Hoër Meisieskool Bloemhof in Stellenbosch has maintained its place among South Africa’s top-performing public schools, with its 2025 matric class averaging 3.63 distinctions per learner, Cape {town} Etc reports.
The historic Western Cape school received the top-performing Quintile 5 public high school award at the Department of Basic Education’s National Education Excellence Awards in both 2024 and 2025, according to BusinessTech.
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Bloemhof’s 2025 matric class achieved 508 subject distinctions and a 100% pass rate. A total of 96% of candidates obtained university exemption, while 55 learners achieved an overall A average.
More than half of the class, 55.7%, earned at least four A symbols, with the overall grade average reaching 75.4%.
The results followed another strong performance in 2024. All 142 matric candidates passed, with 141 achieving a bachelor’s degree pass. The class recorded 583 subject distinctions, averaging 3.82 per candidate.
The school also topped the Solidarity Support Centre for Schools’ rankings of Afrikaans schools, which measure distinctions per candidate. Schools must meet specific Afrikaans language requirements to qualify.
A history spanning more than 150 years
Founded in 1874, Bloemhof is South Africa’s oldest Afrikaans-medium girls’ high school. The school initially taught in English before Afrikaans became its language of instruction in 1925.
It moved to its current premises in Stellenbosch in 1960 and remains a Quintile 5 public school under the Western Cape Education Department.
According to the Western Cape Education Department, public schools are classified into quintiles, with Quintile 5 generally associated with schools serving more affluent communities.
Bloemhof’s latest results add to its longstanding academic reputation in the Western Cape, following a third-place national finish among leading Quintile 5 public schools in 2023.
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