The Achievements module allows your school to issue certificates to learners, usually at the end of each term. This article covers the full process from first-time setup through to verifying that a printed certificate shows the correct learner and mark. Work through the steps in order, because each one depends on the ones before it.
My School > System > Achievements
Unusually for d6, this module is not built from the top of the menu downwards. Setup begins with the certificate template and works through criteria, wording, allocation and printing.
A new school opens the Achievements module to find no linked categories, criteria, or wording and achievements. Reset to Clean loads d6's default templates, criteria and wording so you are not starting from an empty screen. After the reset you will see default achievements already linked to each certificate, driven by the supplied criteria.
Schools cannot perform this themselves. The button is not available to schools. Email support@d6plus.co.za and a support agent will run the reset for you.
Reset to Clean cannot be undone
The system warns that it will override all existing setup with the default achievements and certificates. There is no way to reverse it.
Do not reset a school that already has a working setup. If a single criterion or one certificate type is not generating, fix that item instead. Reset to Clean is for first-time setup at a new school only.
Sponsors: companies that sponsor your school or a particular award. Add them here and the name can print onto the certificate.
Achievement types: the type of award you are issuing. A voucher is one example, useful where a learner receives credit at the school tuck shop or clothing shop. The value is stated later, under Wording and Achievements.
The defaults cover most academic awards. Add your own types for anything extracurricular. The question mark icon on each screen opens the relevant how-to guide.
Criteria decide which learners qualify. Click Add New and give the criterion a clear name, for example Top 10 learners in Term 2. The question mark icon opens a manual of formulas many schools use. If you need a criterion that is not in the manual, email support@d6plus.co.za.
Demographic roles: untick female to award male learners only, or untick male for female only. Leave both ticked to grade everybody together.
Ethnic group: works the same way, but is normally left unchanged.
Learners with special needs: schools with both mainstream and ASN learners can choose whether to include them. This is entirely at the school's discretion.
Absent learners: also at the school's discretion. Many schools exclude them, on the basis that an averaged mark is not fair to learners who wrote the test.
Move only the subjects that form part of the average to the right. Leave any subject that is not part of the average on the left.
This matters: a subject on the right that should not be there will be included in the calculation, and learners taking that subject will receive a position based on the wrong set of subjects.
Ticked: gives the average the learner achieved overall, producing a top 10 per grade.
Unticked: gives a top 10 per subject.
The dropdown offers preset formulas, but these are based mainly on end-of-year promotion marks. To build a termly top 10 by hand:
Start with the less than or equal to sign. This always comes first, and produces two columns.
Select Positioning Grade.
Select Round, and set precision to 2. Precision means the number of decimal places.
Select the term, for example Term 2.
In the value after the sign, enter the number of learners you want, for example 10 for a top 10.
No year appears yet because no allocations have been made. This is correct.
Optional results are the extra values that print on the certificate, such as the position and the average.
Position: Round, then Positioning Grade, then the term. Set precision to 0, because a position has no decimals.
Percentage: Round, then Average, then the term twice. Set precision to 2.
The term is selected twice because you want that term's marks only. Selecting a different term in the second position calculates the difference between the two terms instead.
School activities are the certificate titles, in other words what the certificate is for. A school running both CAPS and Cambridge can add Cambridge Curriculum here. Activity order controls the order in which a learner's certificates print. Sports, Culture and Leadership have their own default lists, and you can add to any of them.
Wording and Achievements is the heart of the certificate. It holds both the wording and the links that pull learners onto the certificate.
Achievement category: for example Academics, for automatic allocation.
School activity: as set up above.
Achievement type: from the list in Step 2.
Achievement criteria: the criterion built in Step 3.
Sponsor: optional.
Achievement name: for example Term 2 Top 10.
Certificate template: the template to link it to.
Both the Afrikaans and English blocks must be completed, even if your system runs in one language.
Insert the optional results from Step 3 into the wording to produce text such as learner achieved 93.59% and placed 8 in Term 2. Note that the insert button produces the number only, so type the percentage sign yourself. Copying wording between blocks works, but you must delete and re-insert the tokens afterwards.
Open Certificate Templates, double-click your template and click Format. You can choose portrait or landscape, A4 or A5, upload a background, change the wording of Certificate awarded to, and adjust font sizes and alignment. If your background already carries the school name and logo, untick that option so they do not print twice.
Leave the defaults for now. Generate the certificate first, then adjust the layout once you can see the result.
Then go to Allocations > Automatic Allocations:
Select the correct year, and the date you are generating for.
Move only the criteria you need to the right. Moving everything at once takes considerably longer to generate.
Click Allocate.
Open the achievement and expand the arrows to review which learners were allocated.
The review list is in alphabetical order, not in order of position. This is normal.
If it says 0 achievements were allocated
This means there is a problem with the setup, not with your learners. Check three things: the certificate template, whether Wording and Achievements is set up correctly, and the formula on the criteria.
Go to Print > Print Certificates.
Check the year. It defaults to the current year.
Choose whether to print by register class or print all.
Click Generate.
The certificate shows your school name and logo, Certificate awarded to, the learner's name and grade, and the achievement wording from Step 4. Where a principal's signature has been uploaded, the signature box is ticked by default.
If the date does not align with the signature, adjust it in the certificate template setup and generate again.
Before certificates go out, check them against the Top Achievers report at Reports > Learners > Marks and Achievements > Top Achievers.
The report settings must match your criteria exactly, or the two will not agree:
Grade and learner type: the same as the criteria.
Percentage rather than best improved, for a top 10 by average.
Top: the same number of learners.
Decimals: the same precision you set, for example 2.
Absentee learners: the same choice as the criteria.
Subjects: only those forming part of the average. A subject that is not part of the average will cause discrepancies between the report and the certificate.
Terms: move only the term you used. Two terms calculates a difference.
Generate the report and compare the names, percentages and positions against the certificates. If the first learner on the report matches the certificate showing first place with the same percentage, your setup is correct.
There is a problem with the setup rather than with the learners. Check the certificate template, whether Wording and Achievements is complete, and the formula on the criteria.
Schools do not have access to it. Email support@d6plus.co.za and a support agent will run the reset for you.
No. It overrides all existing setup with the defaults and cannot be reversed. Never reset a school that already has a working setup.
The review list displays alphabetically, not by position. This is normal and does not indicate a problem. The positions print correctly on the certificates.
Ticked, it gives the learner's overall average and produces a top 10 per grade. Unticked, it produces a top 10 per subject.
Because you want that term's marks only. Selecting a different term in the second position calculates the difference between the two terms instead of the average for one.
The report settings almost certainly differ from the criteria. Check that the grade, number of learners, decimals, absentee setting, subjects and terms are identical in both. The most common cause is a subject included in one and not the other.
The insert button places the number only. Type the percentage sign into the wording yourself, immediately after the inserted value.
Last updated: September 2026 | Version 1.0