Storm damage keeps 21 Western Cape schools closed on Wednesday
27 September 2023
Our latest updated information indicates that 249 schools in the Western Cape have been affected by the storms over the weekend.
39 schools were closed on Tuesday, and this was reduced to 21 schools on Wednesday, with the vast majority as a result of access roads to school being blocked.
This morning I visited Franschhoek High School, which has been closed since the weekend’s storms. There is currently no water or electricity supply to the school, and substantial flooding to the access roads, making it impossible for 650 learners to attend school.
While other schools are open, many have reported low attendance as learners struggle to reach schools in flood-damaged areas. Preliminary attendance figures indicate that 30.1% of our learners were not able to attend school on Tuesday, and 31.4% were not able to attend on Wednesday.