A new high school in Kuils River has opened its doors for Phase 1 operations, accommodating around 240 learners across Grades 8 and 9.
In mere months, residents of Brantwood witnessed a school arise on a once-vacant plot between Valotta and Clivia avenues.
When TygerBurger first reported on the new school in October last year (“Nuwe skool in aanbou”, 22/10/2025)—soon after construction commenced—ward councillor Wouter de Vos noted that the erf had been earmarked for educational purposes for many years already.
At the time the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) said the date of opening was still under discussion. Construction was projected to be completed by April 2026 with an estimated budget of R70 million.
Education department spokesperson Bronagh Hammond then said the development plan includes 15 classrooms, making provision for approximately 550 learners.
While construction is still ongoing on site the WCED recently announced that Brantwood High School is one of two schools that opened in a phased approach for the 2026 school year.
Hammond explained that Phase 1 consists of six classrooms to accommodate Grade 8 and 9 learners only.
The school will be expanded in the second phase to accommodate the learners as they progress through the system.
“We expect enrolment to reach 120 in Grade 8, and 120 learners in Grade 9. The Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) is English and Afrikaans,” said Hammond.
Peter Goeiman has been appointed as Brantwood High’s curator principal for the school’s inaugural year. The rest of the current staff complement consists of one departmental head, five post-Level 1 teachers, an administrative clerk, a general foreman and a general assistant.
Hammond confirmed that construction teams worked throughout the school holidays to ensure Brantwood High was ready to accept its first learners at the start of the 2026 school year.
Placement pressure
According to the WCED there are around 1.2 million learners in the province’s schools this year.
Around 73 000 Grade Rs and 102 000 Grade 1s started “big school” on Wednesday 14 January. Another 97 000 Grade 8 learners entered high school.
The province continues to face increasing demand for places in schools but the WCED said the Rapid School Build programme continues to expand access to education in the province “at an incredible rate” to meet this demand.
Nine new schools that were opened in a phased approach have been fully completed for the 2026 school year. These schools are in Lwandle, Wallacedene, Blue Downs, Philippi, Tafelsig, Darling, Fisherhaven, and Plettenberg Bay.
Brantwood and Ilitha Park High School are the two new schools that opened in a first phase.
Additional brick and mortar classrooms have been added to 12 existing schools. In total, the province has added 175 new classrooms to the system the department stated. A further 21 classrooms are in construction by School Governing Bodies, using funding provided by the WCED.
The department said schools were able to order top-up textbooks in May 2025. Full delivery was completed by October 2025 at a cost of R58.7 million. Stationery for non-Section 21 schools, valued at R25.3 million, was delivered by November last year. An additional R31.6 million worth of school-related goods was delivered by December last year.
Admissions
The WCED said they will continue to work to place all children seeking a place in schools albeit a challenging task as hundreds of new applications are arriving each week.
The department appeals to any parent who has not yet applied to do so immediately at their district office.
Visit https://www.westerncape.gov.za/education/service/learner-admissions for details of district officials who can assist.
Parents should ensure that they provide accurate, current contact details so they can be reached when a place becomes available for their child.
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