Matric Exams Are Coming, Your Childs Vision is Not the Limit of their Future

This is one of the most anxious times of the year for Grade 12 families. For parents of learners who are blind or partially sighted, the questions go further than marks:

Will the paper be in Braille or the right enlarged print?

Will extra time, a reader, a scribe, a computer, or a quiet venue actually be there on the day?

You are not powerless in this season.

Here is what helps.

Lock in accommodations now — do not assume they will appear.

Ask the school, in writing, what has already been approved for the NSC: Braille or large print (often Arial 14, 18 or 24, sometimes yellow paper), extra time, adapted papers (graphs and pictures described in words), reader, scribe, computer or screen reader, separate venue, rest breaks, and any assistive device they already use.

DBE guidance typically allows extra time of up to 30 minutes per hour for blind learners and 15 minutes per hour for partially sighted learners (some Grade 12 cohorts still write under older “double time” arrangements — confirm your child’s letter).

If anything is missing, escalate through the school-based support team and the district. October is too late to start.

Practise the exam the way they will write it.

Past papers in the same format they will receive. Same font size. Same software. Same extra time. Same rest breaks. Familiarity lowers panic more than extra hours of cramming.

Protect energy, not only content.

Visual fatigue and anxiety steal marks. Build in rest for the eyes, movement, sleep, and a simple daily routine. Let them name the fear. You do not have to fix every feeling, you only have to stay steady beside it.

Make study material actually usable.

Reach out early to Retina South Africa if you need any support.

Accessible notes beat “trying harder” with a format that does not work.

You have already walked a long road with this learner. These last weeks are not about proving they belong. They already do. Your job is to make the system meet them where they are.

If you are a parent in this season: you are not alone. If you are an educator or employer reading this: accommodations are not a favour. They are how we stop wasting talent.