Skrik-for-niks mom lands son in preferred school

A SKRIK-FOR-NIKS mom who fought for her son’s placement at Rocklands High School in Mitchells Plain has come out tops. 

Last week, Melissa Smith expressed her outrage on social media after her son, Tyrese, was not enrolled at the same high school as his older twin brothers and was set to attend Glendale High.

According to the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), the learner did not meet the academic requirements when applying at Mondale High School and that Rocklands High was oversubscribed.

Smith said her son would have had to travel more than two kilometres and that the family resided in Portland.

Her post on social media reached 3.9 million views.

On Friday, 16 January, Smith received the good news that her son had been accepted.

She wrote: “I was informed that Tyrese has officially been accepted at Rocklands High and will now be able to attend school with his twin brothers at Rocklands High School.

“I dropped to my knees and cried. I couldn’t even speak. This week has been a battle fought with tears, sleepless nights, fear, and pure desperation - not only for my child, but for every child placed far from home or left without placement at all.

“I was instructed to go to Rocklands High yesterday morning to complete the acceptance forms. WCED officials contacted the school, and I’m grateful that Principal Nekosi was understanding and obliged.

“Thank you to every single person who liked, shared, commented, tagged officials, and stood with me.”

Last week, the WCED revealed that over 7 000 learners in Grade 1 and 8 were to find placement.

Bronagh Hammond, Director of Communications for the WCED, confirmed that Tyrese had been placed but said it was due to two learner spaces opening up and cautioned parents to be patient during the placement process.

Hammond stressed that the admissions process involves responsibilities on the part of parents, including the submission of accurate information and honouring commitments made to schools.

“Regardless if the WCED builds 100 additional schools tomorrow, there will still be some schools which are more popular than others,” she added.

“The WCED strives to make every school the same standard of quality, but regardless, certain schools may be more popular than others, be it for their sports, culture, history, or academics."