{"id":869228,"date":"2026-08-10T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=869228"},"modified":"2026-08-07T16:11:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T14:11:49","slug":"the-world-renowned-private-school-in-south-africa-with-only-120-learners-hidden-in-the-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/869228\/the-world-renowned-private-school-in-south-africa-with-only-120-learners-hidden-in-the-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"The world-renowned private school in South Africa with only 120 learners, hidden in the mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Drakensberg Boys Choir in Winterton is a world-renowned private school where every learner must sing to be accepted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school is located in Winterton, KwaZulu-Natal, a small farming town at the foot of the Drakensberg mountain range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school was founded in 1967 by choirmaster John Tungay, who managed the school’s property and operations with his family until 1981.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After this, the school’s operations were transferred to a board of directors, but Tungay’s original vision for the school remained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He formed the school to combine rigorous academics with choral excellence, which it still strives to achieve today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be enrolled in the school, a boy must be willing and able to sing in the school’s choir, with the first step of the application process being a vocal audition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process also involves an interview with the headmaster, Hendrik Bekker, where the boy and his parents can ask questions about life at the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to the remoteness of the school grounds and the out-of-the-ordinary schooling structure, all learners are encouraged to board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school’s head of boarding, Lauren Dookey, said that boarding is preferred for learners, with day scholars only allowed if they agree to a full daily programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two boarding houses on the school’s property, Tungay House for learners in grades 4 to 6, and Griffin House for learners in grades 7 to 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school follows an out-of-the-ordinary structure, with children allowed to join only from grade four and leaving in grade nine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this differs from many other schools in South Africa, it perfectly encapsulates the intermediate phase (grades 4-6) and senior phase (grades 7-9) as set out by the Department of Education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Drakensberg Boys Choir is a private school which follows a CAPS-aligned curriculum that has been adapted to suit the school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While academics are considered an essential part of the school, it describes itself as “first and foremost, a musical institution providing an education through choral music.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school also emphasises skills-based learning, which it considers a critical part of a child’s development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

School fees for the choir school sit between R194,000 and R243,000 per year, including boarding as the school prefers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This works out to between R17,700 and R22,100 over eleven monthly payments, with prices going up with a child’s grade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A world-renowned choir<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The Drakensberg Boys Choir is well-known for its performances, which are held every Wednesday evening at the school grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The choir also performs across the country, regularly taking part in national tours, particularly during events such as Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The choir also regularly performs at a variety of international and local events, adding depth to its performances and aiding in the musical education of the learners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school’s head of choral activity, Jacques Linde, said it is a unique institution, and noted that it is the only school in Africa which incorporates choral singing into its everyday routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The repertoire, technical skill and artistry of our choristers show the depth of their passion and commitment,” he said in a statement on the school’s website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As singing ambassadors of South Africa, our choristers have had the privilege of sharing their voices on prestigious stages across the globe, carrying forward a tradition of excellence that has defined this choir for generations.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Over the years, the choir has performed at renowned international venues, representing South Africa with pride and showcasing the rich diversity of our musical heritage.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school’s travelling ensemble regularly performs in several of South Africa’s major cities, including carolling tours in December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school also ensures holistic education through its sports offerings, which include swimming, tennis, cricket, and soccer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with these mainstream sports, the school offers what it describes as “adventure sports”, which include mountain biking, open-water swimming, horseback riding, and tubing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It regularly offers learners the chance to compete both individually and in teams for out-of-school events, including the Midmar Mile, biathlons and triathlons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The Sports Department promotes a balanced life programme through healthy exercise and interaction with other learners and teams,” the school said on its website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photos of the Drakensberg Boys Choir<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Drakensberg Boys Choir School is renowned the world over for its performances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":869264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"failed","_sma_x_autopost_error":"Instagram publishing failed: Instagram returned HTTP 400: Media ID is not available","_sma_x_post_id":"2086784886854021235","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2172124750274591","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[26096,26094,26095],"class_list":["post-869228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-drakensberg","tag-drakensberg-boys-choir-school","tag-winterton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869228","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\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=869228"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":869386,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869228\/revisions\/869386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/869264"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=869228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=869228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=869228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}