Independent school fees are the least visible number in South African education. There's no national register of them, every school sets its own, and most don't put a price on their website at all.
Some do. We collected the published fees of 255 independent schools, each one read from the school's own document, and summarised what they say. That's 9% of the 2 742 independent schools on the Department of Basic Education register, so treat this as the part of the market that publishes its prices, not the whole market.
One thing needs saying first, because it changes how to read every number below: 232 of the 255 figures are "from" prices. The school charges by grade and publishes a range, and we record the lowest figure. A school's fee for Grade 8 or Grade 12 is usually higher than what's shown here. Read every number in this post as a starting point.
The middle fee is R 43 800 a year
| Fee a year (starting) | |
|---|---|
| Lowest | R 5 500 |
| A quarter charge less than | R 25 100 |
| The middle school | R 43 800 |
| A quarter charge more than | R 64 108 |
| Highest | R 441 766 |
Spread across the 255, it looks like this:
| Starting fee a year | Schools |
|---|---|
| Under R 20 000 | 48 |
| R 20 000 to R 39 999 | 66 |
| R 40 000 to R 79 999 | 96 |
| R 80 000 and over | 45 |
26 of the 45 in the top band start at R 100 000 or more. For comparison, the middle fee at the 142 fee-charging public schools we've collected is R 26 215, so the middle independent school starts at about 1.7 times that. Our post on public school fees has that comparison in full, including how many public schools charge more than the middle independent one.
High school costs about twice as much as primary
| Phase | Schools | Middle starting fee |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | 90 | R 30 015 |
| Combined (primary and high school) | 115 | R 47 676 |
| Secondary | 41 | R 67 140 |
The secondary figure is 2.2 times the primary one. Because most figures are the lowest grade, the combined schools' number is likely to understate what they charge in the high-school years.
For a parent planning a child's whole schooling, that means the fee at the start isn't the fee for the whole journey. If a school quotes a starting price, ask what it is in the grade your child will reach.
Where the schools are matters
| Province | Schools | Middle starting fee |
|---|---|---|
| KwaZulu-Natal | 47 | R 50 307 |
| Gauteng | 104 | R 46 500 |
| Western Cape | 52 | R 44 430 |
| Mpumalanga | 13 | R 30 920 |
| Limpopo | 11 | R 22 800 |
| Eastern Cape | 19 | R 21 600 |
Provinces with fewer than 10 schools in our data (North West, Free State and Northern Cape) are left out, because a middle figure from one to five schools isn't a pattern.
The middle fee in the top three is about double the middle fee in the bottom two. But be careful with it. Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal supply 203 of the 255 schools (80%). The other provinces rest on a handful of schools each, so the real picture could look different.
What this can't tell you
- It's the schools that publish. An independent school that lists its fees online is not a random sample of independent schools. Most do not publish a price we could collect, and we can't say what those charge.
- It's a starting fee. The lowest-grade figure understates what you'll pay in a higher grade, often by a lot, as the primary and secondary figures show.
- We record the fee the school publishes. What it does and doesn't cover (uniforms, aftercare, once-off levies) is for the school to tell you.
- Exemptions don't apply here. The national fee-exemption rules cover public schools only. At an independent school, discounts and bursaries are whatever that school decides.
What to ask an independent school
- What is the fee in my child's grade, not just the first grade?
- What else is charged on top of the published fee?
- How much has the fee risen each year for the last few years?
- Is there a bursary or discount policy, and how do you apply?
Search independent schools on Vulo →
Sources. Each school's own published fee document, read between 28 August and 23 September 2026. The source for every fee is linked on the school's Vulo page. Independent schools are those the Department of Basic Education register classes as independent. The register lists 2 742 open independent schools. Quartiles and middle figures are our own arithmetic on the 255 published fees, and "from" figures are the school's lowest-grade fee.
Frequently asked questions
- How much do independent schools charge in South Africa?
- Among the 255 independent schools whose own published fee Vulo has collected, the middle fee is R 43 800 a year. A quarter charge less than R 25 100 and a quarter charge more than R 64 108. The lowest is R 5 500 and the highest R 441 766. Most of these (232 of 255) are the school's lowest-grade fee, so what you pay in a higher grade is usually more.
- Are high school fees higher than primary school fees at independent schools?
- Yes, by a lot. The middle starting fee is R 67 140 a year at the 41 secondary schools in our data and R 30 015 at the 90 primary schools, so about 2.2 times as much.
- Which provinces have the most expensive independent schools?
- Among provinces with at least 10 schools in our data, the middle starting fee is highest in KwaZulu-Natal (R 50 307), Gauteng (R 46 500) and the Western Cape (R 44 430), and lowest in the Eastern Cape (R 21 600) and Limpopo (R 22 800). Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal supply 203 of the 255 schools, so the other provinces rest on small samples.
- Do independent schools have to give fee exemptions?
- No. The national exemption rules apply to public schools only. An independent school sets its own fees and its own bursary or discount policy, if it has one, so ask the school directly.
- Is this every independent school?
- No. There are 2 742 open independent schools on the register, and 255 (9%) publish a fee we could collect. The others are not shown with a fee on Vulo, because we only show a fee that comes with its source.
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