You’ve always known matric was coming, but over the years it probably felt far away. Now it’s here, and the adventure that comes next is exhilarating – possibility is waiting for you to grab hold of it.
But, before we get there, there is a big hurdle to overcome: the exams. You can do it, especially with Edify behind you. So, take a deep breath, relax your shoulders and remember that we’re here to help.
Plan to rest
The first thing to do is to properly plan the year, and that means factoring in rest times too. Take a careful look at your school calendar for the year, and plan a working holiday that has blocks of work-free time, like this:
Government school holidays: 24 March to 12 April
Ideal rest week: 4 to 12 April
Work week: 27 March to 3 April
Independent school holidays: 6 April to 3 May
Ideal rest week: 7 to 16 April
Work week: 17 April to 2 May
During these working holidays, we have exam workshops planned, so don’t miss these:
- 17 to 28 April 2023: this is a very good consolidation time, so please don’t miss your Edify lessons during this period
- 26 June to 1 July 2023: this is a very important, intensive workshop to prepare matrics for their prelims and finals
- 21 to 24 and 28 and 29 August 2023: this workshop is for matrics who will be writing prelims after the August holidays (private, three-term schools)
More workshops will be put together as soon as we have the final matric timetable. Plus, if your school’s exam timetable is different to the workshops already set out (above), we’ll make individual arrangements.
National Benchmark Tests (NBTs) here we come
As you know, the NBTs are assessments required for entry to South African higher education institutions. There are two tests, the Academic and Quantitative Literacy (AQL) test and the Mathematics test (MAT), and they must be written on the same day.
The AQL is written in a three-hour morning session, and the MAT is written on the same day in a three-hour afternoon session.
Edify is here to help you prepare. We offer two-day NBT workshops during which you will spend four hours each day working to ensure you ace your NBTs. (You need only do one of these two-day workshops).
Along with the workshop, you’ll get a book full of past papers, examples and notes. Also – be warned – no calculators are allowed in the MAT test, so you have to know how to do certain calculations manually. We spend a lot of the workshop time on the skills you need for this.
Our workshop dates are:
- 27 and 28 May 2023
- 24 and 25 June 2023
- 16 and 17 August 2023
You can book your NBTs here: https://nbtests.uct.ac.za
Take care of your health, physical and mental
Get enough sleep, exercise and good food – do as much as you can to stay healthy and not miss school. School is where the best matric preparation will take place, and you will get tips and guidance from your teachers, all of whom have done this matric thing before. Over and over again, in fact.
Taking care of your health means not studying all the time. Build in time to enjoy all the fun things that matric brings – the leadership positions, the matric dance, the leavers’ events. Rest, relaxation and enjoyment are important. This is a pivotal year, but that does not mean it has to be all work and no play.
Get academic help if you need it
That is, after all, what we at Edify are here for. Make sure you understand your work, and don’t be afraid to keep asking to have something explained until you get it. Your marks will be better for it, and so will your mental state.
Practice makes perfect
Try any academic challenge on your own first, before consulting the solutions provided in the study guide, no matter how little you think of your chance of getting it right! The best way to learn is from your mistakes.
Once you have tried alone, go through your work with the solution as a guide and find out where you are going wrong. Get someone to help you if you need it. And, keep practising. You will get there.