St Charles College

St Charles College is an independent, non-denominational Christian college for boys in the Scottsville suburb of Pietermaritzburg, and one of South Africa’s oldest schools. It was founded on 26 July 1875 as St Charles Grammar School by Bishop Charles Jolivet of the Order of Mary Immaculate, sold to the Marist Brothers in 1912 – who renamed it St Charles College – and moved to its present Harwin Road campus in 1925. After nearly closing in 1978, it was saved by a dedicated group of Old Boys and re-established as a non-denominational school, growing into an important boys’ college of around 750 to 800 pupils. It educates day boys from Grade 000 to Matric, with boarding available from Grade 4.

Committed to providing a global learning experience, St Charles follows the University of Cambridge International curriculum and writes the Cambridge International examinations, leading to qualifications recognised by universities worldwide. The College is organised into a series of schools – Pre-Primary, Junior and Senior Primary, Middle School and Sixth Form – each suited to a particular stage of a boy’s development, and acknowledges God in all it does while welcoming boys of all backgrounds.

Boarding is a distinctive strength, with a pioneering “graded” system that houses boys with their peers in separate, age-appropriate houses, supported by housemasters, a resident house mother with a nursing background and 24-hour care. The school is also a sporting powerhouse – particularly in basketball, in which it became national schoolboy champion in 2023 – with ten fields and strong programmes across rugby, cricket, hockey and football. Recent tuition fees range from roughly R53,000 to R153,000; full fee and admissions details are available directly from the school.