Led by a youthful Phanyaza Lesufi, the MEC who has made the introduction of technology into the classroom fashionable, Gauteng proudly sits at the top of the rankings in the 2018 matric results.

A huge investment into proper infrastructure for township schools and embracing the tools provided by digital technology have paid off for the most populous province in South Africa.

With 87.9% of learners who wrote matric in Gauteng having passed, the province sits at position 1, followed by the Free State with 87.5% and third position occupied by the Western Cape with 81.5%.

The most improved province was the Easter Cape which recorded a 5.6% improvement over the 2017 results which saw it that year languishing at its familiar bottom of the class, an improvement that took the perennial under-performer to 8th position in 2018 with 71.4%.

Limpopo swops places with Eastern Cape and has taken over the dubious honour of being the basement performer.