Terms and Conditions
1. Please refer to the Western Cape Education Department’s (WCED) Policy for the management of admission and registration of learners at ordinary public schools and the National Education Policy Act, 1996 (Act 27 of 1996), as these are applicable regulations.
2. The meaning of “parent” or “guardian” is defined in the South African Schools Act (SASA), 1996 (Act 84 of 1996).
3. All communication will be directed to the person whose details are filled in as the primary parent/guardian.
4. The primary parent/guardian is responsible to ensure that all contact details provided is always correct and up to date.
5. The WCED cannot be held responsible for incorrect contact details provided by the parent.
6. In an event of a dispute as to who the primary parent/guardian is, the complainant must contact the nearest district office for assistance in resolving the dispute.
7. Any false or incorrect information submitted during the application process may result in the online application being rejected, and/or disqualified by the relevant school's governing body or the WCED.
8. Schools determine their own admission policy and parents/guardians must study the policy of the school, which is available at the school or on the school’s website, before applying.
9. The online application is subject to the school exercising and applying their admission policy.
10. The school makes the final decision whether the application is successful or not. The WCED is not involved in this decision-making process.
11. The WCED cannot guarantee placement at schools of choice.
12. GRADE R, 1 AND 8 APPLICATIONS:
12.1. Applications for Grades R, 1 and 8 open on 11 March and close on 15 April 2025.
12.2. The parent/guardian may choose to SAVE and RETURN to the application but must click SUBMIT before 15 April 2025.
12.3. Once the parent clicks on SUBMIT at the end, he/she will not be able to change the learner details such as the learner address.
12.4. All Grade 1 and 8 applications received from 16 April will be marked and processed as a LATE APPLICATION.
13. TRANSFER REQUESTS:
13.1. All applications for other grades (Grades 2−7 and 9−12) will be treated as a Transfer Request.
13.2. Parents must apply online for a Transfer Request during the application period.
13.3. Online transfers request applications will take place between 04−18 August 2025.
13.4. All transfer requests received from 19 August will be marked and processed as a LATE Transfer Request.
14. If the parent is unable to access the online system, the parent may submit a hard copy application on the WCED application or Transfer Request Form to the school of choice or nearest district office, where the request will be captured on the system.
14.1. The school / district / head office MUST issue the parent a receipt as proof of submission of the hard copy application.
14.2. Schools can only capture applications for their own school.
14.3. Districts will be able to capture applications and transfer requests for multiple schools.
15. TRANSFER REQUEST CONDITIONS:
15.1. Learners in exit grades (the highest grade in a school, excluding Grade 7) will be placed.
15.2. Transfers will only be considered where the learner has relocated, or the parent presents a serious case for consideration.
15.3. “Serious cases” are cases where the transfer is necessitated by considerations regarding the learner’s mental and/or physical well-being and/or directed by a court or the Department of Social Development.
15.4. Any other transfer request, where the learner is already enrolled at an ordinary public school, will be subject to availability at the requested school(s).
16. REQUIRED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION
16.1. Parents/Guardians MUST upload certified copies of the required supporting documents onto the system as part of the online application.
16.2. Certified hard copies of supporting documents must only be submitted to the school once the learner has been accepted and the parent/guardian has confirmed their final choice on a date to be determined by the school.
16.3. The application is INCOMPLETE until ALL the abovementioned supporting documents have been submitted to the school.
16.4. If the parent does not have any or all the required supporting documents, the parent must approach the South African Police Services for an affidavit in a form as near as possible to the WCED example labelled Annexure C. (See the resources section of the admissions website), to provide reasons why the documentation is not available.
17. LIST OF DOCUMENTS
17.1. The last official school report card/results of the learner, if the learner attended a school previously.
17.2. Proof of residence (municipal/rates account/lease agreement/affidavit confirming residence).
AND
17.3. Immunisation card (Road to Health Chart) of the learner (applicable to primary schools only).
AND
17.4. Identity document/birth certificate/passport of the learner.
OR
17.5. Birth certificate/passport of the learner.
OR
17.6. In the case of foreign learners, a copy of parent’s asylum seeker or refugee permit on which the learner’s name should appear.
OR
17.7. If the learner was not born in SA, an asylum seeker or refugee permit issued in the learner’s name.
OR
17.8. If the learner of foreign parents was born in SA: A handwritten Birth Certificate (DHA 19 form).
OR
17.9. An affidavit from SAPS if any or all the abovementioned documents are missing.
18. ACCEPTANCE OF PLACEMENT
18.1. The order of priority of the applications is important.
18.2. In the case that the learner is accepted at more than one school and the parent/guardian has not indicated their final decision and confirmed by 17 June (Gr R, 1 & 8) and 30 September 2025 (transfer requests), the first school where the application was successful, as ranked by the parent/guardian, will be activated automatically. All other successful applications will be removed to prevent applications blocking places at schools.
18.3. Grade R, 1 and 8:
18.3.1. Parents/Guardians must confirm acceptance of placements at schools between 30 May and 17 June 2025.
18.3.2. After 17 June 2025, parents/guardians will only have three additional days to accept a placement at a school.
18.4. Transfer Requests:
18.4.1. Parents/Guardians must confirm acceptance of the placement at schools between 17 and 30 September 2025.
18.4.2. After 30 September 2025, parents/guardians will only have three additional days to accept the placement at a school.
18.5. Parents can confirm on the system directly or contact the school of their choice or their nearest district office on any of the contact numbers provided on the website.
18.6. In the case that all the applications have been unsuccessful, and the learner/s has/have not been accepted at any school where they have applied, the WCED may be contacted to assist parents/guardians to find an available placement.
19. PROCEDURE FOR LATE APPLICATIONS
19.1. In the case that a parent/guardian is unable to apply on time, the parent/guardian/caregiver MUST:
19.2. STEP 1: Contact their nearest school or district office for assistance.
19.3. STEP 2: Complete and submit the WCED application form to the school they wish to apply to or their nearest district office.
19.4. PLEASE NOTE:
19.4.1. The application cannot be processed without the completed WCED application form.
20. PLEASE NOTE
20.1. Schools may NOT use their own application forms or any other hard copy or online system to capture or process applications. (ONLY the WCED application form may be used).
20.2. Schools may not request any additional information which is not in line with SASA, BELA or any other applicable regulation or WCED official process or procedure outlined in a circular.
20.3. The WCED does not accept any liability for incorrect information captured/uploaded on the WCED’s School Admissions Management Information (SAMI) system.
20.4. Parents/Guardians MUST print and keep a copy of the online application for their own records.
20.5. Parents/Guardians must check the admission policy of the school/s they are applying to BEFORE submitting their application.
20.6. Schools MUST indicate on the WCED’s SAMI system whether there are any outstanding documents that the school will need to process the application.
20.7. Submission of an application to a school/s does not guarantee a place at the selected school/s.