By Charmaine Ndlela
Finalists from all nine provinces in the country will descend on Pretoria at the end of June for the ABC Motsepe SASCE National Championships, one of South Africa’s largest school arts and culture competitions.
The Departments of Basic Education and Sport, Arts and Culture, in partnership with the Motsepe Foundation, will host the South African Schools Choral Eisteddfod national finals at Moreleta Kerk in Pretoria from 30 June to 3 July 2026.
The championships will bring together top-performing school choirs and young musicians who have advanced through district and provincial rounds to represent their provinces on the national stage.
The annual competition has become one of the Department of Basic Education’s flagship school enrichment programmes, giving learners an opportunity to perform across a range of choral, solo, ensemble and cultural music categories.
The DBE says SASCE is aimed at promoting unity in diversity, national reconciliation, positive values, a shared South African identity, social transformation and social cohesion among learners.
The programme also supports the objectives of the Action Plan to 2019: Towards the Realisation of Schooling 2030, particularly efforts to promote learner attendance and retention through school enrichment activities.
The competition has drawn thousands of learners in previous years. The 2025 national championships were expected to attract more than 8,000 learners, while the 2024 event drew more than 7,000 participants.
The Motsepe Foundation has supported the programme since 2016, helping to strengthen SASCE as a national platform for school music, arts education and youth development.
In preparation for the 2026 championships, the DBE said more than 900 music professionals across all nine provinces were to be capacitated through SASCE workshops. The training focused on the prescribed music syllabus to promote consistency and uniform implementation across provinces.
Provincial competitions are currently under way across the country, with finalists earning places at the national championships.
The four-day event is expected to showcase some of the country’s strongest young performers while celebrating South Africa’s cultural and linguistic diversity.
Organisers say learners, educators, adjudicators and supporters can expect high-quality performances reflecting the creativity and talent of South Africa’s youth.
INSIDE EDUCATION
