The 176-year-old private school in South Africa that had its own university

·2 Nov 2025

Bishops Diocesan College is a prestigious and world-renowned private school in Rondebosch, Cape Town.

Excelling academically and athletically, and with deep roots in South Africa and the Cape’s history, the school has been ranked one of the top private schools in the world, and among

The school was founded in 1849 as Diocesan School of the Diocese of Cape Town by Bishop Robert Gray, the eponymous “Bishop” the school was commonly known as.

The moniker of “Bishops” was adopted from the outset, the school said, given that its founding name didn’t exactly roll off the tongue.

Within a year of its formation, the school had moved from Bishopscourt to its current location in Rondebosch, when the farm Woodlands was bought by Gray.

It was initially envisioned as a grammar school for boys aged 10 and up, and eventually added university classes when the University of the Cape of Good Hope was instituted in 1874.

The school started out small, having around 40 students by 1857, but grew to 149 when university classes were added—94 in the lower school and 55 in post-matric.

By the school’s telling, over time, conflicts within the college eventually led to the decision in 1910 to separate the university classes and their teachers.

These teachers were designated professors and eventually joined with the similar classes from the South African College School at the South African College, which later became the University of Cape Town.

Despite troubles and challenges, including two world wars which devastated staff and Old Boys numbers, the historic college continued through it all, evolving into the prestigious institute it is today.

In modern times, Bishops now teaches 1,550 learners, sticking to its all-boys roots.

The school teaches boys aged 11 to 18, and offers a unique space for boys to develop at their own pace, catering to their own individual needs.

While the school is founded on the Anglican faith and drives a strong spiritual ideal, it welcomes boys of all faiths and encourages them to find and strive to uphold the same moral values and ideals that make up its vision statement.

In 2024, the school was ranked as among the top 150 private schools in the world by the Carfax Foundation—only two to make the list from South Africa—with the group praising its “vibrant campus life, combined with a strong emphasis on tradition and excellence.”

Academic excellence

Like many private schools in South Africa, Bishops is a powerhouse of academic excellence, consistently reporting an outperformance in matric results.

The school differs, however, by running the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams, as opposed to the Independent Examination Board (IEB) exams most other private schools offer.

However, in 2024, a number of martrics opted to sit for the Cambridge Curriculum A-Levels in place of the NSC for the first time.

This resulted in the NSC results reflecting 133 boys, instead of the school’s full class of 152.

Regardless, the results were excellent on both accounts, with the school scoring a 100% matric pass rate with a Bachelor’s pass of 94.7%

About 7% of all subject results were above 90%, and 30% of all subject results were above 80%, with 32 boys achieving A aggregates—24% of the class. 2 boys achieved an aggregate of 90% and above.

Looking at the Cambridge A-Levels, all 19 boys who took the International GCE AS examinations passed. achieving another 100% pass rate.

For comparison, the following table gives an indication of the level of the Cambridge symbol when compared with the National Senior Certificate as used by universities.

Under the GCE AS system, 14 A*s and 18 As were achieved, which equates to 53% of all grades.

However, a prestigious education like the one offered at Bishops does not come cheap in South Africa. The school has consistently featured on the list of the most expensive schools in the country.

In 2025, the school’s fees hit R364,680 per annum for boarders, having more than doubled from the R168,140 fee in 2014.

At R213,240 per year for day schoolers in 2025, the college is the fourth most expensive school in the country. Fees for 2026 are expected to be even higher.