The admissions window for the 2025 school year opens in just a few days’ time.
Applications for Grade 1 and 8 open at 00:01 on Monday 11 March and close at 23:59 on Friday 12 April.
This year this first admission window caters for applications for Grade 1 and 8 only.
Parents who wish to apply for Grade R or a transfer between schools in Grades 2 to 7 and Grades 9 to 12 will be able to apply in the second admissions window between Thursday 1 and Friday 16 August.
The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) appeals to all parents and guardians with children entering Grade 1 and Grade 8 next year to please start gathering and certifying the necessary documentation required for their applications, so that they are ready to apply when the admissions window opens.
The following certified documents will be required for all applications:
- The last official school report
- Proof of identity: ID, birth certificate, or passport of the learner; In the case of a foreign learner – a passport, or a study permit or proof of application for a study permit, or a copy of the parent’s Asylum seeker or Refugee Permit; Police affidavit if these documents are not available.
- Immunisation card (Road to Health Chart) [Primary Schools only]
- Proof of residence (rates account, lease agreement, an affidavit confirming residence)
Getting the necessary certified documentation together in advance will make the online application process a lot easier. Once you have them in your possession it takes roughly 15 minutes to apply and load the documents online.
You can certify copies of your documents at any police station or post office. Keep these copies together as you will need to submit the hard copies later this year to the final school your child is accepted at.
For more information on the admission process, visit https://wcedonline.westerncape.gov.za/admissions.
When visiting the site please also take note of the venues that have been made available across all education districts to provide support to parents and guardians who do not have access to internet facilities or need assistance applying online.
The WCED has arranged pop-up admission sites at more than 120 sites, which include shopping malls, schools and other facilities, in all eight education districts. Diarise the dates for the most convenient facility near you.
The department would like as many parents and guardians as possible to apply on time, so it can use this data to plan ahead and further improve the placement process in the province.
While the WCED had a setback last year with the cuts to its infrastructure budget it is delighted to have recently received an additional provisional allocation of R2,549 billion to its Rapid School Build programme. This provisional allocation over three financial years is a massive vote of confidence by National Treasury for its Rapid School Build programme and will be used to build new schools that will expand the number of school places available in the Western Cape.
So Don’t Wait! Prepare your admission documents today!
