Pretoria - Some Grade 12 learners, who wrote today's Physical Science Paper 2, have expressed mixed feelings about how the exam went.
Speaking to BuaNews after the paper, learners at Mamelodi schools were glad Physical Science was over.
Jocobina Ledwaba, 17, and her friend Mapelo Makgopa from Mamelodi High School said the paper was easier than the preliminary exam paper but more difficult than last year's final exam paper.
"It was not bad. I was so nervous thinking that it would be difficult like the one we recently wrote during trial exams, but I'm sure I [got] more than 60 percent," said an elated Ledwaba, who is planning to study Bio-Medical Technology at Tshwane University of Technology.
Makgopa attributed her confidence about today's paper to the study camps held by the Gauteng Department of Education to help learners catch up on their studies.
"They helped a lot in preparing us on how to answer certain questions, which confused us most of the time," said Makgopa.
However, Musa Ngobeni, 18, and his schoolmate Koketso Kgosana, were not as optimistic and felt that Paper 1 was far better than Paper 2.
"I came out smiling after writing Paper 1 but today I'm not happy at all. Although I answered all the questions, section B was very challenging," said Ngobeni.
Kgosana said he was not expecting anything more than 50 percent but hoped that he had done well in other subjects.
"If we didn't attend the catch up programmes and write trial exams, things would have been more difficult for us. The trials prepared us [well]... because they were so difficult, especially Mathematics," said Kgosana.
For Anna Maepa, who is writing supplementary exams, the paper was much better than the one she wrote last year.
"I failed last year, but this year I'm confident because I came in more prepared and know what to expect... I'm not expecting to get 70 percent but I'll definitely pass this year," said Maepa, aged 22.
More than 642 000 candidates enrolled for this year's National Senior Certificate Examinations, which will be completed on 03 December 2010. The results will be announced on 06 January 2011.
