The period for online admission applications for Grades 1 and 8 has been extended to Wednesday, August 14.
This was announced by the Gauteng education department over the weekend.
The application period was initially scheduled to close on August 12.
The decision to extend the period is due to the State Information Technology Agency’s (SITA) upgrading its Data Centre infrastructure which necessitated a complete shutdown of the system on August 8.
MEC for Education Matome Chiloane said the shutdown hindered accessibility to the Online Admissions system. To ensure that all parents and guardians had sufficient time to complete their application process, an extension period was decided.
“We are excited to announce that as of August 9, a total of 768 666 Grade 1 and Grade 8 applications have been submitted for admission to the 2025 academic year.
“This reflects 11 991 more applications than the total of 757 075 applications received in 2023 for the 2024 academic year,” said Chiloane.
The MEC mentioned that parents and guardians who have already applied are reminded to submit certified copies of supporting documents to their preferred schools or upload them to the system by noon on August 21.
“A certified copy of the proof of home address is an essential document as it is used to determine placement and applicants who have not submitted or uploaded certified copies of proof of home address by August 21 would not have completed the application and therefore, will not be placed.”
He said applicants who uploaded or submitted fraudulent or invalid documents would forfeit placement.
Parents are urged to select a minimum of three and a maximum of five schools because selecting only one or two jeopardises the chance of their children being placed if their chosen school is full.
The department has identified several high-pressure areas where schools received an overwhelming number of applications that exceeded their capacity.
For Grade 1, Laerskool Akasia is currently sitting at number one with 1 418 applications for 240 spots.
For Grade 8, Hoërskool Langenhoven in Tshwane West is number one with 2 936 applications for 300 spots.
Chiloane said to assist high-pressure schools in accommodating more learners, the department will augment classroom space by providing mobile units and funds for schools to build additional classrooms themselves.
“We must emphasise that, with all these interventions, unfortunately, it will not be possible to accommodate all applicants to schools they prefer however, all applicants will be placed at schools with available space.”
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