{"id":294747,"date":"2025-11-19T12:01:31","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T10:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/?p=294747"},"modified":"2025-11-19T12:01:50","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T10:01:50","slug":"cape-town-school-defies-city-closure-order-to-finish-academic-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/cape-town-school-defies-city-closure-order-to-finish-academic-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Cape Town school defies City closure order to finish academic year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>CAPE TOWN-<\/strong>An eight-year-old school in Ottery hopes to complete its academic year<br>amid an ongoing battle with the City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last month, Otters Creek Junior School (OCJS) on Serissa Street was instructed by the<br>City to cease operations by Tuesday 11 November (\u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/families-plead-for-otters-creek-junior-schools-survival-amid-zoning-battle-with-city\/\">Future up in the air<\/a>\u201d People\u2019s Post 28 October).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the facility remains operational despite exceeding last week\u2019s deadline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"680\" height=\"382\" data-attachment-id=\"294748\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/cape-town-school-defies-city-closure-order-to-finish-academic-year\/58e37f23-7293-4f89-8d71-80b0be3d7e4d-3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/58e37f23-7293-4f89-8d71-80b0be3d7e4d.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"680,382\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"58e37f23-7293-4f89-8d71-80b0be3d7e4d\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Otters Creek Junior School (OCJS) on Serissa&lt;br \/&gt;\nStreet. PHOTO: SUPPLIED&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/58e37f23-7293-4f89-8d71-80b0be3d7e4d.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/58e37f23-7293-4f89-8d71-80b0be3d7e4d.jpg\" alt=\"School\" class=\"wp-image-294748\" srcset=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/58e37f23-7293-4f89-8d71-80b0be3d7e4d.jpg 680w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/58e37f23-7293-4f89-8d71-80b0be3d7e4d-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Otters Creek Junior School (OCJS) on Serissa Street. PHOTO: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Administrators fight to complete the year for distressed learners and families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Founder and managing director of the school Yomna Allie told<em> People\u2019s Post<\/em> they are determined to defend learners\u2019 rights to complete their education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>OCJS specialises in supporting children with learning disabilities through individual attention and small-class instruction, making the closure particularly devastating for families relying on specialised educational services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The school operates three campuses serving different age groups: a baby centre for infants<br>under two, pre-primary for ages two to six, and junior school for Grades 1-7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur last day was meant to be Tuesday 11 November, but we are continuing to allow our learners to complete their academic year. It\u2019s their right and we must defend that right,\u201d Allie said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It has been an eight-year struggle for municipal compliance that began when Allie purchased the property in 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>People\u2019s Post<\/em> spoke with fellow parents, Waybah Phillips and Nazreen Sonday, to hear<br>their thoughts on the school hoping to finish the academic year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sonday said her 10-year old son is one of the special needs learners at the school. \u201cI\u2019m blessed and grateful. No further comment at this stage,\u201d Sonday said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Phillips said her children are neurodiverse and require small classes with lots of individual attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe school is busy with exams and will finish the academic year,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>People\u2019s Post<\/em> asked the City to comment or explain its next step, considering that the deadline for the school to cease operation had elapsed, the municipality responded with the same comment they issued prior and did not wish to elaborate further on the matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CAPE TOWN-An eight-year-old school in Ottery hopes to complete its academic year<br \/>\namid an ongoing battle with the City.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":294748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"30","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"30","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaeikestadnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"2","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_yoast_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This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cape Town school defies City closure order to finish academic year | People&#039;s Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/peoplespost\/cape-town-school-defies-city-closure-order-to-finish-academic-year\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cape Town school defies City closure order to finish academic year\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CAPE TOWN-An eight-year-old school in Ottery hopes to complete its academic year amid an ongoing battle with the City.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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