Admission Policy

Bergvliet PS

BPS ADMISSION POLICY

Bergvliet Primary school is a public, co-educational school. We strive for respect for all cultures and  beliefs. Bergvliet Primary sees itself as a community school, situated within a residential area and interacting with its community. The SGB of BPS has considered the rules and regulations of the National Education Department (DoE) and Western Cape Education Department (WCED), as well as the history of Bergvliet Primary School (BPS) and our country, and have determined the following criteria for admission to the school.

For clarity, these are not ranked in any way and a potential applicant will have to meet the majority of the criteria.

Parents who, due to unforeseen circumstances, find themselves in the difficult position of not being able to pay the full monthly school fee amount should please make written application for a partial Exemption of Fees via the school fees exemption form as soon as possible for review by the Governing Body. Please send a letter requesting an application form, letters to be addressed to the Bursar. Applications for exemption should be made each year – there is no carry-over from the previous year. All applications are treated in the strictest confidence, but are only considered if there is full disclosure.  Once forms are completed and returned a one-on-one interview will be set up with a member of the Governing Body.

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ADMISSION CRITERIA

Criteria One: Language of Instruction

The SGB of BPS has, in its language policy, determined that the school will be a single medium school and that the language of instruction will be English (Section 6/2 of SASA). Accordingly, learners admitted to the school will need to be sufficiently proficient in English so as not to prejudice their academic progress.

Criteria Two: Age of Admission

Preferred age of admission for placement in Grade R will be learners aged 5 (five) turning 6 (six) by 30 June in the year of admission.

A learner will be given preferential consideration for admission to Grade 1 at BPS if he/she will turn 7 (seven) by 31 December of his/ her Grade 1 year. In order to adhere to the prescribed age-grade norms the following statistical age norm per grade will be calculated by adding the grade number plus 6 (six).

Criteria Three: School Feeder Zones 

Learners residing within five kilometers {5km} will be considered for placement, for whom BPS is the nearest primary school to their own domicile (place of residence). That means the shortest distance by public road from the applicant’s domicile to the nearest entrance to the school grounds. The onus of proof of residence at said address lies with the applicant and documentary corroboration will be required to support an application:

  • Title Deed confirming ownership of property
  • Lease Agreement (sole), permanently and continuously occupying and  length of

Criteria Four: Grade R Continuity 

Learners admitted into a Reception Grade class at BPS are accepted on the understanding that they will continue into Grade One without any further application being necessary. However, in exceptional/certain circumstances a further interview may be required to validate/ratify this decision.

Criteria Five: Siblings

Applicants who are siblings of current learners, even though BPS may not be the nearest ordinary primary school to their domicile, may be considered for placement  ahead of learners with no family connection to the school.

Criteria Five: Past Learners

BPS has deep roots in the community, having been established in 1950. Children whose parent/s were past learners of BPS may be considered for placement ahead of learners with no family connection to the school.

Criteria Six: Place of Work

Learners whose parents’ place of work is within the feeder area and who attend this place of work on the majority of the working days, Monday to Saturday, may be considered for admission.

Criteria Seven:

If any vacancies remain after applicants fulfilling the above criteria have been accepted, a child who is not permanently resident in the school’s feeder zone, will be granted admission at the discretion of the Principal and School Governing Body.

Criteria Eight: Capacity at school

The capacity of the school shall be limited to

Grade R:  Three classes of a maximum of 82 learners in total

Grade 1–3 and 5-7: Three classes of a maximum of 31 learners in each class

Grade 4: Four classes of a maximum of 23 learners in each class

In reaching a decision on this figure the SGB has taken into account all relevant factors including, but not limited to:

8.1 The number of available teachers;

8.2 Teachers’ space requirements including areas for their administration to be carried out;

8.3 The number of designated, suitably sized classrooms;

8.4 The need of space for Sports, Learning Support, and Cultural programmes and activities to take place;

8.5 Provision of continued space for the already existing rooms/areas used for: a Library, Computer Room, Music Rooms, Art and Technology rooms, Sports Store, Administrative stores, Clothing store, After-care facilities/multipurpose centre and a school hall;

  • The need to support the educational process by providing designated and exclusive space for:
  • The management and administration of the school
  • A staffroom and conference room

8.7  The educational needs, safety and well-being of the learners are of paramount importance in determining the capacity of the school. The playground area can only accommodate 760 learners during break times.

8.8   The composite of the school complement is as follows:

Grade R:  Three classes of a maximum of 82 learners in total

Grade 1–3 and 5-7: Three classes of a maximum of 31 learners in each class

Grade 4: Four classes of a maximum of 23 learners in each class

Admissions Policy

The Governing Body reserves the right not to accept a learner should they feel that the school does not have the capacity to accommodate for the specific educational needs of that particular learner, whose needs may be better served in a [more suitable] school structured to serve [their] specific specialized educational needs.

If the application is accepted and placement not taken up, the parent will need to reapply in the following year.

The presence or absence of any of the abovementioned factors is not a guarantee of acceptance to or exclusion from BPS.

If BPS is not your closest school, it is imperative that you make application to other schools.

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