year's Grade 9s will have chosen their subjects long before then. A family still weighing up the maths line can book a free consultation, and a CambriLearn education consultant will be in touch within 24 hours to work through the pathway and grade that fit the child.
CambriLearn is accredited by Cognia and Pearson Edexcel, registered with SACAI and the IEB, and NCAA approved. It teaches students aged 4 to 19 in more than 100 countries.
