Parents upset over school’s rejection
A Mitchells Plain family are upset that their daughter has not been accepted at the local high school. Picture supplied
A Mitchells Plain family are upset that their daughter has not been accepted at the local high school of her choice despite her high marks and close proximity to the school.
Eugene and Chavonn Jacobs said they applied to enrol their daughter Ce-Jay, 13, into Grade 8 at Mondale High School but after writing the admissions test she was rejected.
Chavonn says: “We applied to four schools on the day the applications opened and we were told that three of the schools were full while she had to write a test for Mondale.
“We were happy because that was our preferred school but when she wrote the test, it was filled with stuff that she did not know.
“Ce-Jay only gets sixes and sevens on her reports and has a lot of science and maths achievement certificates, but she did not know the work until she started learning it at her school a few weeks later.”
Chavonn says she appealed to the school along with a letter from Die Duine Primary School, explaining the situation.
“We made a second appeal along with Ce-Jay’s reports and certificates but I do not think Mondale even looked at that appeal,” says the Portlands mother.
“We have also been in constant communication with the district, who informed us that Portlands High accepted her.
“That was one of the schools that said they were oversubscribed, so how come they now accepted her?”
Western Cape Education spokesperson Bronagh Hammond says the department has received the Jacobs’ complaints and is dealing with them.
“Mondale is a Maths, Science and Technology school and therefore the school is within its right to administer admission tests in addition to applying their admission policy.
“The school received 2815 applications, accepting 276,” she added.