Diocesan School for Girls

The Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) is a distinguished independent Anglican boarding school for girls in Makhanda (Grahamstown), Eastern Cape, and one of the oldest girls’ schools in South Africa. It was founded in 1874 by Bishop Nathaniel Merriman as the sister school to St Andrew’s College, with its early ethos shaped by Dorothea Beale of England’s Cheltenham Ladies’ College – whose ideal, “Raise my whole sex and with it the world,” still echoes through the school. Having celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2024, DSG today educates around 500 girls, the great majority of them boarders, across a Junior School (Grades 4 to 7) and a Senior School (Grades 8 to 12).

DSG enjoys a unique co-instructional partnership with St Andrew’s College: from Grade 10, academic classes are shared between the two schools, and facilities such as the music school and design-and-technology centre are held in common, while each school retains its own distinct character. Academically, girls write either the IEB National Senior Certificate or the Cambridge International AS and A Levels, and the school’s tradition of excellence rests on five pillars – academic, cultural, sporting, spiritual and community.

Anchored in its Anglican Christian ethos, DSG aims to develop forward-thinking, independent and ethical young “women of substance,” ready to lead in a rapidly changing world. Full-time boarding immerses girls in a rich, diverse community life amid historic architecture and leafy gardens, complemented by 11 sporting codes, a dedicated music school and the school’s own outdoor-education centre, “The Monastery.” As one of South Africa’s premier girls’ schools, fees range from roughly R144,000 to R299,000 a year in the senior school; full fee and admissions details are available directly from the school.