The short answer
Mathematics and Physical Sciences are the two subjects that keep science, engineering and health-science degrees open. Life Sciences matters for the biological and medical routes. Choose them in Grade 10 — adding them later is rarely possible.
Science faculties have hard prerequisites. They are not negotiable at application, and they are set three years earlier, by a fourteen-year-old and their parent.
Work backwards, not forwards
The mistake is choosing subjects and then seeing what they allow. Do the reverse. Pick two or three degrees your child might plausibly want, find their published admission requirements, and build the subject list from those.
Requirements are expressed as subjects plus minimum marks — a subject at 40% often does not satisfy a requirement that specifies 60%. Read both parts.
The two gatekeepers
- Mathematics — not Mathematical Literacy. Effectively non-negotiable for engineering, the physical sciences, actuarial science, computer science and the health sciences. If this is in doubt, read Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy first, because nothing else on this page matters until it is settled.
- Physical Sciences — required for engineering, the physical sciences and most health-science programmes. This is the subject families most often leave out and most often regret.
The third choice
Life Sciences is the one to add for medicine, biological sciences, veterinary science, physiotherapy and related programmes. Some faculties require it; others merely recommend it. Check the specific programme.
A learner who takes Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Life Sciences together carries a heavy load. That is the right load for a child heading into a science degree, and the wrong one for a child taking all three “just in case”. Three demanding subjects done well beats three done badly, and universities look at the marks.
What people forget
- Languages still count. Home language and first additional language remain compulsory and carry admission points. A weak language mark can sink an otherwise strong application.
- Your admission score is not your best marks. Faculties usually calculate on a defined set of subjects, and Life Orientation is often excluded or weighted differently. Check how the specific university calculates.
- Some faculties require an entrance assessment in addition to results, with its own deadline, often much earlier than the application deadline.
A worked example
A Grade 9 learner wants to keep medicine and engineering both open. Working backwards:
- Medicine typically requires Mathematics, Physical Sciences and Life Sciences, usually at high minimum marks, plus an entrance assessment at several faculties.
- Engineering typically requires Mathematics and Physical Sciences at high minimum marks, and does not require Life Sciences.
The overlap is Mathematics and Physical Sciences; the difference is Life Sciences. Taking all three keeps both open, and is a heavy load. The real question is therefore not “which subjects?” but “can this learner carry three demanding subjects and still reach the minimum marks?” — because a learner who takes all three and scores 55% in each has kept neither option open. Two done well is a better bet than three done adequately.
Marks, not subjects, are what admission turns on. That is the sentence most families work out a year too late.
Timing through the phase
- Grade 9 — check the actual published requirements for two or three real programmes, and choose from those.
- Early Grade 10 — the last practical window to change a subject. Ask the school how long it stays open.
- Grade 11 — the marks that carry into provisional university applications are being earned now, not next year.
- Grade 12 — application and entrance-assessment deadlines fall well before final results. Diarise them in Grade 11.
If the choice was already made wrong
Speak to the school immediately rather than at the end of the year. Options are real but narrow: an early-Grade-10 subject change, adding a subject where the timetable allows, or completing the missing subject afterwards. All of them get harder every term you wait.
This article explains how FET subject choice works in general. It was written in August 2026 and is reviewed every six months. For the current position — dates, fees, availability and anything specific to your child — see Grades 10 to 12, or ask in the forums and a member of the team will confirm.