Online school admissions for 2024 opened this month and the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has already received thousands of applications.
By 17:30 on Thursday 16 March the department had received applications for 40 694 learners for the 2024 school year. With parents applying for more than one school for their children, the total number of individual applications to schools received in the first four days of the applications window is 137 417.
The online application process will be open until 23:59 on Friday 14 April 2023. The online system is running smoothly, with a small number of parents experiencing technical glitches, the departement said. Parents/guardians can apply on its website and should apply to at least three schools and indicate their order of preference on the system.
According to the WCED, schools determine their own admissions policy, which parents must study before applying to them. Once you click on submit at the end you will not be able to change the learner details or selected schools. You may choose to save and return to the application, but you must submit before 14 April.
Applicants need the following certified documents for the process: . The last official school report card . 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 . A police affidavit if these documents are not available . Immunisation card (Road to Health Chart) [for Primary Schools only]. Proof of residence (rates account, lease agreement, an affidavit confirming residence).
The department arranged pop-up admission sites at shopping malls, schools and other facilities in all eight education districts, to help parents and caregivers who do not have access to internet facilities or need assistance applying online.
“We appeal to parents to ensure they apply on time, so the necessary planning can take place to further improve the placement process in our province,” the department said in a statement.
“The admissions process in the Western Cape starts in the previous school year so that we can obtain the necessary data to plan for growth in the demand for placement in certain areas.
“But every year thousands of parents do not apply for their children during the application period. For the 2023 school year we received nearly 28 000 late Grade 1 and 8 applications, which affects our planning processes and ability to place learners in time for the new school year.”
Parents and guardians can visit Avondale Primary from 09:00 to 15:00 on Saturday 8 April for assistance from the WCED team.. Information on how to apply, with step-by-step registration and application guidelines and videos are available on the WCED website:
