WCED receives record number of Grade 1 and 8 applications for 2025 school year

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) says it has received a record number of Grade 1 and 8 admissions applications for the 2025 school year

102 680 applications were received, by the time the 2025 admissions window closed at 23h59 on Friday. This is an increase of 5 936 on last year’s on time window, during which applications for 96 744 Grade 1 and 8 learners were received.

PICTURE: Pixabay

Education MEC, David Maynier, thanked parents who applied on time. Schools will have a little over a month to consider all the applications they have received, and parents will start seeing the outcomes of their applications online from 30 May 2024

‘’The date has been shifted by a day from 29 May 2024, in order to accommodate the public holiday for the general election. Parents are reminded that they do not need to drop off their certified hard copies at this stage. They will only need to do so once they have received an offer from a school and accepted the offer as their final choice of school.’’

‘’Parents must then accept or decline successful offers before 14 June 2024, and we encourage them to do so as quickly as possible. It is especially important for parents to confirm their choice of school speedily when they have received offers from multiple schools. These parents are essentially ‘double parking’ on the system, stopping schools from offering these places to other applicants until they make their choice,’’ added Maynier.

The MEC warned that if a parent has not confirmed their choice by 14 June 2024, the system will automatically confirm their top-ranked school that has made an offer.

‘’All other offers will then be removed, so that those places can be offered to other learners. Parents who do not receive an offer on 30 May 2024 should not be disheartened: places always open up as parents confirm their final choices. We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to place every learner whose parents applied on time as quickly as possible,’’ said David Maynier, Education MEC.

Maynier said that parents who missed the deadline can still apply for their child to be in Grade 1 or Grade 8, until 12 May 2024, but it will be considered as ‘late applications’. He further advised parents of Grade 1 and 8 learners who decide to relocate to the Western Cape after late online applications close on 12 May 2024, or who did not apply before this date for any other reason, will need to contact their district office for assistance as soon as possible thereafter.

‘’We urge parents not to wait until the last minute to apply,’’ said David Maynier, Education MEC.

Meanwhile, the window for Grade R applications and transfer requests for Grades 2 – 7 and 9 – 11 will run from 1 to 16 August 2024.

 

Done By: Mitchum George