The South African education sector is quite vibrant, with thousands of schools offering primary, secondary, college, and university studies. Grade 1-10 education is compulsory, while grades 10-12 are optional. Like in numerous other countries, education institutions are classified into private and public facilities, with the former often tending to be the most expensive schools in South Africa.
Sending one's child to school in South Africa costs anything from zero fees to hundreds of thousands of Rand per year. Parents and guardians are exempt from paying school fees in some of the country's poorest regions.
Here is a look at Mzansi's most expensive schools in 2023.
Typically, boarding institutions tend to be more expensive than their day counterparts. This is often attributable to the extra costs associated with student accommodation. Here is a look at South Africa's most expensive boarding schools, provinces, and annual fees.
School | Province | Annual fees |
Hilton College | KwaZulu-Natal | R343,155 |
Michaelhouse | KwaZulu-Natal | R328,000 |
St Andrew's College | Eastern Cape | R320,064 |
Roedean School for Girls | Gauteng | R310 994 |
St John's College | Gauteng | R304,995 |
Kearsney College | KwaZulu-Natal | R303,710 |
St Mary's | Gauteng | R293,050 |
Bishops College | Western Cape | R289,700 |
St Alban’s College | Gauteng | R287,850 |
St Andrew's School for Girls, Senderwood | Gauteng | R287,850 |
St Stithians | Gauteng | R277,830 |
Diocesan School for Girls | Eastern Cape | R276,930 |
Kingswood College | Eastern Cape | R276,250 |
St Cyprian's | Western Cape | R264,300 |
St David's Marist Inanda | Gauteng | R259,100 |
St Anne's Diocesan College | KwaZulu-Natal | R252,420 |
St Martin's College | Gauteng | R249,210 |
Bridge House | Gauteng | R248,700 |
Somerset College | Western Cape | R248,300 |
Crawford College North Coast | KwaZulu-Natal | R248,020 |
St Benedict's College | Gauteng | R240,320 |
Herschel Girls | Western Cape | R237,700 |
Durban Girls' College | KwaZulu-Natal | R237,000 |
Treverton College | KwaZulu-Natal | R234,960 |
Uplands College | Mpumalanga | R232,000 |
St Charles College | KwaZulu-Natal | R230,100 |
Epworth High School for Girls | KwaZulu-Natal | R224,727 |
Woodridge College | Eastern Cape | R222,793 |
While day schools are conventionally cheaper than boarding institutions, some can still be quite expensive. For example, the day institutions listed below all charge fees exceeding R100,000 per year, which is not cheap by any means.
School | Province | Annual fees |
Kearsney College | KwaZulu-Natal | R209,000 |
St John's College | Gauteng | R179,933 |
Roedean School for Girls | Gauteng | R176,204 |
Bishops College Cape Town | Western Cape | R170,520 |
Clifton School | KwaZulu-Natal | R167,798 |
Crawford College Sandton | Gauteng | R164,470 |
St Alban’s College | Gauteng | R163,650 |
St Mary's, Waverly | Gauteng | R163,550 |
St Stithians | Gauteng | R162,110 |
Cedarwood | Gauteng | R160,259 |
King David High | Gauteng | R160,200 |
Kingsmead College | Gauteng | R158,478 |
Redhill School | uteng | R155,000 |
Crawford College La Lucia | KwaZulu-Natal | R153,850 |
St David's Marist Inanda | Gauteng | R153,800 |
Crawford College Lonehill | Gauteng | R150,120 |
SAHETI | Gauteng | R149,054 |
Beaulieu College | Gauteng | R147,363 |
Crawford College Pretoria | Gauteng | R147,310 |
St Martins College | Gauteng | R144,210 |
Kingswood College | Eastern Cape | R143,715 |
St Andrew's College | Eastern Cape | R143,064 |
St Cyprian's | Western Cape | R141,500 |
Brescia House | Gauteng | R139,200 |
Diocesan School for Girls | Eastern Cape | R138,758 |
St Anne's Diocesan College | KwaZulu-Natal | R138,080 |
Herzlia High | Western Cape | R137,460 |
St Benedict's College | Gauteng | R136,670 |
Woodridge College | Eastern Cape | R136,107 |
According to Matric, South Africa, these are the top 10 private schools in the country.
Gauteng Province has numerous expensive learning institutions in both the boarding and day categories. Here are the province's most expensive schools and their annual fees.
Hilton College, more commonly referred to as Hilton, is the most expensive school in South Africa. The boys' school is located near the town of Hilton in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. The annual fee for the 2023 academic year is R343 155.
How much is a private school in SA? Typically, sending your child to a good state-sponsored school costs anywhere from R8,000 to R20,000 yearly. These fees are relatively cheaper than private institutions, where average annual fees range between R30,000 and R70,000, with additional costs for boarders.
The Roedean School for Girls is the most expensive South African girls' school. The institution was founded, in 1903, as a sister institution to the esteemed Roedean in Brighton, England. The 2023 annual fee is R310 994.
The Institut auf dem Rosenberg in St Gallen, Switzerland, is the most expensive school in the world. The 2023 tuition and boarding fees add up to a whopping $150,000 (about R2.6 million).
The most expensive schools in South Africa are also among the most exclusive, with some limiting the number of students to a few hundred. These institutions are at the top of the country's education system and offer unrivalled tuition structures, learning facilities, co-curricular facilities, and general student experiences.
READ ALSO: What are the 15 most expensive cities in Africa in 2022?
We recently published a list of the most expensive African cities. The continent has undergone drastic changes and development in the past few decades, with various countries and cities emerging as economic, financial, and tourism powerhouses.
As the African nations develop, the standards and cost of living in some of their cities continue to rise. Today, some African cities are as expensive as their European, Asian, or American counterparts. Some of the contributing factors include the cost of housing, transport, health, and education.
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