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Private schools in South Africa have hiked fees for 2023, with nine out of the top 10 now charging more than R300,000 a year for boarding and tuition.
Historically, Hilton College has been the most expensive private school in the country, with an annual fee of close to R370,000 in 2023.
The all-boys boarding school, located near Hilton in the KZN Midlands, was founded in 1872 and sits on an over 1,700-hectare piece of land, which includes its own wildlife reserve.
Hilton, along with Michaelhouse – often the second most expensive private school in the country – are the only remaining pure boarding schools that do not offer day student education.
In 2014, Hilton was the only boarding school with an annual fee of over R200,000. However, when you compare the tuition fees of the top 10 private schools in South Africa in 2023 over the past decade, it may come as a surprise to learn that Hilton represented the second lowest increase overall – showing a price hike of 77% from R209,000 in 2014 to R369,920 in 2023.
St Alban’s College in Pretoria, Gauteng, represents the lowest cost hike over the same period, with an increase of 70% from R181,000 in 2014 to R307,350 in 2023.
On average, tuition fees at the country’s top 10 private schools have increased by over 80% within a decade – with the highest increase represented by Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) in Makhanda, Eastern Cape.
Despite DSG being the cheapest high school in the top 10, it has hiked its cost of tuition by 90% over the past decade – from R157,590 in 2014 to R299,100 in 2023. This is then followed by Roedean School for Girls with an increase of 87%, Bishops College with 86%, and St John’s College with an increase of 85%.
The table below shows the annual tuition fees of the top 10 most expensive private schools in South Africa in 2023 at the start of the decade (2014) vs now (2023) and the cost percentage change.
Note: The fees listed below are as they appear on the various schools’ web pages and cover annual boarding tuition only. Fees are for the highest level of learning available (up to grade 12). The list’s tuition fees for 2014 are from the private school fees article published by BusinessTech in October 2014.
School | Location | 2014 | 2023 | Change |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hilton | Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal | R209 000 | R369 920 | +77% |
Michaelhouse | Balgowan, KwaZulu-Natal | R192 000 | R347 680 | +81% |
St Andrew’s College | Makhanda, Eastern Cape | R187 700 | R340 869 | +82% |
Roedean School for Girls | Johannesburg, Gauteng | R181 140 | R338 428 | +87% |
St John’s College | Johannesburg, Gauteng | R178 523 | R331 091 | +85% |
Kearsney College | Botha’s Hill, KwaZulu-Natal | R181 350 | R326 480 | +80% |
St Mary’s | Johannesburg, Gauteng | R173 700 | R313 990 | +81% |
Bishops College | Cape Town, Western Cape | R168 140 | R311960 | +86% |
St Alban’s College | Pretoria, Gauteng | R181 000 | R307 350 | +70% |
Diocesan School for Girls | Makhanda, Eastern Cape | R157 590 | R299 100 | +90% |
In terms of year-on-year fee increases, these boarding schools averaged around 6.5%, with the upper end at 7-8% in 2023 compared to 2022. The year-on-year price hikes are in line with inflation in 2022, which ended the year at 7.4% in November.
The allure of sending your child to a private school in South Africa is rooted in the perception that these institutions provide a superior education. Private schools often offer smaller class sizes, more individual attention, and a more comprehensive range of extracurricular activities than their public counterparts.
Additionally, many private schools in South Africa strongly emphasise discipline and traditional values, which is attractive to many parents.
Another advantage of private schools is the access to highly qualified teachers and resources. Private schools often have more funding than public schools and, as such, can attract and retain highly skilled teachers. They also have access to state-of-the-art facilities and resources that are not always available in public schools.
However, the increases in fees of private schools are fast becoming too expensive for many South Africans – including those who could typically afford these schools.
Speaking to the Sunday Times in November, economists warned that private schools in South Africa could see more learners dropping out and returning to former model C schools in 2023 as parents’ salaries struggle to match high inflation levels and a higher cost of living in the country.
More interestingly, in 2019, Old Mutual provided data that estimated the average cost of education in South Africa over the next 18 years ending 2035. The data considered the annual cost of day students at public and private primary and high schools, as well as at university.
Regarding private high schools, the data predicted that parents could expect to pay around R248,700 per annum by 2025 – and it seems these schools are fast on track to making this a reality. The most expensive day school in South Africa in 2023 is Kearsney College – charging R224,620 per annum for a day boy.
On the other hand, boarding costs are way over this prediction, with most private boarding schools costing close to and surpassing Old Mutuals predictions for 2030 – which estimates parents would be paying around R382,700.
The table below shows the 2023 costs of the top 10 most expensive day schools in South Africa, followed by Old Mutual’s predictions published in 2019.
School | Location | 2022 | 2023 | Change |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kearsney College | Botha’s Hill, KwaZulu-Natal | R209 000 | R224 620 | +7.5% |
St John’s College | Johannesburg, Gauteng | R179 933 | R194 148 | +7.9% |
Roedean School for Girls | Johannesburg, Gauteng | R176 204 | R191 181 | +8.5% |
Bishops College | Cape Town, Western Cape | R170 520 | R185 020 | +8.5% |
Clifton School | Durban, KwaZulu-Natal | R167 798 | R179 119 | +6.7% |
Crawford College Sandton | Johannesburg, Gauteng | R164 470 | R178 000 | +8.2% |
St Mary’s, Waverly | Johannesburg, Gauteng | R163 550 | R176 640 | +8.0% |
St Alban’s College | Johannesburg, Gauteng | R163 650 | R174 750 | +6.8% |
King David High School | Johannesburg, Gauteng | R160 200 | R174 360 | +8.8% |
Kingsmead College | Johannesburg, Gauteng | R158 478 | R170 365 | +7.5% |
Read: South Africa’s ‘30%’ matric pass mark controversy – this is how the system works