Schools close for learners on Wednesday, 10 December 2025, and teachers will head off for a well-deserved break from Friday, 12 December 2025.
It has been a long and challenging year, but we have so many highlights to celebrate.
Our #BackOnTrack programme to reverse learning losses continued to go from strength to strength this year. This year, the programme made extra classes available to 23 450 learners in various grades, and extra training to 2 483 teachers. We had 21 700 matrics attending Winter School during the July holidays, to give them the best possible chance of achieving a matric pass and moving on to their future careers.
The University of Stellenbosch found that learners participating in the #BackOnTrack programme have recovered up to 205 days’ worth of learning lost during the Covid-19 pandemic. The extra training for Grade 4 and 7 teachers was also accredited by the South African Council for Educators earlier this year, so the training counts toward participating teachers’ Continuing Professional Development credit requirement.
We piloted our new structured Mathematics intervention for the Foundation Phase, training all Grade 1 teachers from 70 schools and providing their classes with Maths kits and workbooks. The intervention will be progressively rolled out to all Grade 1, 2 and 3 teachers, to build a stronger foundation of basic numeracy for every child in these grades.
New schools and classrooms have been built at an incredible rate through our Rapid School Build programme, and contractors will continue to work to ensure that projects scheduled for completion will be ready in time for the start of next year. We have also secured private sector investments establishing new independent schools with the help of Edu Invest, powered by Wesgro. This means that both the public and the private sector are expanding access to education, creating new school places for learners in our province.
Our learners achieved big wins on the sports field, with the Western Cape winning both the SASA Primary School Athletics Championship, and the Winter National School Sport Championships. Our learners and teachers also brought home 14 awards from the National Skills Competition, demonstrating excellence in skills vital to the growth of our economy.
And our teachers and officials shone on the national stage, receiving four National Teaching Awards, 21 National Education Excellence Awards, and 4 National Batho Pele and Innovation Awards!
We appeal to members of the public to keep a close eye on their local school during the holiday period. While we are providing holiday security to 439 schools in high-risk areas, the most effective deterrent to criminals is a vigilant community. Please report any suspicious activity to SAPS immediately!
We wish our learners, teachers and parents a peaceful and relaxing festive season. We look forward to welcoming you all back to school in 2026 for an exciting year ahead!
Media Enquiries:
Kerry Mauchline – Spokesperson to Minister David Maynier
Email: Kerry.Mauchline@westerncape.gov.za
Follow Minister Maynier’s WhatsApp channel for more news and updates:
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbAQKqO2f3EHitqE5n28
Social media:
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Insta – davidmaynier
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