How can I make sure that my homeschooled child is able to write their NSC exams?

The long answer

To get the National Senior Certificate (NSC), your child will need to show a record of three years’ continuous assessment by a recognised educator from Grade 10–12, as well as the results of the National Grade 12 exams. If the homeschooling curriculum is aligned with the CAPS syllabus, your child can then be enrolled to write the standard NSC exams. 

Any homeschooling families who select the NSC matric option choose a formal curriculum provider like Brainline, Impaq, Nucleus or others for Grades 10–12 for these tests, according to SA Homeschoolers. For Grades 10–12, these providers oversee the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) curriculum, exams, and assessments like tests and assignments. 

A home education curriculum provider must be registered at one of the examination boards. This provider must ensure that a child completes the necessary work over Grade 10–12 and assess their progress, so that they qualify to write the NSC exam. The exams are written at the curriculum provider’s examination centre.

According to Twinkl, another alternative for homeschoolers is to work through a learning centre approved by the Department of Basic Education (DBE), where they can attend in-person classes taught by certified tutors. To find out what recognised learning centres are in your area, you could ask your provincial Department of Basic Education.

Some CAPS-aligned home education curriculum providers use South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute (SACAI), a non-profit private assessment body, for certification. SACAI is one of the organisations that provides assessments for the NSC. For the NSC, Umalusi or SACAI accreditation for valid certification is needed. Umalusi is South Africa's quality assurance body for general and further education that lays down standards for qualifications like the NSC.

So to summarise the process:

• Parents register their child with a provider from Grade 9 or 10.

• The provider sets and marks work, ensuring learners pass Grade 10 and 11 subjects. Learners must pass all required subjects in Grade 10 and 11 to be eligible for the final Grade 12 NSC examination.

• They write the standardised Grade 12 NSC exams at an approved centre through their provider.

What does it cost?

The price of the providers varies, but generally it would be around R50,000 for Grade 10–12, which is R20,000 for Grade 10 and 11, and R30,000 for Grade 12, excluding extra support. So it’s expensive, and you would pay about the same for a child to attend a private school. 

According to Oolfant, "Your children will have to do 'school at home' for the last three years of their home education, with tests, assignments, and examinations, like any school-going child." Home education curriculum providers are required to test and grade the students for Grades 10, 11 and 12. 

Oolfant says that you can do this on your own at home and let your child complete their assignments and write tests online. They say that the biggest advantage is that everything is laid out for you, so you don’t have to worry about which textbooks to choose from. 

According to SA Homeschoolers, reviewing past exam papers is an excellent approach to familiarise yourself with the vocabulary and terminology used in the actual exams, as well as to prepare for upcoming NSC exams. The Department of Basic Education's curriculum menu website has these exam papers.

Learners must register for the NSC before or on the 15th of March in the year they are planning to write the NSC exams.

The minimum requirements to get the NSC are 40% in three subjects, one of which is an official language at Home Language level, and 30% in three other subjects.

There are two parts to the NSC final mark. Internal assessments count 25%, and the NSC final exams count 75%. Life Orientation is not examinable – the final mark is determined only by internal assessments. All internal assessments, including Life Orientation, must be externally moderated by the DBE, exam board and Umalusi.

Wishing you the best,
Athalie