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Kearsney College. (Image: facebook.com/KearsneyCollege)
- The most expensive day school in South Africa now costs R224,620 for a single Grade 12 year.
- That’s more than twice the cost of first-year medicine tuition at all South African universities.
- All schools in the top 10 now cost more than R174,000 per year, and two have broken the R190,000 barrier.
- Fee increases are also back in a big way, with all top 10 schools increasing by at least 6.8% from 2022.
- These are the most expensive day schools in South Africa for the 2023 academic year.
- For more stories, go to www.BusinessInsider.co.za.
* This article has been updated below.
South Africa’s most expensive day schools have resumed typical fee increases after a momentary respite during the Covid-19 pandemic. These increases have pushed one school well over R220,000 for a matric year – which is more than twice the cost of first-year medicine at all South African universities.
Two schools have breached the R190,000 per year mark for the first time, and the remaining seven schools in the top 10 now all cost more than R174,360 per year.
Kearsney College remains South Africa’s most expensive school for the 2023 year. One year of matric there now costs at least R224,620 for a day scholar, a 7.5%, or R15,620, increase from 2022.
Despite fee increases at private schools across the board, Kearsney retains the most expensive school accolade it’s held for many years. Given its lead, it will take a dramatic increase from competitors to rival this position.
St John’s College and Roedean School (the most expensive girls’ school in South Africa) remain in second and third place. Despite hefty increases for 2023, pushing both into the R190,000 per year bracket, they’re still R30,000 cheaper than Kearsney. In comparison, R30,000 is almost enough to pay for a year’s tuition for most degrees at the University of the Western Cape.
Rounding out the top five most expensive schools for 2023 are Bishops Diocesan College and Crawford College Sandton.
The smallest fee increase this year belongs to St Alban’s College. That school only increased its fees by 6.8%, which means it dropped from sixth to ninth position for the 2023 year. A sizeable 8.8% increase for King David has also elevated that school into the top 10 for the first time. In doing so, it knocked St Stithians College out of the top 10 for 2023.
Increases are back in a big way for 2023
During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, many schools chose not to increase fees significantly.
For the 2021 academic year, all schools but Kearsney restricted fee increases to 3% or less, with some choosing not to increase fees at all.
The subsequent year saw most testing the waters again, with increases between 4% and 7%.
But for 2023, it appears that it’s all systems go once again. All schools in the top 10 have increased their fees by at least 6.8%, with the most significant increase 9.6%.
The average price increase across all South Africa’s richest schools for 2023 is 8.2%, or R14,040.
Extras and caveats
Business Insider South Africa uses published fee schedules to calculate the most expensive schools in South Africa. Many private schools require parents to pay more for things like extracurricular activities, field trips, or meals.
Some include school development costs into fee schedules; others charge these later as mandatory or optional extras.
Some schools also include IEB fees in their calculations, while others charge separately. And Redhill High School, just outside the top 10, now offers students the International Baccalaureate, or IB, programme. This is not yet a mainstream programme in South Africa, but students taking this optional stream pay R185,000 per year, which would push Redhill into fifth place.
Many schools also offer discounts for early or upfront annual payments and charge interest for termly or monthly payments. The table below assumes annual upfront payments, which is the cheapest way to pay for private school fees in South Africa.
These are the most expensive day schools in South Africa for 2023:
This article was updated to include the correct fees for Clifton College in 2023. That school’s published fees included a voluntary development levy that, when compared to last year’s fees that didn’t, artificially inflated this year’s percentage increase.
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