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By Charmaine Ndlela
Learners from Ndamase Senior Secondary School in the Eastern Cape and Kopanong Senior Secondary School in Mpumalanga have been named joint winners of South Africa’s 14th Annual National Schools Moot Court Competition.
The final round of the competition was held on Sunday at the Constitutional Court in Braamfontein.
The two teams argued before Constitutional Court and High Court judges in a mock appeal that tested their understanding of constitutional rights and the limits of language-based school admissions.
The 2025 case centred on the fictional learner Thando Khumalo, a gifted 12-year-old denied admission to two Afrikaans-medium high schools because she was not fluent in the language.
Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Andries Nel, delivering the keynote address, praised the finalists as “constitutional custodians of tomorrow”.
He said the competition had evolved into “a national movement” since its launch in 2011 and had already produced lawyers, magistrates, activists and public servants across the country.
“You have not merely studied the Constitution; you have interrogated it and wielded it with conviction,” Nel told the courtroom.
“The Constitution is not something abstract and theoretical, but has a very real and very direct impact on the daily lives of people.”
More than 900 Grade 9 learners entered this year’s competition, which began eight months ago with essay submissions. From 180 teams that qualified, 36 reached the national rounds, culminating in Sunday’s final before Chief Justice Mandisa Maya and Gauteng Acting Judge President Audrey Ledwaba, and others.
Professor Tshepo Madlingozi of the South African Human Rights Commission opened proceedings by thanking the Departments of Basic Education and Justice for their long-standing partnership.
“It has not been easy, yet we persevere because we believe deeply in the cause of growing the next generation of social justice and human-rights warriors,” he said.
He hailed all four finalist schools – Brebner High (Free State), Kgomotso High (Northern Cape), Ndamase Secondary (Eastern Cape) and Kopanong Senior (Mpumalanga) – for their dedication.
Johanna Mashego of Kopanong Senior Secondary was named Best Oralist of 2025, while Ndamase’s Asisipho Sebeni and Sandisiwe Nompetsheni impressed judges with their arguments on equality and education rights.
Nel said the learners’ submissions showed “intellectual rigour and moral clarity”, invoking precedent and the Bill of Rights to defend inclusivity in schools
He linked the moot’s theme to the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act, describing it as “an act of transformative constitutionalism” that promotes multilingualism and strengthens accountability. “Robust debate, public participation and active citizenry are features of a healthy democracy,” he said
Nel also urged ongoing investment in teacher development, curriculum reform and technology to build an education system that is “future-ready”.
“Education is not just a policy – it is a promise,” he said. “A promise to every learner that their potential matters; a promise to every teacher that their work is life-changing.”
Nel urged the students to carry the lessons of the moot into their communities. “The Constitution is not argued and defended only in courts – it is lived in every decision we make, in every policy we write, and every child we choose to include,” he said.
“There are many children like Thando in our country and we owe it to them to uphold the constitutional right to education and put the best interests of the child first.”
INSIDE EDUCATION