Apply now: Gauteng opens online admissions for next year’s Grade 1 and 8

Chiloane

Johannesburg – Online school admissions for Grade 1 and Grade 8 officially opened on Thursday, 24 July 2025, with the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) launching its online application system for the 2026 academic year.

Gauteng MEC for Education, Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Matome Chiloane, activated the system at the Ga-Rankuwa YMCA in Tshwane, marking the beginning of the application period for parents and guardians with children starting Grade 1 or Grade 8 next year.

According to the department, more than 40,000 parents were already in the online queue by the time of the launch.

Applications will remain open until 29 August 2025, and the MEC assured the public that past system issues had been resolved.

“We’ve also improved our system. It can now take up to 50,000 applicants per minute. So it will not crash. All parents will be able to apply,” Chiloane said.

To assist those unable to access the online system independently, the GDE has opened multiple decentralised walk-in centres across all regions in Gauteng. These centres are equipped to help parents complete their applications on-site.

In Tshwane, support is available at centres such as the Soshanguve and Temba Resource Centres, Wonderboom Junction Mall, Mamelodi Teachers’ Centre, and others across the North, South, and West regions.

Ekurhuleni walk-in centres include sites in Benoni, Kempton Park, Germiston, Tembisa, and the Infinity Office Park in Meyersdal.

In Johannesburg, parents can receive assistance at locations including Muzomuhle Primary in Diepsloot, Lenasia South Secondary, Bree Primary in Mayfair West, and Waverley Girls High.

In Sedibeng, centres are operating in Sebokeng, Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging, while in the West Rand, schools like Fochville Secondary and Diphalane Primary are supporting applications.

The department dismissed claims that walk-in centre locations had not been communicated timeously, stating that the information had been made available and there was no reason for parents to be “left in limbo.”

The GDE urged all parents and guardians to submit their applications early and reminded them: “Apply online. Apply on time.

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