Mathematics tops the list of matric exam anxieties, study finds
A study of public social media posts found Mathematics is the biggest source of exam pressure for 2026 matrics, ahead of Physical Sciences and Accounting.
Mathematics is the subject worrying this year’s matrics the most, according to research reported by The Citizen. The study was done by Teneo Online School and looked at how students talk about exam stress on social media.
The school reviewed 300 public posts on TikTok, Instagram, X and YouTube Shorts. They were collected over September and October 2026, as students prepared for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams and sat the first papers. Nearly half of the conversations were on TikTok.
What the posts showed
Mathematics made up 27% of the pressure-related posts. Physical Sciences followed with 19% and Accounting with 14%. Together, these three subjects accounted for about 60% of the posts and had the most anxious wording.
Over a quarter of the posts came from students hunting for past-paper memorandums, worked solutions or quick explanations. Roughly another quarter expressed distress, with messages saying they felt unable to cope.
The researchers pointed out that looking for past papers and memorandums is a sound way to revise, and that the posts do not measure cheating. They also warned that the sample covers only public posts, so it gives a rough picture rather than speaking for all matrics.
Link to recent results
The subjects causing the most worry overlap with those where results have slipped. In the 2025 NSC exams, the Mathematics pass rate fell from 69% to 64%, the biggest drop among the subjects in the analysis. Accounting declined from 81% to 78%, while Physical Sciences edged up from 76% to 77%.
The analysis could not show that online distress affects any individual student’s marks.
Tracey Clayton, who heads the further education and training phase at Teneo, said students who scramble for help just before a paper are not lazy. She said gaps had gone unnoticed for months, and called heavy last-minute help-seeking in Maths “a warning light, not a character flaw”.
What this means for families
- Official past papers and memorandums are available free on the Department of Basic Education’s website. Clayton suggests practising with them under timed conditions.
- She advises parents to help set up a study routine rather than repeatedly asking how much work has been done.
- Late-night scrolling for answers can cost students sleep they may need more than extra study time.
- For younger learners, the lesson is to spot gaps early, especially in Grade 10, because Maths builds on earlier work.
This story is based on reporting by The Citizen.
