LISTEN: Parents, kids chat about the first day of 'big' school

Newswatch caught up with some parents whose children met their new teachers and classmates for the first time today.

With the first day now officially over, some Grade 1's say it was a tough one. 

7-year-old Adam Hendricks has told us all about it his first day of school.

Jordan Martin is a Grade 1 pupil at St Theresa's Primary School in Durban. She says she had a great day.

Today was also a big day for educators - as they kicked-off the academic year with classrooms full of new pupils.

A teacher at Jai Hind Primary in Port Shepstone, Nankomar says the teacher's role is as important as that of a parent. 

"When a little one comes to school for the first time - you become that child's mother. You become the parent. If it means me wiping her nose and giving her a hug - you have to make the child be at ease so that they understand that they're in a safe environment and their parents are coming back to them. It's about keeping them busy and keeping their minds occupied and you shouldn't have any tears," she said. 

Schools across the province reopened without much hassle today.

However, the start to the first day of the new academic year was marred by the death of four school pupils who died in an accident involving a bus and a taxi in Ntuzuma, north of Durban, this morning.

They were aged between 12 and 16.

More than a dozen others - most of them children heading to school - were also hurt in the crash.