Public Afrikaans school ranked top in South Africa beating most private schools and costs only R5,600 per month

·17 Sep 2026

Hoërskool Menlopark is ranked South Africa’s top co-educational Afrikaans high school, recording matric results that put it ahead of hundreds of private schools at a fraction of the cost.

The Pretoria school achieved an average of 74.34% for its 2025 matric class, with 2.9 distinctions per candidate.

This made Menlopark the highest-ranked co-ed school in the Solidarity Support Centre for Schools (SCS) Top 20 Afrikaans Schools list.

The ranking is based on the number of distinctions per matric candidate and includes single-medium, dual-medium and parallel-medium schools where at least 15 candidates take Afrikaans Home Language.

To qualify for the list, more than a third of the matric group must be Afrikaans-speaking.

Menlopark was not the overall top school on the list. The four schools above it were Hoër Meisieskool Bloemhof, Hoër Meisieskool Paarl, Afrikaans Hoër Meisieskool, and Hoër Meisieskool La Rochelle.

All four are girls’ schools, making Menlopark the highest-ranked school catering for both boys and girls.

Menlopark recorded a 100% pass rate, while 98.48% of its matriculants achieved a Bachelor’s pass. The class average was 74.34%.

Among the individual subjects, learners earned 139 distinctions in Afrikaans, 129 in English, 52 in Mathematics and 36 in Science.

Nine learners achieved nine distinctions each, while 10 earned eight distinctions, 14 earned seven and 28 achieved six.

The IEB data shows that the average number of distinctions per candidate at many private and independent schools is generally between 0.8 and 1.2.

While South Africa’s elite independent schools tend to dominate the very top end of the rankings, Menlo has outperformed hundreds of private schools.

Menlopark, commonly known as Menlo, opened its doors on 29 January 1963 as Menloparkse Hoërskool.

It started with 372 pupils, 12 teachers and 12 classrooms on the corner of Lynnwood and Atterbury roads in what was then the outskirts of Pretoria.

100% matric pass rate for 40 years in a row

The school initially catered for Standards 6 to 8, equivalent to Grades 8 to 10 today. It was renamed Die Hoërskool Menlopark in 1974. Its motto, Excelsa Petamus, means “We strive for the highest values”.

The school has had only six headmasters in more than six decades. C.I.S. van der Merwe served the longest, holding the position for 29 years.

Menlopark has also maintained a 100% matric pass rate since 1987, according to the school, while more than 95% of its matriculants achieve a university exemption or Bachelor’s pass each year.

Academics are not the only area in which the school has built a reputation. Menlopark has a strong sporting programme, particularly in athletics, and has a blue tartan track and floodlit stadium.

Its alumni include Protea cricketers Rassie van der Dussen, Heinrich Klaasen, Theunis de Bruyn and Suné Luus, as well as former Springboks Rudolf Straeuli, Johan Marais and Jacques Olivier.

The school also has a music academy and choir, while its former pupils include actress Amalia Uys, musician Anri Uys, better known as Yolandi Visser, and writer Marita van der Vyver.

Business figures among its alumni include FirstRand Group co-founder Laurie Dippenaar and former Eskom chief executive André de Ruyter.

Despite this track record, Menlopark’s tuition remains below that of many elite independent schools. For 2026, day-school tuition is R61,600 per year, payable in 11 monthly instalments of R5,600 each.

For learners requiring boarding, the annual boarding fee is R62,040. Combined with tuition, the total annual cost is R123,640 per learner.