Best schools in Johannesburg

The best schools, both international and local, can be found in the same areas that many wealthy South Africans and international families tend to settle (Midrand, Rosebank, Sandton, Houghton and surrounding areas), close to blue-chip company headquarters, designer stores, boutique hotels, award-winning restaurants. 

The biggest player in the international market is without doubt AISJ, which feels like a university campus complete with mini golf course, wetlands and incredible playgrounds. For junior and senior years (grades 11 and 12) there’s a choice of the two-year IB diploma or the American high school diploma, but there are currently no AP classes (though this may change in the near future). The huge campus and decent number of (well-paid) American teachers come at a cost – tuition fees are easily three to four times higher than at other schools. The director justifies them by saying they are benchmarked against other American schools overseas, but for those who are not having fees paid, or at least highly subsidised, by their employers, it’s a huge financial commitment.

The main campus of the Lycée Jules Verne, which also has a primary school campus in Pretoria, is bilingual and claims to have pupils from 82 nationalities, but teaches only the French Baccalaureate, though the fact that it’s assessed 60 per cent by exams (over the last two years) and 40 per cent by continual assessment, might broaden its appeal. It’s part of the Agency for French Education Abroad, meaning pupils can move seamlessly between the nearly 500 affiliated schools.

The Deutsche Internationale Schule Johannesburg, confusingly not connected to the Deutsche International Schule Pretoria, is one of the largest German schools in all of Africa, catering for a large local German-speaking population, as well as English-speaking families. There’s a choice of the bilingual stream (from grade 5) leading to the Abitur and the IEB or the English stream (from grade 8) leading to the IEB, with German as a second foreign language, plus a German language diploma.

Redhill proudly boasts that is the only school in South Africa to offer a choice of the IEB matriculation or the IB diploma in grades 11 and 12 (the latter route is only open to those achieving 75 per cent in grade 10 in subjects they want to study at higher level).

Choosing a local IEB school

There are several locally-renowned independent schools offering only the private IEB matric. Girls’ schools Roedean (sister school of the one in Brighton, England), St Mary’s Waverley and Kingsmead College are all worthy of consideration, alongside boys’ schools The Ridge School and St John’s College. The latter offers the most able a choice of pathways at age 16 – to the IEB or to the ‘more challenging’ AS and A levels in a separate co-educational sixth form.

Dairnfern College (from ages 5 to 18) and Steyn City School (from 3 to 18) are modern, co-educational IEB schools on secure estates in Fourways to the north of the city. Their extensive facilities make them popular with families living locally who might also consider the rather more expensive AISJ (in the next suburb).

A sprinkling of IEB Crawford International schools in the area are part of the school's division of the ADvTECH group, listed on the Jo’burg stock exchange. Likewise, Curro, claiming to be the biggest player in the education market, has a few schools here.

These schools have a reasonable contingent of international families, or at least families with a global outlook, and perhaps a second passport. While in theory a second African language (most popularly Afrikaans, isiXhosa or isiZulu) is required, exemptions can be granted for overseas arrivals in certain circumstances, and a European language taken instead. 

Is safety a consideration for choosing a school?

Due to safety and security issues, children need to be ferried around, or put on a school bus where it exists, so taking the location of the school into account is paramount when deciding where to live, but there are certainly some lovely areas to consider.

Many schools say that they cater for children with special educational needs on a case-by-case basis and will admit a child as long as they think they can provide the necessary support to allow him or her to thrive in their school. Most schools will allow and organise a one-on-one facilitator if required, paid for by the parents.

AISJ has one of the largest SEN departments and is able to offer personalised learning support to children with 'intellectual and developmental disabilities' who require a modified curriculum, which may not lead to traditional leaving qualifications.

The Bridge School (Lonehill), along with its newly opened sister school in Morningside, is a specialist school for neurodiverse students, part of the AdVTech Group which owns the Crawford International schools.

Schooling in South Africa is not compulsory until the year a child is turning six (grade R/0), though many families will want to start their child much younger than this with pre-school classes often called grade 00, 000 and even 0000 (pronounced as 'quad nought') for little ones turning three. Many schools have great pre-schools attached.

All the international curriculum schools have a pre-school, taking children from 18 months (Deutsche Internationale Schule), age 2 (Lycée Jules Verne), age 3 (Redhill) or age 4 (AISJ). 

Some of the Reddam House and Crawford International IEB schools have pre-schools, including Crawford Fourways (from Grade 000).

As for local independent schools, St John’s College and sister school St Mary’s Waverley, both single sex for the core compulsory grades, are co-educational in their Reggio-inspired nursery schools (The Bridge and Little Saints, respectively). From The Bridge, some girls move literally across the footbridge over the main road to Roedean, which doesn’t have its own pre-school.

Another option is to choose from the plethora of private pre-schools dotted around the city, often run out of residential homes and catering for a handful of children, just ask for recommendations locally and check the school is properly registered with the authority.