The above graph shows the relative proportions of school enrollment across the different school grades (years). It was permissible to leave school at the end of Standard 8, and you can see from the graph that there is a relatively consistent level of attendance up to that level. What is also clear is that a high proportion of students continued on to take the final Standard 10 matriculation exam. Note that opportunities for further education also gave impetus to White children staying in school for Standards 9 and 10.
The South African education system was based on end-of-year exams and assessment. If you passed the exam you could move up a grade in next school year. Only a few White children failed end-of-year exams and needed to re-sit school grades (remember, the quality of education was significantly better for Whites), and so the graph here is also representative of pupil ages.
