This paper investigated and identified first-year Mathematics Education prospective teachers’ errors
patterns on Grade 12 algebra and functions. The research focussed on a sample of (n=63) first-year Bachelor of
Education (BEd) Mathematics Education prospective teachers. The prospective teachers wrote mathematics tasks
selected from past National Senior Certificate Examinations. Prominent errors that the prospective teachers still
make on high school mathematics tasks were identified. The research found that most errors prospective teachers
made were conceptual. Prospective teachers also showed that in the main they did not understand mathematical
notation and terminology. The research recommends that error analysis be central to a bridging course for firstyear
Mathematics Education prospective teachers to develop conceptual understanding which was identified as the
main source of errors in this report.