South Africa—17 Feb 2026

Top private schools in South Africa officially shut down for good

Two of South Africa’s top private schools, King David Victory Park and Mayfair Convent School, have officially shut down, with both campuses expected to be sold.

Part of the larger King David school network in South Africa, King David Victory Park opened its doors in 1960 to serve the sizable Jewish community living in Emmarentia, Greenside, and Victory Park.

The school now offers schooling from Grades 1 to Matric. It is also home to King David Ariel, Johannesburg’s first Jewish remedial school.

King David is the largest Jewish school network in South Africa, and also includes King David Linksfield, King David Sandton, Minnie Bersohn Pre-Primary School, and King David Rosabelle Klein Nursery School, Waverley.

It is also one of the best-performing schools in South Africa, according to the latest IEB statistics.

At the beginning of this year, King David Victory Park announced that its final matric class of 2025 had achieved a 100% Bachelor’s Degree pass rate with an average of 3.44 distinctions per candidate.

This placed the school among the top 10 private and co-educational schools in South Africa.

Despite the excellent results, the South African Board of Jewish Education (SABJE) completed its consultation process with its staff and decided to close King David Victory Park at the end of 2025.

The decision comes after a lengthy review of the school’s sustainability and future role within the broader King David network.

Speaking with our sister publication BusinessTech, General Director of King David Schools, Rabbi Ricky Seeff, said many factors contributed to the decision to close the school.

Seeff said that a King David school needs to deliver on its promise of teaching excellence, a wide array of subjects, a robust sports program, and world-class sports facilities.

However, he added that student numbers in the vast majority of grades at King David Victory Park have reached levels where maintaining this excellence and offering has become compromised.

Although the campus hasn’t been sold yet, Seeff told the Jewish Report that there are a few prospective buyers, and the SABJE is exploring its options while working with the shul to ensure it finds a place that will ensure its longevity.

Seeff also added that the wider King David network had retained 90% of its students and 85% of its staff in this process.

112-year-old private primary school shut down

Mayfair Convent School, a private primary school in Johannesburg with over a century of history, also closed at the end of 2025.

The school was founded in 1913 by the Sisters of Mercy and has served children from Grade 0 to Grade 7.

In September 2025, Grace Masuku, chairperson of the school’s board, informed learners and parents that Mayfair Convent Primary School would be permanently closing its doors at the end of the 2025 academic year.

Masuku explained that the school’s finances had been under constant review and that government support had been significantly cut.

“The government subsidy has been reduced in the past year by 13% and then 18% as communicated to parents in previous letters,” she said.

“The school furthermore only received 50% of what was expected in the June 2025 subsidy payment,” she added.

This, Masuku said, made it impossible for the school to continue operating. “Despite our greatest efforts to sustain the school, challenges beyond our control have made it impossible to continue operating.”

This meant that Mayfair Convent School was unable to sustain itself financially beyond December 2025.

Parents were asked to continue paying school fees in full until December so that teachers and creditors can be paid.

The Mayfair Convent School property was officially put up for auction on 16 October 2025. While the identity of the final buyer has not been publicly disclosed, the auction confirmed the permanent closure of the 112-year-old institution.