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The Cape Town public school that beats most private schools in South Africa

Luke Fraser

 ·31 Jan 2026

Westerford High School in Cape Town is a public government school that beats most private schools in South Africa in terms of average distinctions.

The school achieved an average of 3.12 A’s per student in 2025. The school also boasted a 100% pass rate and a 100% bachelor’s pass rate.

While the average A’s per student dropped from 3.16 in 2024, the Bachelor’s pass rate improved from 97.1% in 2024.

The school also achieved an average of 82% in Mathematics, 80% in Accounting, and 80% in English Home Language, all beating their historical averages.

The average distinction rate per candidate at the co-educational school is far better than that of the vast majority of private schools across South Africa.

Across the co-educational schools, Westerford can only be beaten by eight private schools in South Africa with over 50 matric students.

The school’s 3.2 distinctions place it just behind Crawford College, St Lucia, which received 3.25 per candidate.

Its 3.21 places it above Helpmekaar Kollege in Johannesburg’s 3.09 and Glenwood House in George’s 3.05.

Compared to boys’ only schools, it would only be beaten by St John’s College, which achieved 3.7 distinctions per candidate. That said, it would not crack the top 10 if it were a girls’ only school.

School History

Westerford opened at the beginning of January 1953, housed in an old homestead, which no longer exists.

The site was originally known as Westervoort, but the school was known as Claremont Secondary School, after the school’s name, which shared a property with a small primary school on Dean Street.

The school’s first headmaster, Noel Taylor, began referring to the school as Westerford Secondary School and in 1953, the Cape School Board recognised the name.

To date, the school has had only five Headmasters since its inception and is currently led by My Smith.

The school has undergone continued development and has seen a number of facilities open over the year.

This includes an indoor sports centre, seminar rooms, computer laboratories, swimming pool, Imhoff sports grounds, astroturf, and a music centre.

The school currently has over 900 pupils and a reputation for high levels of achievement in many spheres, most notably academically.

Due to their expertise in education, the Western Cape Education Department asked the school to offer academic support and management oversight to their new school, Claremont High School.

This would help deliver quality education to a diverse pupil body from less privileged backgrounds.

Prominent alumni include former Investec Bank CEO Sir Bradley Fried, comedian Nik Rabinowitz and media personality Dan Corder.

The top private co-educational schools vs Westerford

The top private boys’ schools vs Westerford

Westerford Images