As schools prepare to close for the holidays Western Cape Education Minister David Maynier is reflecting on a year of remarkable achievements across the province.
“It has been a long and challenging year, but we have so many highlights to celebrate,” he said.
Schools close for learners on Wednesday 10 December and for teachers on Friday 12 December.
Central to this year’s success was the Western Cape Education Department’s #BackOnTrack programme, which helped 23 450 learners with extra classes, assisting learners who lost learning days during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Stellenbosch University found that learners participating in the #BackOnTrack programme have recovered up to 205 days’ worth of learning lost,” Maynier explained.
The programme also provided extra training for 2 483 teachers, while 21 700 matriculants participated in Winter School during the July holidays.
Building on this recovery foundation the department piloted its structured Mathematics intervention for the Foundation Phase in partnership with Funda Wande‘s “Bala Wande” programme, training Grade 1 teachers from 70 schools.
Through its Rapid School Build programme and private-sector partnerships through Edu Invest the province had expanded both public and independent school access.
The results of these educational investments were evident as students excelled across multiple fields. The province won the inter-provincial SASA Primary School Athletics Championships for the second year running, with learners receiving 88 medals. In July they were crowned overall winners of the Winter National School Sport Championships.
Students and teachers also brought home 14 awards from the fourth National Skills Competition in October.
Matching their students’ achievements, teachers received four National Teaching Awards, while the Western Cape swept 21 National Education Excellence Awards. The province dominated the Top Performing Public Ordinary School category with Hoёr Meisieskool Bloemhof, Rhenish Girls’ High School and Rustenburg Girls’ High School taking the top three positions.
The province also received four National Batho Pele and Innovation Awards, including recognition for teacher Sipho Manzini’s AI-powered WebAdmin platform and director of communications Bronagh Hammond’s service delivery excellence.
With schools now closing for a well-deserved break the Western Cape education system enters 2026 with strong foundations for continued excellence.
