South Africa's most expensive government day schools in 2024

One public school breaks through the R70,000 per year mark - and if you have girls, you'll save about R10k a year.

Government schools in South Africa cost between nothing, for no-fee schools, and R70,200, for the most expensive.

South Africa’s most expensive government day school in 2024 is still Pretoria Boys’ High School. For the first time for any local government school, Pretoria Boys’ High broke through the R70,000 milestone - it now charges parents R70,200 per year.

King Edward VII School is only R330 behind, at R69,870 for a matric year.

Still, even the most expensive government schools in South Africa are about R170,000 cheaper than the most expensive private schools in South Africa.

Rondebosch Boys’ High School and Grey High School Port Elizabeth remain in positions three and four this year at R68,900 and R68,400, respectively.

In a change to the top five, Wynberg Boys’ High School drops to 7th place, edged down by Parktown Boys’ High and Jeppe High School for Boys.

Rounding out the R60k club is South African College High School, known by most as SACS, which now costs R61,000 per year - up from R57,200.

Prices in the lower half of the chart vary widely. And the top 10 features only two girls’ schools, in 9th and 10th: Parktown Girls’ High and Rustenburg Girls’ High School.

The cheapest of the schools we identified in the top 13 is Bryanston High School, which charges R51,200. But dozens of government schools now charge around the R50,000 mark before you enter into the realm of the really cheap and no-fee schools.

For this reason, an exhaustive and entirely accurate list in this category is nearly impossible.

Increases of close to 9% for some schools

Government schools were not shy with their increases for 2024. Although they come from a lower base than private schools, most increased their fees by over 6%.

The biggest increase we could identify for the 2024 academic year was at Paul Roos, where parents will pay R4,680 more, thanks to an 8.89% increase.

The next biggest percentage increase, of 7.25%, comes from Parktown Girls’ High, which makes it the most expensive public girls’ day school in South Africa for the first time.

The smallest increase for 2024 comes from Parktown Boys’ High, which hiked its fees by just 2.19% from last year - but it’s still enough for that school to retain its top-five position.