Founded in 1829, the South African College School (SACS) stands as one of the oldest educational institutions in the country, predating both Pretoria, the administrative capital, and Johannesburg. While the school officially opened its doors in 1829, planning began much earlier when Dutch Commissioner General de Mist set aside funds in 1791 to improve education in the Cape. Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole, his successor, completed the final plans for the institution. Originally located on Long Street in Cape Town, the school later relocated to the Herbert Baker Buildings—structures now utilized by the University of Cape Town—before finally settling on the Montebello Estate in Newlands against Table Mountain.
Desegregation and the Open Schools Movement in 1992
The demographic makeup of the student body shifted significantly across the 20th and late 20th centuries. Initially open to all boys, the institution became segregated in 1905 following the enactment of the Cape School Boards Act. In 1992, the campus reopened to boys of all races. SACS documented its role in the open schools movement as one of the few local institutions that desegregated without the formal sanction of the Nationalist Government. Today, the high school and junior school operate as separate entities on the same Newlands estate, originally configured to host students from junior grades up to collegiate work.
Academic Prestige and Rhodes Scholarship Access at Oxford University
SACS maintains a competitive standing in both athletics and academics within South Africa. In sports, the institution ranks second nationally in hockey according to SA School Sports’ combined rankings, which evaluate the performance of top teams across all age categories, while its rugby program places in the top 30 nationwide. Academically, it remains one of only four schools in South Africa with a Rhodes Scholarship open to its alumni, covering full tuition and accommodation for studies at Oxford University in England. This scholarship has since expanded to include learners from Rustenburg High School for Girls and Sans Souci Girls’ High School.
Current Tuition Fees and Boarding Facilities in Newlands
Annual school fees at SACS are R71,000, with Grade 8 fees slightly higher at R72,800, remaining below the pricing structure of many other historic institutions in South Africa. Boarding is available for approximately 160 learners across three separate houses at an annual cost of R79,000. Rosedale, the largest and original building from the 1959 relocation to Newlands, houses students in grades 10 through 12. Meanwhile, Michaelis House accommodates roughly 40 ninth-grade boarders in a building that originally served as the home of Sir Max and Lady Michaelis after the First World War before its conversion in 1953.
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