- The Western Cape Department of Education is urging parents to accept placement offers for grade 1 and 8 learners quickly.
- This as many learners are “double-parked” meaning they have received offers from multiple schools which limits offers for other learners.
- Parents have until 14th June to confirm placement of their children.
The Western Cape Department of Education says that its online admissions system for learners looking to start grade 1 and grade 8 next year has now closed. Parents who applied on the system are starting to receive placement offers this week for learners in local schools.
Schools in the province have apparently been applying their admission policies over the last few weeks to determine successful applicants based on their capacity for 2025. On the outcomes portal, available here, parents can now expect to see the list of schools applied to and their application outcomes.
Parents must now confirm their places, with the department urging them to do so as soon as possible.
“We appeal to parents to confirm their places as soon as possible, as this will free up places for other learners. This is especially important when a learner has received offers from multiple schools. Once these ‘double parked’ learners are confirmed to a specific school, the places at the other schools can be offered to other learners,” it says in a statement.
It adds that it is aware that some learners may have been unsuccessful in getting placed during this first phase.
“We know that this is extremely stressful and disappointing, but we appeal to parents to bear in mind that we are still very early in the admissions process, and thousands of places will still open up,” it adds.
This is because “thousands” of grade 8 learners are double-parked, ie they have been accepted by multiple schools at the time time. The department expects over 30 000 spaces to become available when many of these learners have confirmed their schools of choice.
“This happens over the next few months or so as schools finalise their admissions lists. If parents still do not have a place for their child later this year, the Department will assist them with placement options,” it says.
Parents have until 14th June to confirm offers for their children.
Over 90 percent of admissions for grades 1 and 8 learners were placed online in the Western Cape, showing the successful implementation of a digital system. There are still provinces in South Africa that are yet to implement an online admissions system for learners, which increases the time for admissions and could lead to learners not being placed.
