- Papers
- 3,013
- Years
- 2014 to 2026
Set by the national and provincial education departments. Last updated .
Latest Grade 12 past papers
The most recent sitting we hold for each subject. Download the paper and its memo here.
Mathematical Literacy
September 2026 · Mpumalanga
Grade 12 past papers by subject
Every subject we hold for Grade 12, with the number of papers on each page.
Which exams Grade 12 writes
Papers here are grouped by sitting, so this is what each one means. Pick a year to see every subject for that exam on one page.
What matric year asks of you
The November papers are the National Senior Certificate exams. Every matric in the country writes the same paper on the same day, and nothing else you write this year counts for as much.
The September exams, which most schools call the trials or the prelims, are set to look like the finals. Write them the way you would write the real thing and the finals will not feel new to you.
Start with the newest November paper and work backwards. Papers from the last three years were set by the same examiners who set yours, and how they word a question matters as much as what it is about.
Grade 12 past paper questions
Where can I get Grade 12 past papers?
On this page. Every Grade 12 paper here is free, comes as a PDF, and was set by the Department of Basic Education or a provincial education department. Most come with the memo.
What are the NSC exams?
The National Senior Certificate exams, written in October and November. They are set nationally, so every matric writes the same paper on the same day, and they decide your matric result.
What are the trials or prelims?
The preparatory exams written in September. Your province sets them and they are built to look like the finals, which makes them the closest practice you can get to the real thing.
How many past papers should I write before the finals?
Fewer, written properly, beats many read through. One paper written in the real time limit and marked against the memo shows you more than five you skim. If you write the last three years of November papers and mark every one, you will know exactly where you stand.
Do past papers help me get a Bachelor pass?
Indirectly, and that is rather the point of them. A Bachelor pass is decided by your subject results against the NSC pass rules, so the only thing that moves it is your marks. Writing past papers under exam conditions and marking them honestly against the memo is the most reliable way to find where those marks are going. What the universities then do with those marks, and the APS they add up to, is on our APS calculator.
What is the Feb/March exam?
The supplementary exam, for candidates rewriting a subject after the November finals. Those papers are here too, and they are useful practice whether or not you are rewriting.
Had enough for now? Try today's puzzle.
Sixteen things you have been taught hide four groups of four. Four tries, about two minutes, and one group is always a trick.
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