NSC Levels and Grading Scale in South Africa

The NSC pass levels, what each NSC pass needs and university degree classes, each with its source, and a lookup for your own mark.

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Rules as of the Nuffic, DBE and Unisa pages opened on 4 November 2026, and UJ's 2022 prospectus. Last reviewed 2026-11-04.

Mark to NSC level

NSC mark, %

Nuffic's NSC levels, the same bands Unisa and UJ print, and DBE's pass rules. This is an estimate, not an official result.

University mark to degree class

Final mark for a bachelor's or honours degree, %

Nuffic prints whole percentages, so a mark between two rows, like 74.5, takes the lower row here. How your university averages marks is not verified.

Every table on this page, with its source.

The NSC pass levels and each table below come from a page GradeCat opened on 4 November 2026, and say where they were checked.

NSC achievement levels

From Nuffic's page on South Africa. Unisa's FAQs and UJ's 2022 prospectus give the same bands. Status: confirmed.

NSC achievement levels with their percentages and Nuffic's descriptions
Level	Percentage	Description (Nuffic)
7	80 to 100	Outstanding
6	70 to 79	Meritorious
5	60 to 69	Substantial
4	50 to 59	Adequate
3	40 to 49	Moderate
2	30 to 39	Elementary
1	0 to 29	Not achieved

NSC pass types

From the DBE's NSC Examinations page. Status: confirmed.

NSC pass types and what each needs
Pass	What it needs
NSC pass	40% or more in three subjects, one of them an official language at Home Language level, 30% or more in three other subjects, and full school-based assessment (SBA) evidence.
Higher Certificate pass	An NSC pass and 30% or more in the language of learning and teaching (LoLT) of the institution.
Diploma pass	An NSC pass, 30% or more in the LoLT, and level 3 (40 to 49%) or better in four recognised 20-credit subjects.
Bachelor pass	An NSC pass, 30% or more in the LoLT, and level 4 (50 to 59%) or better in four recognised 20-credit subjects.

The page does not say what a seventh subject needs, and it gives the percentages of levels 3 and 4 only. Nuffic gives the full scale above.

Life Orientation

Life Orientation is a 10-credit subject, so it is not one of the recognised 20-credit subjects, and it does not count toward the higher-education requirements. From Unisa's FAQs and Nuffic. Status: confirmed.

University degree classes

From Nuffic's page, for bachelor's and honours degrees. Status: confirmed as Nuffic's national summary. Each university sets its own rules.

Bachelor's and honours degree classes by final mark, in Nuffic's summary
Class	Final mark
First class	75 to 100
Second class upper	70 to 74
Second class lower	60 to 69
Third class	50 to 59
Fail	below 50

Status of each rule

Rules	As of	Status
NSC achievement levels	Nuffic, Unisa and UJ pages, opened 4 November 2026	Confirmed
NSC pass types	DBE page, opened 4 November 2026	Confirmed, with no rule for a seventh subject
Life Orientation credits	Unisa FAQs, opened 4 November 2026	Confirmed
University degree classes	Nuffic page, opened 4 November 2026	Confirmed as Nuffic's summary
School term and year marks	Not known	Not verified: DBE's promotion policy PDF could not be read
Distinction and cum laude	Not known	Not verified: no university's rule could be read
UKZN levels 1 to 8	Not known	Not verified: its page gives no table from percentages

Also for: United States (Grading Scale) · Pakistan (HEC Grading Scale) · India (10-Point Grading Scale) · Nigeria (Grading Scale and Class of Degree) · United Kingdom (UK Degree Classes and Grading Scale) · Australia (University Grading Scale) · Ireland (Leaving Cert Grading Scale) · Ghana (Grading Scale and Class of Degree) · Singapore (Poly and A-Level Grading Scale) · Canada (University Grading Scale) · Bangladesh (UGC Grading Scale) · New Zealand (NCEA and University Grading Scale) · Jamaica (UWI Grading Scale) · Uganda (Makerere Grading Scale) · Hong Kong (HKUST Grading Scale) · Nepal (NEB Grading Scale) · Kenya (KCSE Grading System) · Germany (Notenpunkte und Noten im Abitur) · Mexico (Escala de calificaciones en México) · Spain (Escala de notas en España) · Turkey (Lise puan ve derece tablosu) · France (Barème sur 20 et mentions du bac)

How NSC levels work

Each NSC subject gets a percentage and a level from 1 to 7: level 7 starts at 80%, and level 1 is 0 to 29%. Universities turn the levels or percentages into an admission point score (APS), each by its own rule. The APS Calculator works out the APS for Unisa, UP, UJ, Wits, UCT and NWU.

Worked example: a Bachelor pass

A made-up student from GradeCat's research: English Home Language 72%, Mathematics 65%, Physical Sciences 58%, Life Sciences 81%, Geography 69%, Afrikaans First Additional Language 74% and Life Orientation 83%.

NSC pass: English Home Language is at 72%, and all seven subjects are at 40% or more, so both NSC bars are met.
Language of teaching: English, at 72%, is over 30%.
Bachelor: all six subjects besides Life Orientation are at level 4 (50%) or better, and four are needed.

So these marks give a Bachelor pass, if the school-based assessment is complete. Their NSC levels are 6, 5, 4, 7, 5, 6 and 7.

Not verified yet

The seventh subject. DBE's page does not say what it needs for an NSC pass.
School term and year marks. DBE's promotion policy is a PDF that GradeCat could not read.
University rules. How each university averages marks, and its rules for distinction and cum laude: UCT's handbook could not be read, and UP's site could not be opened.
UKZN's levels 1 to 8. Its page gives no table from percentages to those levels.

Grading scale FAQ

What percentage is level 4 in matric?

50 to 59%, Adequate in Nuffic's words. A Bachelor pass needs level 4 or better in four 20-credit subjects.

What are the NSC pass levels?

From the lowest: an NSC pass, a Higher Certificate pass, a Diploma pass and a Bachelor pass. Each higher-education pass also needs 30% or more in the language of learning and teaching.

What is the pass mark in matric?

There is no single mark. An NSC pass needs 40% or more in three subjects, one of them a Home Language, and 30% or more in three others.

What level is 68%?

Level 5, which runs from 60 to 69%. Nuffic calls it Substantial.

Does Life Orientation count for a Bachelor pass?

Not toward the four 20-credit subjects a Bachelor pass needs, because it has 10 credits.

What mark is a first class degree?

75% or more on Nuffic's summary for bachelor's and honours degrees. Each university sets its own rules, so check yours.

Related tools and guides

APS Calculator: your APS for Unisa, UP, UJ, Wits, UCT and NWU, and your NSC pass.
Grade Calculator: a percentage from marks, like 45 out of 60.
All tools for South Africa

Printable chart

Print the NSC achievement levels chart on one page, or download it as a PDF. Charts for other countries are on the printable grading scale charts page.

Sources

Cite this page

GradeCat. (2026, November 4). NSC Levels and Grading Scale in South Africa. https://gradecat.com/za/grading-scale/

This is an estimate, not an official result. Your university or board decides the official one. Found a wrong result? Report it.