25-year-old private school in South Africa with no fees named among the best in the world
Christel House South Africa is a no-fee school in Cape Town and has been recognised by global education bodies as being amongst the best in the world.
The school was founded in 2001 and opened its doors at Bamford Avenue in Athlone in 2002. As demand grew, the school expanded to its second campus in Lansdowne a few years later.
The school moved to its campus in Ottery in 2009, where it now serves about 1,000 students from Grade RR to 12, along with over 250 post-Matric students.
The school is dedicated to preparing graduates and communities to achieve upward economic mobility, with a no-fee structure that supports students in Cape Town’s most underserved communities.
The non-profit was set up through a financial foundation created by wealthy German-American Christel DeHaan in 1998, whose personal fortune was just shy of $1 billion at the time of her death in 2020.
“When we started, our teachers went from door to door to recruit children for Christel House. Our prospective parents at the time thought it was impossible,” said Carol Kriel, Junior School Principal.
“They didn’t believe that you could find a school that was going to give this fantastic education at no cost.”
The school’s achievements were recognised globally, having made the Top 10 shortlist for the 2024 World’s Best School Prizes.
The school was shortlisted in the “Overcoming Adversity” category, with the award celebrating schools that have transformed lives.
The award is given by T4 Education in collaboration with Accenture, American Express, and the Lemann Foundation.
“Trailblazing South African schools like Christel House South Africa show the difference that can be made to so many lives,” said Vikas Pota, founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School Prizes.
“Schools everywhere can now learn from their solutions, and it’s time governments do so as well.”
The school is one of the few in South Africa designated as a Microsoft Showcase School.
The school believes that the IT skills will help equip students with future-ready skills, especially in ICT, where over 60% of the world’s new jobs are expected to emerge by 2030.
The school said that it will continue to pioneer educational innovation as a Microsoft Showcase School, which will help foster a growth mindset.
Major expansion
Christel House officially opened its new high school building at its Ottery campus in May of this year, with the aim of addressing the shortage of high schools in the region.
The school continues to provide students from under-resourced neighbourhoods with the opportunity to continue their education, with the school having modern classrooms, a medical centre and a CAT lab.
There are also 300 additional learners, doubling the junior school’s capacity. 120 new 8th & 9th students enrolled in 2025 and 2026.
The school is also undergoing other large expansions, with its Junior School from Grade RR to Grade 7, with capacity rising from 60 to 90 learners per grade, a 50% increase.
The school has already welcomed a new group of Grade RR learners as part of the phased expansion, and construction plans are underway to develop additional classroom space.
The school aims to have 1,410 students at the Ottery campus across all grades by 2030. The campus’s growth is backed by significant international investment as it seeks to extend its reach.
Photos of Christel House South Africa
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