Below are the phases of GDE Admissions Phases. Admissions Calendar FOR GDE Admissions Phases.
| Start | End | |
|---|---|---|
| Application Period During this period, parents must apply to schools to admit Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners in the next year. Parents may apply to a maximum of 5 schools | 25 June 2026 | 25 July 2026 |
| Submission of Documents by Parents Within 7 days of making an application, parents must submit documents to all the schools that they have applied to. Documents can be uploaded onto the System to ONE school so that ALL schools can view OR parents may submit hard copies of documents to ALL the schools they have applied to. | 25 June 2026 | 31 July 2026 |
| Verification of Documents Schools will verify all documents submitted for authenticity. Parents who uploaded documents that could not be verified may be requested to submit hard copies to the schools. Note that the proof of residence is very important to determine the placement of the learner. | 25 June 2026 | 13 August 2026 |
| Waiting List Management Schools submit Waiting Lists to District Offices from 31 July 2026 to 13 August 2026. Districts Quality assure all schools’ Waiting Lists to ensure compliance with Admissions Regulations from 3 August 2026. | 3 August 2026 | 30 September 2026 |
| Placement of Learners by Schools During this period, parents will receive offers of placement via SMS. Where spaces are available, parents may receive offers from all schools they applied to. The System will notify parents when there are no further offers available. Parents are advised to accept each offer within 7 days or will forfeit the offer. The latest offer accepted will cancel all previous offers | 1 October 2026 | 31 October 2026 |
| Placement of Unplaced Learners by Districts During this period, all learners who could not be placed at the schools that they applied to due to all spaces being filled or due to not meeting Admissions Criteria, are placed at schools with available space. | 23 October 2026 | 30 November 2026 |