Grade 11 tuition

When South African universities assess applications from learners who are still in matric, they do not yet have Grade 12 results to work with. Instead they look back a year. Final Grade 11 results are the basis for many provisional offers. The University of Pretoria states that prospective students in Grade 12 must use their final Grade 11 marks to apply. Other universities ask for those results alongside whatever Grade 12 marks are available at the time.

A learner’s final Grade 11 results can therefore determine which provisional offers they receive during matric.

The admission point score

Many universities rank applicants using an Admission Point Score (APS). This is calculated from the NSC achievement level, from 1 to 7, in each of six subjects, with Life Orientation usually excluded. A mark of 80% or more earns a 7, 70–79% a 6, 60–69% a 5, and so on down the scale. Some universities use their own variations. Wits, for example, includes Life Orientation and gives extra points for English and Mathematics. A difference of a few percentage points in one subject can move a learner from one level to the next.

Both language marks are usually part of the APS, since the two compulsory languages are among a learner’s six subjects other than Life Orientation. Many degree programmes also set a minimum mark for English.

What changes in Grade 11

The FET phase runs from Grade 10 to Grade 12, and the work becomes more demanding each year. In English, Grade 11 learners study longer texts and write essays that are expected to argue a point, assessed on structure and insight as well as content. In Afrikaans, gaps in grammar from earlier grades tend to become more costly.

Close reading, essay planning, additional language grammar and writing to length under time pressure are all practised in Grade 11 and examined again in Grade 12.

Accommodations: the Grade 11 deadline

Grade 11 also matters for learners with diagnosed barriers to learning. Accommodations such as extra time, a reader or a scribe allow a learner to show what they know without changing what is assessed. The IEB accepts applications for examination accommodations from Grade 8 through Grade 11, and the school must apply on the learner’s behalf. A learner who reaches matric without accommodations already in place may have run out of time to get them.

Amanda holds a postgraduate degree in inclusive education and has worked as a remedial therapist for many years. Parents often ask her to write remedial reports supporting applications to the IEB for concessions such as extra time or spelling concessions. She can also help families understand how the process works, and support a learner academically while it runs.

How lessons work

Grade 11 lessons usually run weekly during term, and weekend lessons are available around the June and November examinations. Many Grade 11 learners join groups with others on the same syllabus. In a group, learners can discuss a novel, a poem or a grammar point together. One-to-one lessons are available for learners who need them.