Reporter – George April
St Helena Bay:- The high school education crisis on the West Coast is worsening by the day, and frustrated parents say the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) can no longer remain silent.
Last week, Laingville residents in St. Helena Bay took to the streets for the third time to demand a local high school. Their calls come after it was revealed that from three Grade 8 classes at St. Helenabaai Primary, only six learners were accepted for 2026 at the four high schools in Vredenburg.
Local GOOD PR councillor Thyrone Williams has placed the blame squarely on the WCED and the DA government, saying they are failing the children of Laingville and the broader West Coast.
But the crisis extends beyond Laingville. In Hopefield, at least five buses filled with children from surrounding towns travel daily to Hopefield High School, since other schools are already overcrowded. This pressure leaves Hopefield’s own children sidelined, forcing many to seek placement as far away as Vredenburg, Moorreesburg, Malmesbury and even Porterville – where children are only transported on Mondays and Fridays.
For parents unable to afford transport or boarding, it means their children are simply left without schooling, left wandering the streets.
The community’s anger is growing, as seen in the strong reactions to the crisis on social media:
Chris West: “DA must fall in Western Cape – they oppress the coloured child. They must fall.”
Pietie Antonie: “They only want our votes to stay in power. They are the cause why we destroy each other – they made this system.”
Carl Peter Housamer: “Thyrone Williams, it’s time we show this government what the GOOD party is all about.”
Apostle John Joseph: “They (DA) really must leave, because there are no changes whatsoever they promised… DA must fall, I stand in agreement.”
The issue has been raised repeatedly with the WCED, but communities say there is still no concrete plan on paper to resolve the crisis.
Residents warn that without urgent intervention, the West Coast is at risk of losing an entire generation of young people whose futures are being taken away by a lack of access to education.
The WCED has not been asked for comment this time.
