Western Cape parents who have received more than one offer for their child in Grade R, 1 or 8 in 2026 have until Tuesday, 17 June, to confirm their school of choice.

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) said that parents who have been offered a place for their child must confirm their choice of school by 17 June 2025, and after tomorrow, their highest-ranked choice of school will be automatically confirmed.

The WCED had previously said that over 44,000 learners have been accepted to more than one school, allowing for additional places to open up for other learners who have not received successful applications at schools, or at their school of choice.

“We call these ‘double parkers’. Once these ‘double parked’ learners are confirmed to a specific school, the places at the other schools can be offered to other learners.”

On Sunday, Education MEC David Maynier said: “After Tuesday, the online admissions system will auto-confirm their top-ranked choice of school, freeing up thousands of remaining places for other parents.

“Schools will continue to fill remaining places until the end of July.”

While the online admissions system is now closed for Grade R, 1 and 8 applications, parents can still apply for 2026 by applying either at one of the WCED’s Education District offices or at a school. 

The schools can capture an application; however, this does not confirm acceptance.

On Monday, Maynier’s spokesperson, Kerry Mauchline, said that the number of learner applications they are currently dealing with is 57,000 for Grade R, 24,000 for Grade 1, and 93,000 for Grade 8.

The WCED explained that there will be learners who are not successful in getting placed during this initial phase. 

“We know that this is extremely stressful and disappointing, but we appeal to parents to bear in mind that we are still very early in the admissions process, and thousands of places will still open up once ‘double parkers’ accept their school.”

Parents have been advised to stay in touch with the schools they applied to and to request that the learner be placed on a waiting list.

“While the wait is stressful, there will be many shifts within the system as parents confirm and decline places. This happens over the next few months or so as schools finalise their admissions lists. If parents still do not have a place for their child later this year, the department will assist them with placement options.”

Parents can please call 0861 819 919 for further advice if required. Parents will be able to check their outcomes at:  https://admissionswesterncape.datafree.co/admissions/admission.sm_admissions_tracking.homepage

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