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 nearest district office may be contacted for assistance in the event of a dispute as to who the primary parent/guardian is,
5. 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.
6. The WCED cannot guarantee placements at schools of choice.
7. Schools determine their own admission policy and parents/guardians must study the policy of the school, which is available on the school’s website, before applying.
8. The online application is subject to the school exercising and applying their admission policy.
9. The school makes the final decision whether the application is successful or not. The WCED is not involved in this decision-making process.
10. Grades 1 and 8 applications
10.1 Applications for Grades 1 and 8 open on 11 March and close on 12 April 2024.
10.2 The parent/guardian may choose to SAVE and RETURN to the application but must click SUBMIT before 12 April 2024.
10.3 Once they click on SUBMIT at the end, they will not be able to change the learner details such as the learner address.
11. Grade R: The online application period for Grade R is 01−16 August 2024.
12. Transfer requests: (Grades 2−7 and 9–12) ─ Hard copy application. Submit this directly to the school/district office.
12.1 All applications for other grades (Grades 2−7 and 9−12) will be treated as transfer requests.
12.2 Transfers requests/applications will take place between 01−16 August 2024.
12.3 These requests (Grades 2−7 and 9−12), must be submitted as a hard copy application on the WCED Transfer Request Form. This, plus the supporting documents, must be submitted to the school of choice/nearest district office, where the request will be captured on the system.
12.4 Schools will only be able to capture requests where a parent/guardian wishes the learner to transfer to that specific school.
12.5 Districts will be able to capture transfer requests for multiple schools.
12.6 PLEASE NOTE: Transfers will only be considered where the learner has relocated.
12.7 Learners in exit grades (the highest grade in a school, excluding Grade 7) will be placed.
13. Required supporting documentation
13.1 Parents/Guardians MUST upload certified copies of the required supporting documents onto the system as part of the online application.
13.2 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.
13.3 The application is INCOMPLETE until ALL the relevant supporting documents required by the WCED have been submitted to the school.
14. List of documents
14.1 The last official school report card/results of the learner, if the learner attended a school previously.
14.2 Identity document/birth certificate/passport of the learner; OR
14.3 Study permit issued by Department of Home Affairs (DHA) in case of foreign learners OR
14.4 and if a study permit is not available, proof of application to the DHA or a police affidavit may suffice.
14.5 Immunisation card (Road to Health chart) of the learner (applicable to primary schools only)
14.6 Proof of residence (municipal/rates account/lease agreement/affidavit confirming residence)
14.7 In a case when the parent/guardian/ward does not have the required documents, then they can contact the district office who will them what to do.
15. Please Note:
15.1 The WCED does not accept any liability whatsoever for incorrect information captured/uploaded on the WCED’s School Admissions Management Information (SAMI) system.
15.2 Parents/Guardians MUST print and keep a copy of the online application for their own records.
15.3 Parents/Guardians must check the admission policy of the school/s they are applying to BEFORE submitting their application.
15.4 Schools may not request any additional information which is not in line with the SASA.
15.5 Schools may NOT require parents/guardians to use the school's or any other hard copy or online system to capture or process applications.
15.6 Schools will indicate on the WCED’s SAMI system whether there are any outstanding documents that the school will need to process the application.
15.7 Submission of the online application to a school/s does not guarantee a placement at the selected school/s.
16. Acceptance of placement
16.1 The order of priority of the applications is very important.
16.2 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 14 June 2024, 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.
16.3 Grades 1 and 8
16.3.1 Parents/Guardians must confirm acceptance of placements at schools between 30 May and 14 June 2024.
16.3.2 After 14 June 2024, parents/guardians will only have three additional days to accept a placement at a school.
16.4 Transfer/Grade R applications
16.4.1 Parents/Guardians must confirm acceptance of placements in Grade R or at schools between 17 and 30 September 2024.
16.4.2 After 30 September 2024, parents/guardians will only have three additional days to accept the placement at a school or Grade R.
16.5 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.