Parents up in arms over Cape Town high school operating without registration

Parents have been left scrambling to find new schools for their children for Grade 11 Term 4 and the 2026 matric year after learning that the high school at Growing Minds Summerfield Campus in Gardens is being phased out despite having operated without official registration since 2022.

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) said when they became aware of the issue, the school was approached to register accordingly. 

A parent said her son started at the school in his grade eight year. He is now in Grade 11 and, together with four other classmates, had been severely impacted when they found out they would not be able to matriculate at the school in 2026 as planned. 

Parents said they learned the news at a meeting in July. 

The high school had been operating since 2022, however the school only had registration to teach pupils from grades one to grade seven. 

According to parents, their children were also not registered on the Centralised Education Management Information System (CEMIS), the official learner database used to manage admissions, process applications, and track learner movement and performance across the education system.

“This is a school in Barnet St in Gardens, for those who learn differently or have academic or emotional challenges. We were promised so much and you'd think that for R10 000 a month school fees, the director would engage with the parents as a group and discuss. Nothing. We are frustrated and angry and cannot believe that (they) can get away with this. The teens deserve so much more,” a parent said.

Subjects were also allegedly offered under both the CambriLearn and CAPS curricula from Gr 10 onwards, two systems with different exam boards. According to parents, learners cannot be enrolled in both simultaneously, but the school director reportedly failed to inform them of this.

The parents said they had approached the WCED, calling for action to be taken against the director.

Growing Minds Summerfield campus director, Denise Pape said the high school campus will only be closing at the end of the year and the “phasing out” reference is in terms of not taking on any new pupils in the high school grades. 

"The four Grade 8 pupils along with the one Grade 9 pupil and five Grade 11 pupils are certainly not 'scrambling' and will be accommodated in other schools from January 2026 if they don’t enrol sooner. The high school parents were all informed in September that the high school would be closing at the end of 2025 and we are in the process of assisting the parents with other schooling options."

Pape maintained the school was registered from Grade R to Grade 11 and all pupils have CEMIS numbers.

"The pupils are all registered for CAPS and receive in person tutoring, with Cambrilearn online content as an added benefit, paid for by the school, in order to be able to accommodate effective tutoring for some elective subjects," Pape said. 

"The high school has grown organically over four years adding a Grade each year and we have decided now that our focus should be on the junior grades where we are able to make the most positive impact with the aim of reintegrating the pupils into a mainstream environment for high school. Furthermore, with only eleven high school pupils, it isn’t financially viable to continue with the high school beyond 2025."

The WCED said they were attending to parents’ queries.

“The independent school was registered in 2018 for Grades R to 7, and when the department became aware in 2024 that the school was operating for Grade 8-11 learners also, the school was required to register accordingly. The department is currently attending to the queries of the parents. Parents are encouraged to apply for another independent school or for a public school (public school applications are made through the district office).

“We encourage all parents who are considering an independent school to first ensure that the school is registered for the grades offered, and to do thorough due diligence before enrolling their child. (Please see attached checklist for parents),” WCED spokesperson, Millicent Merton said. 

Cape Times