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Johannesburg opens 11 libraries on weekends so exam students have somewhere quiet to study

Exam season in Johannesburg just got quieter — in the best way. The City of Johannesburg has opened 11 public libraries on Saturdays and Sundays, from 24 October to 22 November, so the Class of 2026 can revise in peace for the National Senior Certificate exams. The weekend libraries — Diepsloot, Ivory Park North, Linden, Florida, Jabavu, Alexandra 8th Avenue, Sandton, Glenanda, Orange Farm, Louisa Prince in Ennerdale and the Johannesburg City Library — open from 09:00 to 14:00, offering what many homes cannot during exam weeks: quiet, light, desks and books. The stakes are province-wide: Gauteng has 203,794 registered exam candidates this year, sitting 77 subjects at 1,065 centres. A separate Saturday-access pilot also continues at the Florida, Johannesburg City and Sandton libraries, a sign the city sees weekend opening as more than an exam-season gesture.

The upbeat factora city looked at its exam timetable, looked at its locked libraries, and simply opened the doors.
✓ Verified · Inside Education · 2026-10-26 · South Africa
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SDG 4 · Quality education — Mechanism: institutional program

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