Online Reporter
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
A TOTAL of 1 336 candidates who sat for the November 2025 Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (Zimsec) Ordinary Level examinations obtained 5As and above – with St David’s Bonda Girls’ High School emerging as the best-performing school with 104 candidates achieving the sterling performance.
Fellow Anglican Diocese of Manicaland-run St Faith’s High School redeemed itself from a dint in A-Level performance, this time coming second with 93 candidates obtaining 5As and above.
One of St Faith’s High School learners scored a massive 20As – the only such high flyer in Manicaland Province.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Mutare-run institutions weighed in third, fourth and fifth position, respectively, with Kriste Mambo having 88 candidates with 5As and above, followed by its sister Mutare urban mega day school, St Dominic’s High School, which had 79 candidates with 5As and above, while Nyanga High School had 66 candidates obtaining 5As and above.
A snap analysis of the 2025 Ordinary Level results revealed that boarding schools outshone day schools, with the former having 863 candidates attaining 5As and above, which constitutes 65 percent of the total number of candidates obtaining 5As or better.
Chief Director of Provincial Education Services for Manicaland, Mr Richard Gabaza, whose title recently changed from just Provincial Education Director, said boarding schools draw their strength from offering a broader curriculum.
“The O-Level results are showing us that boarding schools are the only category producing top-end excellence. All candidates with 13 to 20As are from boarding schools, and the reason is that they offer a broader curriculum. They also have the advantage of better continuity of learning time. We also noted that there is a strong examination culture in top-performing schools,” said Mr Gabaza.
Urban schools had 175 candidates attaining 5As and above, making up 13 percent of the total number of candidates attaining 5As and above.
Mr Gabaza attributed their achievements to tight parental supervision.
“Urban schools also have reasonable performance up to 9As and above. They have benefited from parental supervision as well as easier teacher access and obviously the advantage of urban learning exposure,” said Mr Gabaza.
The Manica Post also understands that parents of day school learners often supplement their children’s education with extra lessons, a practice that has significantly enhanced performance at these schools.
This additional support helps bridge gaps in understanding, reinforces concepts, and boosts learners’ confidence.
As a result, day schools are able to leverage these extra efforts to improve overall academic outcomes, allowing their learners to compete more effectively with their boarding school counterparts.
By investing in extra lessons, parents contribute to a more level playing field, enabling day schools to achieve notable successes despite resource disparities.
Rural and peri-urban schools had 188 candidates attaining 5As and above, constituting 14 percent of the total number of candidates with 5As and above.
Mr Gabaza said one of the reasons rural schools continue to show improvements in their performance is that they have smaller cohorts as well as focused teacher attention.
“It is worth noting that rural schools are the most efficient producers of minimum qualifications despite minimum resources. Rural schools showed strong performance at five to 6As, and one of the reasons is that they have smaller cohorts as well as focused teacher attention,” he said.
Private schools had 110 candidates obtaining 5As, constituting eight percent of the total number of learners attaining 5As and above.
Mr Gabaza attributed the achievement to smaller classes in private schools.
“Private schools performed better in producing 12As and above, and this is because of smaller classes. They also showed an improvement in tightening registration and inspections compared to previous years,” said Mr Gabaza.
Ends
