The window for parents and/or guardians to submit applications to public schools in the Western Cape, for children to enter Grade 1 and 8, has closed.
Now, the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has begun processing the thousands of applications it received, via the online platform created and implemented for this specific task.
According to the Department, application processing began from 17 April 2023, and will end on 19 May 2023. Parents and/or guardians will receive the outcomes of their applications from 29 May 2023 until 2 June 2023, however this will only be confirmed as the date approaches.
The WCED strongly encouraged parents and/or guardians to apply on time, reminding them that the process does not work on a "first come first serve" basis.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has published the time frames for admissions widely and on numerous platforms. The admission process does not work on a “first come, first served basis”, nor does it allow for schools to determine successful or unsuccessful applicants until school admissions close on 14 April 2023.
MEC David Maynier noted that since the official application period has closed, schools will have just over a month to consider all the applications they have received.
Parents are reminded that they do not need to drop off their certified hard copies at this stage. They will only need to do so once they have received an offer from a school and accepted the offer as their final choice of school.
Once parents receive acceptance offers, they are required accept or decline the offers and should do so as quickly as possible.
If no offer is confirmed, the system will automatically confirm the top-ranked school that has made an offer and remove the rest so those places can be offered to other potential learners.
Furthermore, parents who do not receive an offer for school placement should not be disheartened, noted the Department, as more places will open up once parents have confirmed their final choices.
“We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to place every learner whose parents applied on time as quickly as possible.”
Every year, South African schools struggle to successfully place all learners for the following academic year, which often results in learners missing out on learning and important tests, which counts towards their end-of-year marks, as the year progresses until they can find a place in a school.
The deadline for all late applications will be Thursday, 25 May 2023. Parents and guardians can visit the WCED website to apply.
