What it costs to live in South Africa’s most prestigious school districts

In provinces like Gauteng, that means living or working within a prestigious school district.

But in the Western Cape, home to many of the country’s best-performing school districts, pupils don’t have to live near a public school to be accepted.

Living close by doesn’t hurt.

School governing bodies determine the criteria for acceptance, and sometimes that means residing in a catchment area.

South Africa’s Most Prestigious School Districts

Within a 40-kilometre radius, from Boston in Bellville to Krigeville in Stellenbosch, you’ll find many of the country’s top-performing schools.

In Paarl, you’ll find prestigious schools like Paarl Gimnasium and Paarl Boys High School, both within the top 10 feeder schools for Stellenbosch University.

According to data from School Performance, which analyses matric pass rates, La Rochelle Girls School in Paarl is in the top 1% of schools.

Over the past 10 years, the school has maintained a 100% pass rate.

In Stellenbosch, Paul Roos Gimnasium is in the top 1%, as are Bloemhof Girls High School and Rhenish Girls High School.

Within Cape Town, you have DF Akademie and Fairmont, located in Bellville and Durbanville respectively.

All these schools feature in the top 10 feeder schools for Stellenbosch University.

Fees at Prestigious Schools

Although public, these are all fee-paying schools. This is what parents can expect to pay.

School	Annual Fees (2026)	Monthly Fees (2026)
DF Akademie	R43 120	R3 920
Fairmont High School	R45 900	R4 590
Stellenberg High School	R46 050 – R47 000	R4 605 – R4 700
La Rochelle Girls School	R49 900	R4 990
Paarl Girls High School	R51 030	R5 103
Paarl Boys High School	R54 800	R5 480
Paarl Gimnasium	R55 000	R5 500
Rhenish Girls High School	R56 100	R5 610
Paul Roos Gimnasium	R69 300	R6 930

Parents who don’t want to move to these areas can benefit from the region’s extensive list of hostels.

The annual fees for these range from R54 600 at La Rochelle Girls School to R76 200 at Paul Roos Gimnasium.

School	Annual Hostel Fees	Monthly Hostel Fees
La Rochelle Girls School	R54 600	R5 460
Rhenish Girls High School	R62 110	R6 210
Paarl Girls High School	R64 560	R6 456
Paarl Boys High School	R69 900	R6 990
Paarl Gimnasium	R73 000	R7 300
Paarl Roos Gimnasium	R76 200	R7 620

Property in Prestigious School Districts

To reside in a catchment area, parents should expect to spend well over R1 million on a home.

The average sale price in Paarl is R2.2 million.

In Stellenbosch, the average sale price is R2.64 million.

Boston, it’s R2.42 million, and in Durbanville it’s R3 million.

In the sought-after Hoog en Droog suburb of Paarl, home to many top-performing schools, buyers can get a home starting at R4.95 million.

Buyers eyeing Stellenbosch may have to spend a bit more.

In Krigeville, home to Paul Roos Gimnasium, a 1-bedroom costs R5.98 million.

Suburb	Area	Average Sale Price (2026)
Boston	Bellville	R2.42 million
Stellenbosch Central	Stellenbosch	R3.15 million
Kenridge	Durbanville	R4.46 million
Vrykyk	Paarl	R4.49 million
Krigeville	Stellenbosch	R4.97 million
Hoog en Droog	Paarl	R7.25 million