Gavin Kennedy Bryanston High School pre-admissions mailing list
This is the Grade 8 admission information page for the Top School in Johannesburg's northern suburbs.
You can now join the Grade 8 admissions information mailing list for 2025 (and beyond)

Hello to you and welcome to the start of your child's high school adventure.

My name is Gavin Kennedy, and together with June Corlett and Shernita Sumair, who head up our admissions team, we're going to do everything we can to help make this transition to high school as smooth and stress-free as we can.

Let me start by saying thank you for considering us as one of your options. This is one of those handful of 'big parenting moments' in life when we get to make an important choice in the best interests of our child and family. And as such, it should be taken seriously and considered diligently.

Some parents choose a school because their child's friends are going there, only for their child to make an entirely new group of friends within weeks of starting there. Some parents choose based on the school's academic track record, or sporting/cultural achievements. Others simply because it's the closest school. As with many things in life, there is no universally correct answer here. It's a deeply personal decision for each family and should be seriously researched and considered. And while your child's input is certainly important, the final decision should not be left 100% in the hands of a 12 or 13 year old. After all, would you give that same young person a blank cheque to go and buy your next car? Or home?

Our team has been assisting parents with admissions for many years now and one thing I can tell you for certain is that some aspects of the Gauteng Department of Education's (GDE) process change every year. As a result, over the coming weeks and months you'll hear stories and rumours and all sorts of misinformation - much of which will add to your stress and greying hair. Please, take a breath, stay calm, and ignore 'car-park skinder' and mischief - we've got this! We will keep you updated with information and key dates as we travel towards Grade 8 together.

Now, where to start?

Before joining our pre-admissions mailing list, it's important that you know a few fundamental things about our school:
  1. We are a Fee Paying School (as defined in Section 21 of the SA Schools Act) and all parents contribute. There is a common misconception that fee exemptions are covered by the State, but this is in fact incorrect. If it's a no-fee school you're looking for, please reach out to the GDE and ask them for your closest options. Bryanston High prides itself on its culture of payment and the SGB and SMT work tirelessly to ensure fees are kept as low as possible (read this article on fees and see how well we rank for affordability and low increase)
  2. Out First Additional Language is only Afrikaans so your child must have an Afrikaans mark on their Grade 7 report to be eligible for our school; and
  3. We expect you to get involved! If you think high school is dropping off your child at the start of Grade 8 and fetching them again at the end of Matric, then you're not going to enjoy our school. We expect your child (and you) to participate and get involved in many, many things. These next five years are going to just whiz by and should be filled with memory-making sport, cultural, and social activities. We want to see you shouting from the sidelines, singing along at the annual theatre production, helping out in the tuck shop, and joining the Special Functions Committee (SFC) or School Governing Body (SGB). Our school spirit is a reflection of our collective participation and best described as a bright burning #BlueFlame.
OK, that's probably a bit of an info overload right now? So, if you're still reading, and still interested, then please join our pre-admissions mailing list, it is really important that you do so with a personal email address. Please do not use a work email as our mails to @eskom @nedbak @discovery and many others are regularly blocked. Also, we know that parents change jobs during the process and then stop receiving updated information. So again, please use only personal email addresses.

Remember, preference is given to families who live in our Feeder Area (see GDE map) or attend one of our Feeder Schools. Other considerations include where you work and if you currently have a child in our school in Grades 8 - 11. See the detailed list below.

Please join our Facebook Page to stay connected and informed.




Grade 8 Admissions Process Calendar

The indicated months are estimated at this stage and will very likely change. We'll continually update this info as we progress so please bookmark and re-visit this page regularly.

Open Day & Tours
We know you want to visit and assess our school before making a decision, and rather than have only one Open Day each year, we're offering you your own 'Cruise around Bryanston High' where you can meet teachers, students and explore our amazing facilities. These tours are held weekly (usually in small groups with another family or two) and you can book yours with Bronwynne by dropping her a mail right now - BronwynneByrne@Bryanston.com
January Your child's last year of primary school starts - get involved and enjoy it :-)
February 8 Feb - Visit us at the Bryandale High School Expo (starts at the end of Bryandale's school day)
)March Waiting begins and our personal Open Day tours begin.
April Waiting continues (Open Day tours continue)
May Waiting continues (Open Day tours continue)
June This GDE link is the only place you can apply https://www.gdeadmissions.gov.za/
Applications open at 08h00 on the morning of ??????? 2024/??/??

