Thousands of Cape Town parents are battling to get their children into a public high school next year.
Spokesperson for Western Cape Education MEC Debbie Schäfer, Kerry Mauchline, says there are 59 761 Grade 7 pupils currently finishing their last year of primary school in public schools within the Cape Town metropolitan districts this year, and only 57 257 Grade 8 pupils who will potentially move up to Grade 9 next year.
Earlier this month thousands of parents in Cape Town received notification from the Western Cape Department of Education (WCED) that their child had not been granted a Grade 8 place in any of up to five schools they applied for, as all the schools were "oversubscribed".
One principal at a popular Cape Town public high school, who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to talk to the media, said the school had received more than 1 000 Grade 8 applications this year.
Wynberg Boys' High School and Wynberg Girls' High School have sent notifications to parents whose applications were unsuccessful, asking if they would be interested in having their children attend a new online school next year.
