{"id":838262,"date":"2025-09-25T15:18:46","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T13:18:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=838262"},"modified":"2025-09-25T15:19:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T13:19:20","slug":"112-year-old-private-school-shutting-down-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/838262\/112-year-old-private-school-shutting-down-in-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"112-year-old private school shutting down in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mayfair Convent School, a private primary school in Johannesburg with over a century of history, will close at the end of 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The property is already up for auction, confirming the school\u2019s closure after years of financial strain. The school was founded in 1913 by the Sisters of Mercy and has served children from Grade 0 to Grade 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2013 and has long been part of Johannesburg\u2019s Catholic education community. But despite its history, it will not survive rising financial pressures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is with deep regret that we inform you that Mayfair Convent Primary School will be permanently closing its doors at the end of this academic year,\u201d said Grace Masuku, chairperson of the school\u2019s board, in a letter to learners and parents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is not just the closing of a building\u2014it is the closing of a chapter that has meant so much to all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Masuku explained that the school\u2019s finances had been under constant review, and government support had been cut significantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe government subsidy has been reduced in the past year by 13% and then 18% as communicated to you in previous letters. The school furthermore only received 50% of what was expected in the June 2025 subsidy payment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This, she added, has made it impossible for the school to continue operating. \u201cDespite our greatest efforts to sustain the school, challenges beyond our control have made it impossible to continue operating.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis means that Mayfair Convent School will not be able to financially sustain itself going forward beyond December 2025,\u201d Masuku said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parents have been asked to continue paying school fees in full until December so that teachers and creditors can be paid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWithout this commitment, our situation until December will be seriously affected,\u201d Masuku warned. Staff had been consulted and understood that closure was the only option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not the only private school to close in 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Masuku acknowledged how disruptive this will be for families. \u201cWe understand that this news will come as a shock and may raise many concerns for you and your family.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are committed to supporting the learners as best we can as they seek placement at other schools. We encourage all parents to take the necessary steps to ensure they timeously enrol their children at another school for 2026,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also thanked the school community for its loyalty and support. \u201cMayfair Convent School has been more than just a place of learning\u2014it has been a community and a source of pride. While this chapter is coming to a close, the memories and impact will live on,\u201d said Masuku. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince its founding by the Sisters of Mercy in 1913, our school has been more than a place of learning; it has been a second home, a place where your children have grown, laughed, and discovered who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The closure comes as other private schools are also shutting down. King David Victory Park in Johannesburg, one of the top-performing private schools in the country, will also close at the end of 2025<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

King David is the largest Jewish school network in South Africa, and also includes King David Linksfield; King David Sandton; Minnie Bersohn Pre-Primary School; and King David Rosabelle Klein Nursery School, Waverley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also one of the best-performing schools in South Africa, according to the latest stats from the IEB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

King David Victory Park, established in 1960, has served the Jewish community and produced excellent results, with candidates averaging 3.39 distinctions in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this, the South African Board of Jewish Education decided to close the school after a review of its future role in the broader King David network. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

General Director Rabbi Ricky Seeff said the decision followed careful consideration of many factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mayfair Convent School \u2014 on auction<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Mayfair Convent School, a private primary school in Johannesburg with over a century of history, will close at the end of 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":838270,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[1652,23677,853],"class_list":["post-838262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-gauteng","tag-mayfair-convent-school","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=838262"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":838334,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838262\/revisions\/838334"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/838270"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=838262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=838262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=838262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}