Kearsney College

Kearsney College is one of South Africa’s leading traditional independent boys’ schools – a private, English-medium boarding and day high school set on a scenic 125-acre estate in Botha’s Hill, on the edge of the Valley of a Thousand Hills, midway between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Founded in 1921 by the sugar magnate Sir Liege Hulett in partnership with the Methodist Church, it opened with just 11 boys on Hulett’s family estate near Stanger before relocating to its present Botha’s Hill site in 1939. Today it educates around 650 boys in Grades 8 to 12, roughly three-quarters of them boarders, across five boarding houses, under the motto Carpe Diem (“Seize the Day”).

Grounded in its Methodist heritage and Christian values – with a resident chaplain and all faiths welcomed – Kearsney is renowned for academic excellence, writing the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) examinations and achieving a 100% pass rate for well over a decade. Its celebrated Maths and Science Excellence Programme has, for eleven consecutive years, produced distinction rates roughly double the IEB national average, and the school is notable for offering Mandarin. Flexible weekly, termly and day options, small classes and modern technology support a holistic, well-rounded education.

Beyond the classroom, Kearsney is famous for two things: sport and song. Its world-class facilities – multiple rugby fields, cricket ovals, a hockey astroturf, two pools and the indoor SportZone – host the renowned Kearsney Easter Rugby Festival and have produced many provincial and national sportsmen, while the world-champion Kearsney College Choir is among the finest in the world. Full fee and admissions details are available directly from the school.