Please access subject choice guide here . Career Guide

Grade 9 Subject choice booklet

Welcome to FET – Things Are About to Get Serious!

Congratulations! By the end of Grade 9, you will have completed the General Education and Training (GET) phase of your education. In other words, you have survived Grades 1–9, and, assuming you have met the academic requirements, you will be promoted to Grade 10.

And then… things change.

You are entering the Further Education and Training (FET) phase – Grades 10, 11 and 12. This is the three-year journey that ends with the National Senior Certificate, commonly known as your Matric.

And before you get too excited about being “senior” learners, there are a few things you need to know.

1. Exams suddenly matter… A LOT!

In GET, you have probably managed to survive tests, projects, assignments, exams,  investigations and the occasional last-minute panic.

In FET, exams become much more important.

Your final marks are calculated using:

75% Examination + 25% Continuous Assessment = 100%

Yes, you read that correctly – 75% exams.

So that little voice saying, “I’ll worry about it in Grade 12” should probably be switched off now.

2. Your subjects are no longer something you can choose on Tuesday and change your mind about on Thursday.

FET is a three-year programme.

Technically, it is possible to change a subject in Grades 10 and 11, but this is not recommended or encouraged. Changing subjects later can create a whole lot of academic headaches.

So, we want you to make good choices now, rather than discovering halfway through Grade 10 that you have chosen a subject because your best friend took it.

Your friend may be wonderful.

Your friend may also have absolutely no idea what they are doing.

Choose for your future, not your friendship group.

3. Some of your subjects are going to split up.

For example:

Natural Sciences becomes Physical Sciences and Life Sciences.

Social Sciences becomes History and Geography.

So don’t simply choose a subject because you enjoyed it in Grade 9. You need to understand what you will actually study in Grades 10–12 and what skills you will need to succeed.

4. You get to choose your subjects!

This sounds fantastic.

Until you realise that you now have to make decisions about your future while many of you are still struggling to decide what you’re having for lunch.

In FET, you will no longer all study exactly the same subjects.

You will generally take seven or eight subjects, and these subjects will demand a much higher level of knowledge, understanding, application and skills.

In other words, FET isn’t simply GET with bigger textbooks.

5. Everyone needs to complete the basic seven-subject National Senior Certificate.

The good news is that you don’t have to become an expert in absolutely everything.

The challenge is to choose the right combination of subjects for your abilities, interests and future plans.

And that’s really what today is about.

At Mokopane English Combined School, we prepare you for the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) examinations in Matric.

So, Grade 9s, this is an important decision.

Don’t choose subjects because they sound impressive.

Don’t choose them because your friends are taking them.

And please don’t choose them because someone told you, “That subject is easy.”

Choose subjects that suit you, your strengths, your interests and, most importantly, the future you are hoping to build.

Because Grade 10 is coming.

And unfortunately, we don’t get to choose your subjects for you!

So… What Exactly Is the IEB?

You will hear the words “IEB” quite a lot over the next three years. Don’t worry – it isn’t another subject you have to choose!

The Independent Examinations Board (IEB) is responsible for setting and assessing the Matric examinations that we write at MECS. The IEB isn’t simply interested in whether you can remember information. It wants to know whether you understand it, whether you know when and how to use it, and whether you can explain your thinking clearly.

In other words:

It’s not just “What is the answer?”

It’s also:

“How did you get there?”
“Why is that the answer?”
“What would happen if we changed the situation?”

So, yes… learning something the night before the test and hoping for the best is probably not the winning strategy!

The IEB also aims to encourage teachers to develop learners who can think logically, understand their subjects deeply and communicate their ideas clearly.

And how successful is it?

The IEB is a recognised and respected part of the South African education system. It provides an independent approach to curriculum and assessment while remaining part of the national education framework.

Its Grade 12 results are consistently strong:

  • 97–98% average pass rate
  • 78–80% achieve a pass with entry to degree study
  • A recent study at University of Cape Town shows that IEB graduates have on average a 98% chance of competing their degrees

So, when you reach Grade 12, you will be writing examinations that expect more than simply memorising a textbook.

What does this mean for you?

To write the National Senior Certificate, you must take seven subjects.

Four are compulsory:

English Home Language
Afrikaans First Additional Language
Mathematics OR Mathematical Literacy
Life Orientation

Then you choose three elective subjects.

At MECS, the choices are arranged into three subject lines:

Line 1: Accounting or Geography
Line 2: Life Sciences or Business Studies
Line 3: Physical Sciences or Computer Applications Technology (CAT)

And this is why your subject choice matters.

You are not simply choosing seven subjects for next year.

You are choosing the subjects you will study for the next three years, and potentially the subjects that will help open – or close – certain doors after Matric.

So choose carefully.

And remember:

“My friend is doing it” is not a career plan.

Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy – Choose Carefully

Now, there is one particular choice I want you to think about very carefully: Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy.

It is very common for learners to say, “I’m taking Mathematics because Maths is better.” And, yes, Mathematics may keep more options open for certain university courses and careers.

But here is the warning: choosing Mathematics simply because you think it is the “better” or more prestigious subject can be a very dangerous decision.

Mathematics is demanding. It requires strong conceptual understanding, consistent practice and a willingness to work hard. It is not a subject where you can simply cross your fingers, pray for a favourable question paper and hope that your calculator knows what it is doing!

If your mathematical ability and performance suggest that Mathematics is likely to become a major struggle, choosing it without thinking carefully could have serious consequences. You could end up with a very low Mathematics mark, and in the worst case, this could contribute to you not meeting the requirements for a Matric pass.

On the other hand, Mathematical Literacy is not “easy Maths” or a subject for learners who can’t do Mathematics. It is a different subject designed to develop practical mathematical skills that are useful in everyday life.

So don’t make this decision based on ego, pressure from friends, or the belief that Mathematics somehow makes you cleverer.

Make the decision based on your ability, your current performance, your future career plans and the advice of your teachers.

And remember:

There is nothing clever about choosing Mathematics if Mathematics is going to sink your Matric.

Choose wisely. Your Grade 12 self may thank you for it!