Please download, print and Complete our Expression of Interest (EoI) form and gather together all your supporting documents (listed in the EoI).

Please take special note:
The GDE website may tell you you only need to upload a couple of documents online and you're done.
However, this is not correct. You are required to deliver physical, certified, copies to our school, together with the completed EoI form.

You can drop your completed documents at the main gate (after you've applied online) with our security team who are there 24/7.
July Applications close at midnight on ??????? 2024/??/??
You have seven days (from when you apply online) to deliver your supporting documents to our school.
Please download, print and Complete our Expression of Interest (EoI) form and gather together all your supporting documents (listed in the EoI).
NB! If you fail to meet the seven day deadline, your application will be deemed to have been withdrawn.
August Waiting, waiting, waiting (and yip, more tours)
September Acceptance offers from the GDE started going out from ??????? 2024/??/??
These offers EXPIRE after 7 days so don't delay in accepting if we're your school of choice.
These go out in batches until we are full.
Remember, there are several lists (see below) and they are processed in order.
October
AGM is held and next year's fees are approved.
Please plan ahead as you will make your first fee payment of R5,000 on acceptance before the end of October.

See more info on fees below.
November Join us for our info and welcome evening.
December Start the textbook, stationery and uniform buying adventure.
Take a holiday, enjoy the break :-)
January High School starts :-)

A few more important things for you to bear in mind:

The most important thing on this page is for you to 
join our pre-admissions mailing list now.
Once the application process has begun, visit here for documents to download and print.

While our team will work tirelessly to keep applicants updated and informed, please be aware that the actual applications and placements are managed by the GDE and not us at a school. It therefore remains your responsibility to ensure the GDE has your current cell phone number as they will primarily communicate with you via SMS. Once the process goes live, you should also regularly log into their website to check on your application status, particularly later in the year.

There are six different waiting lists and they are processed in the following order:
  1. Child LIVES inside the feeder area (it's not a simple circle around the school)
  2. Child has a SIBLING currently at our school (must be in Grade 8 - 11)
  3. Child attends a FEEDER SCHOOL (you'll see the complete list when you complete the form)
  4. Primary Parent (who the Child lives with) WORKS in our area
  5. Primary Parent (who the Child lives with) lives WITHIN 30 KM of the school
  6. Primary Parent (who the Child lives with) lives BEYOND 30 KM of the school
In other words, even if you're the very first person to apply, but you live 31 km away, your application will only be considered after all applications in the first 5 lists are processed. Similarly, even if you are the very last person to apply, but you live in the feeder area, your application will be part of the first batch to be processed.

While we offer a multitude of sports and extra-mural activities, some are only available outside the school at a local club, like showjumping and soccer for example.

If you have a specific query not dealt with above, please mail Admissions@Bryanston.com.

* Bryanston High remains the top GDE school in our district according to the department of education.
Fees, payment schedule, and up-front discounts

Please plan ahead as you will make your first fee payment of R5,000 on acceptance.
This amount is credited to your first year's fees.
Compare what some other GDE schools are charging (and their annual increases)

TL;DR
here is an indication of how hard our team works to keep our fees and increases as low as possible.


Here is a schedule of how fees work for your five years with us:

Pay early and save!
If you'd prefer to save time (and money) by paying your fees in advance, we have two very special offers for in-coming Grade 8s:

1) Pay in full before our AGM (usually held in September) and you'll pay this year's (2023) fees before any increase is applied.
2) Pay in full after the AGM but before 31 December and you'll take 5% off the new fees..

Ts & Cs:
These offers are for EFT payments only (i.e. no credit cards or cash)
The dates will be strictly enforced, miss the dates, lose the discount.

To take up this limited-time offer, please send us a mail now.







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