Private schools offer parents who seek an alternative to the public schooling system the opportunity to offer their children a well-resourced learning environment and participate in extramural activities such as sports and the arts.
But the costs of a private school education often go beyond the obvious tuition and boarding fees.
TechCentral conducted research to determine the 10 most expensive private schools in South Africa, including some of the additional fees they charge.
There are subtle differences in the fee structures for high school pupils within the same schools. Some of the schools on the list charge a single fee across the grades 8 to 12, while others keep the same fees from grade 8 to 11, with only matric having a different fee, and others still have separate fees for grades 8 and 9, grade 10, and grades 11 and 12.
To simplify the analysis, the fees in the table are for the matric year across all schools in question, which is usually the most expensive year of the high school curriculum. The list is sorted from highest to lowest based on annual tuition fees only.
The Kwa-Zulu Natal Midlands is home to the two most expensive private schools in South Africa, namely Hilton College and Michaelhouse. Since these schools do not offer the option for day scholar attendance, their fee structures are given as a single charge for tuition and boarding fees combined.
Fees, fees, fees
At R397 660, Hilton is R54 652/year more expensive than the average cost of tuition and boarding at any of the other 10 schools on the list. But these are not the only costs to consider.
“On acceptance, you will need to pay a R99 415 non-refundable entrance fee, the equivalent of one term’s fees at the current rate, to the school as a contribution to the school’s development programme,” according to the Hilton College fee booklet for 2024.
| School | Location | Annual tuition fees | Boarding fees | Total |
| Hilton College | KwaZulu-Natal Midlands | R397 660 | Boarding only | R397 660 |
| Michaelhouse | KwaZulu-Natal Midlands | R368 000 | Boarding only | R368 000 |
| Kearsney College | Botha’s Hill, Durban | R240 900 | R109 230 | R350 130 |
| St John’s College | Houghton, Johannesburg | R206 768 | R145 844 | R352 612 |
| Roedean School | Parktown, Johannesburg | R203 607 | R156 480 | R360 087 |
| Bishops Diocesan College | Rondebosch, Cape Town | R199 650 | R141 780 | R341 430 |
| St Mary’s School Waverley | Waverley, Johannesburg | R189 880 | R145 590 | R335 470 |
| Crawford College, Sandton | Sandton, Johannesburg | R189 570 | N/A | R189 570 |
| St Alban’s College | Lynwood Glen, Pretoria | R187 020 | R141 900 | R328 920 |
| Clifton School | Morningside, Durban | R186 426 | R114 000 | R300 426 |
| St Stithians College | Sandton, Johannesburg | R174 410 | R128 060 | R302 470 |
| Average | R231 262 | R135 360 | R329 706 |
Non-refundable acceptance fees are standard across most private schools in South Africa, but they are only one of a number of standardised levies and fees to consider. A development levy, ranging from R1 000 to R7 000, depending on the school, is also standard.
Other standard levies include security and transportation charges. Beyond these standard levies, however, are several non-standard fees that are charged by some institutions, such as the backup power levy of R2 395/year charged by St Stithians – an obvious side effect of load shedding.
Boarders enjoy all their meals, including midmorning tea, paid for as part of their boarding fees. But most schools with boarding facilities that also offer day scholarship provide morning tea and hot lunch to day scholars at an extra charge. As an example, morning tea and hot lunch are R11 200/year and R14 895/year, respectively, at St John’s College.
Parents who live outside South Africa and enter their children into boarding also pay an extra deposit that covers the cost of deportation as well as emergency health services should the need arise. While the cost varies between schools, it is usually equivalent to the cost of one term of tuition and refundable upon the student’s completion of his or her studies.
Extracurricular activities also attract costs above tuition fees. For sports, the cost of equipment and travel to special events such as tournaments in other provinces or overseas all fall on the parent. Music and dance lessons, usually charged at an hourly rate, are also charged separately.
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Interesting to note is that the most expensive schools in South Africa are dominated by single-sex institutions. Hiton, Michaelhouse, St John’s, Bishops and St Alban’s are all-boy schools. On the other hand, Roedean, St Mary’s and Kingsmead College are all-girl schools. St Stithians has both a boy’s and a girl’s school on a single campus, but sport and other extramural activities are managed separately. — (c) 2024 NewsCentral Media