If your child is going to Grade R (primary school) or Grade 8 (high school) next year, check this page for details on how and when to send your school application, province by province.

School enrolment dates apply to first time Grade R, 1 and 8 learners, and those moving schools.

We’ve put together need-to-know learner registration dates for the coming year.

Parents whose children will be entering or changing schools must apply this year, and it is crucial to make sure your child is registered by the stipulated dates to ensure his or her placement in the appropriate grade next year.  

Being on top of school applications dates apply to first-time Grades R, 1 and 8 learners, and those moving schools in 2025/2026. 

Children entering Grade R next year must be 4-to-5 years old by June, and children entering Grade 1 must 5-to-6 years old by the same date. 

Meet Bongani and Mbali. Two robots built by 9 school pupils involved in the robotics course of the Melisizwe Computer Labs Project in Johannesburg.

The deadlines for the Free State, Gauteng, Northern Cape, and the Western Cape have already been reached.  

The application process

Depending on your location, you may be able to apply to a school either online or manually at the school itself.

All Gauteng applications are handled centrally via online applications. 

Introduced this year, the Western Cape Education Department’s WCED Online Admissions Pilot Project has been made accessible to 350 Western Cape schools. The project is being tested this year and will be applied across the province in future. You can follow this link to see which Western Cape schools are using the online application system this year: wcedonline.westerncape.gov.za/admissions

Parents based in other provinces must complete application forms at the school/s of choice and the following documents will be required. 

For SA citizens: 

• Birth certificate
• Immunisation card
• Transfer card/letter (for those children moving schools both within or outside the province)
• The last school report card for learners who have been to school (if moving school or applying to Grade 8)

For foreign citizens:

• A Home Affairs issued a Study Permit 
• Temporary Or Permanent Residence Permit

Registration dates:

Since learner registration dates vary from province to province, here we’ve rounded up the application dates of each provincial department. 

The dates for a number of provinces are not yet available but we’ve listed the last known dates to give parents an idea of when learner registration will take place. 

*We’ve contacted each department to inquire about school enrolment dates and will be updating this story with the details as soon as we receive a response. For now, we listed last year’s school application dates for an indication of time period.

Eastern Cape

Opening: 1 August

Closing: 31 October

Free State

Opening date: 1 April

Closing date: 31 July

Gauteng 

Opening: 13 May

Closing: 15 July

KwaZulu-Natal 

Opening: 2 April

Closing: 20 September

Limpopo 

Opening: 1 August

Closing: 31 October

Mpumalanga

Opening: 2 May

Closing: 30 August

Northern Cape 

Opening: 13 May

Closing: 7 June

North West 

Opening: 8 April

Closing: 30 August

Western Cape 

Opening: 15 February

Closing: 15 MarchADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

• How to Apply for SITA Learnership Programme
• Department of Employment and Labour Vacancies
• CSD registration: Step-by-Step Guide
• Apply to ICASA Vacancies 2025/2026
• ICASA Vacancies 2025/2026 Application Form Portal
• Department Of Correctional Services Vacancies Application