Pretoria Boys’ High (Image: Facebook/Pretoria Boys’ High School)
- The most expensive public schools in South Africa cost around R65,000 for the 2023 academic year.
- All but one are located in Gauteng and the Western Cape.
- Boys’ schools dominate the list, with only two of the top 10 being all-girls.
- The most expensive public schools are three times cheaper than their private school counterparts.
- This is how the fees in public schools in South Africa compare.
- For more stories, visit www.BusinessInsider.co.za.
The most expensive public schools in South Africa for the 2023 academic year now cost around R65,000. Like last year, all of the most expensive public schools have increased their fees for the coming year, some by 7.8% to 11.5%.
Although the most expensive public schools in South Africa are not cheap, they are much more affordable than competing private schools. Choosing the most expensive public school over the most expensive private school will save you up to R158,000 per year.
Given South Africa’s network of public schools, there is no exhaustive list of school fees, but, as in previous years, Business Insider South Africa has identified at least 13 schools that are considered among the most expensive.
Below the top 10, most public school fees tend to average around the 40,000 rand mark, and there are free schools in every province as well.
See also | The most expensive South African private day schools in 2023, with one now over R220,000
For the past three years, Business Insider has found that Pretoria Boys’ High School is the most expensive public school in South Africa. In 2023, the fees for that school are still the highest, at R65,850.
However, given Pretoria Boys’ High’s below-average rise for the coming year, several others have come close to this mark. – with the five most expensive schools surpassing the R63,000 mark.
Just below Pretoria Boys’ High is King Edward VII School, which now charges just R200 less. Below them are Rondebosch Boys’ High School, Parktown Boys’ High and Gray High School, which charge between R63,840 and R65,000.
The rest of the top ten charge in the region of R50,000 per year for the academic year of 2023.
As in previous years, most of the most expensive public schools are in the Western Cape and Gauteng, with only one – gray high school – located in the Eastern Cape.
Boys-only school fees are also still much more expensive than girls-only school fees. There are only two all-girls high schools in the top ten, Rustenberg and Parktown. These girls’ schools rank ninth and tenth, respectively.
How Public Schools Set Fees
Under the South African Constitution, all children have the right to basic education, which must be free or affordable. However, this does not mean that anyone can get a free education at any school of her choice.
The free education that the Constitution typically talks about is the free and free schools of the country. The Government has previously drawn up a list of free schools in each province.
When it comes to schools that charge fees, they are set by parents at a general meeting, where a majority of parents must agree. This resolution, says the Department of Education, “will take into account the school budget, the evolution of the payment of school fees and the exemptions that have to be granted.”
This can open the door for a school and its parent body to increase fees and make sure it remains exclusive. However, the government has attempted to address this by allowing certain fee waivers and cross-funding models.
Guardians of students who cannot pay public school fees can apply for “full, partial or conditional exemptions from paying school fees”.
Schools in wealthier suburbs will sometimes consider a fee waiver upon full financial disclosure.
This is how tuition costs in the most expensive public schools in South Africa:
