Frustration mounts as Grade 8 pupil misses school due to placement delays

A Grade 8 pupil from Bothasig has missed nearly two weeks of the 2026 school year after failing to secure placement at any of the five schools her family applied to.

Her mother, Nicole Tudge, raised concerns about delays in the Western Cape Education Department’s (WCED) placement process.

She said her daughter has been left with no option but to attend Bothasig High School, a school that was not among their preferred choices and which only opened in January 2022.

She maintains that the school was never included in her top five applications and that the late offer has caused significant emotional distress for her child.

According to Ms Tudge, she submitted her daughter’s Grade 8 applications on March 16, 2025, via the WCED’s online admissions system and lodged appeals for each of the five schools on August 6, 2025. 

The schools that they applied to were Fairbairn College, Milnerton High School, Edgemead High School, Bosmansdam High School, and Tygerberg High School.

Ms Tudge said she visited the district office on December 9, 2025, and again on Monday, January 12, where she waited for several hours and was repeatedly told to wait for the first week or first ten days of the school term for assistance.

During one visit, Bosmansdam High School was added to her application list, and an official issued her a reference number.

By Tuesday, January 27, the tenth school day had passed without any feedback, placement confirmation, or direct communication from either the department or any of the schools. 

As a result, the pupil has missed 12 school days, including academic instruction, inter-school activities, sports events, and what her mother describes as “the first joyful moments of high school that can never be recovered”.

The mother said the impact on her daughter has been severe.

“Emotionally, she has internalised this situation and believes she is not worthy or good enough. Her confidence and self-esteem have been damaged, and she constantly questions herself. Watching her peers start school while she remains at home has left her feeling excluded and distressed,” said Ms Tudge.

Academically, the delay has disadvantaged the pupil at the start of her high school career, Ms Tudge said. “She is eager to learn and capable, but she has already lost critical learning time through no fault of her own.”

“I am simply asking the department to be fair and to place my child appropriately,” she said.

“Every pupil has a constitutional right to education, and no child should be left sitting at home weeks into the school year after doing everything required of them.”

An email from the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) on Wednesday, January 28, confirmed that a placement opportunity had opened at Bothasig High School.

However, Ms Tudge was not keen on sending her child to the school, describing it as unsuitable for her child after months of uncertainty and emotional strain.

She said she is seeking placement at one of the schools she applied to or an appropriate alternative nearby.

WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond confirmed that the department is still addressing outstanding applications in high-demand areas.

She explained that the schools that Ms Tudge applied to were oversubscribed and could not accommodate all applicants.

Ms Hammond said the department had conducted its ten-day “snap survey”, which allows schools to deregister pupils who have not arrived without a valid reason, potentially creating space for new placements.

“As the tenth school day has now passed, opportunities for placement are opening,” said Ms Hammond.

She said that negotiations with school governing bodies are ongoing and that thousands of pupils have already been placed, although updated figures for unplaced Grade 8 pupils are still being verified.

She said accountability for delays rests with the department as a whole and cited infrastructure constraints, staffing requirements, budget limitations, and high volumes of late applications as contributing factors.

 The department also noted that schools, not district offices, make final admission decisions.

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