One of the oldest high schools in South Africa

South African College Schools (SACS), one of the oldest secondary schools in the country, is just four years away from celebrating its 200th anniversary.

The school has a deep institutional connection to education in Cape Town, with the University of Cape Town being an offshoot of the institution.

While established in 1829, the school was first conceptualised by Dutch Commissioner General Jacob Abraham Uitenhage de Mist, who requested funds to improve education in the Cape in 1791.

Lord Charles Henry Somerset eventually released these funds in 1814 after the British had taken control of the Cape Colony roughly two decades earlier.

The school was eventually opened a decade and a half later, in what would become the South African Children’s Home on Long Street in the centre of Cape Town.

Just over a decade later, the school relocated to the Egyptian Building in the Gardens area of the city, which is now home to the University of Cape Town’s Michaelis School of Fine Art.

In 1874, the institution was split into two, as it was decided that the younger students should be separated from their counterparts.

This saw the formation of the College, which became the University of Cape Town, and the College School, which is today known as SACS. Both remained at the Egyptian Building for the time being.

The school eventually relocated from the Egyptian Building campus to its own building on Orange Street.

This is also when the College developed into a fully fledged university, with increased funding from the government and private investors. It was formally established as a University in 1918.

The College School remained in Orange Street for the next six decades until it finally moved to where it is located today on the Montebello Estate in Newlands, home to former mining magnate, Sir Max Michaelis.

SACS has a primary and secondary school, which are situated around the corner from one another.

This is located near the Genadendal Presidential residence, used by the President of South Africa when in Cape Town.

The High School’s grounds were used to film Spud 2, based on the popular South African book, as the the production was unable to take place at Michael House, where the first movie was filmed.

196 years later

Today, the school, which sits at the foot of Devil’s Peak, accommodates 900 students, with many residing in Cape Town. 

SACS also offers boarding facilities, with three boarding houses: one for grade 8 students, one for grade 9 students, and another for grades 10 to 12.

There is also a wide range of sporting activities available to learners. During the summer, the school offers athletics, cricket, mountain biking, swimming, tennis, water polo and sailing.

It prides itself on its cricketing ability, aiming to be the “cricketing school of choice” by providing world-class coaching.

SACS also points out that it offers basketball as a school sport, which is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country.

During the winter, boys can participate in rugby, hockey, cross-country, golf, and squash.

The school boasts what it claims is one of the best school gyms in South Africa,” which is a 480 square meter facility, which includes a wrestling mat and various exercise machines.

It also features a water-based astroturf hockey field, five rugby fields, one cricket pitch with eight astroturf and three concrete-based nets, five tennis courts, two squash courts, and two basketball courts. 

SACS also has a strong academic culture, having received a 100% pass rate following the 2024 Matric National Senior Certificate exams.

It received 43 A averages, 160 Bachelor’s passes, and 353 distinctions across its 169 students who wrote the exams.

As for clubs and societies, the school offers a number that learners can join, including the debating society, chess club, history society, first aid, and the multimedia society.

Learners also have a wide range of musical instruments to choose from as subjects at school, including the clarinet, drums, flute, French horn, marimba, piano, saxophone, trumpet, and several others.

There are also several ensembles that learners can join, such as the senior jazz band, the concert band, the saxophone ensemble, the choir, the chamber choir, and the marimba ensemble.

More photos of SACS