Old winery in South Africa’s millionaire town transformed into a next-generation private school charging R780 per month

The historic Louisenhof Cellar, on the edge of Stellenbosch, was transformed into a vibrant new campus for the private school group, Apex Education.

Apex Education is a next-generation educational initiative which offers low-cost private schooling through a blended-learning model.

The group combines digital content with in-class facilitation, allowing it to offer quality private schooling for R7,800 per scholar for the 2026 school year.

This is cheaper than most private and high-end government schools, which aligns with Apex Education’s goal of making quality education available to everyone.

To understand how it got there, it is important to go back to 2018, when Apex started as a brick-and-mortar, no-fee public school in Eersterivier.

The pandemic and school lockdowns forced the school to transition to online learning. During this period, Apex developed its own Learner Management System.

When things returned to normal, Apex transitioned to an alternating schedule of in-person and online learning.

In 2022, they trialled their first blended learning model. Their analysis showed that the results remained about the same as those in traditional schools.

This was the birth of Apex Education’s current model, which is so popular that it is growing its presence.

Its flagship school, Apex Stellenbosch, opened its doors in January 2024, welcoming the first group of Grade 8 students.

Every year, the school adds at least one grade, and by 2028, it will have its first cohort of Grade 12 students.

In 2026, the new Apex Pinelands branch began accepting applications for Grade 1 learners in its primary school and for Grade 8 learners in its high school.

Through its Stellenbosch, Eersterivier, and Pinelands Apex schools, it is offering affordable, technology-driven private education.

Old winery transformed into a next-generation private school

Apart from offering high-quality education at an affordable price, Apex Education’s Stellenbosch campus is unique in another aspect.

The school transformed a historic Louisenhof Cellar into a vibrant campus for learning and socialising.

The former cellar is located on the edge of Stellenbosch, immediately adjacent to Kayamandi, one of the developing townships in the millionaire town.

SALT Architects, which designed the campus, explained that the project transformed the old Louisenhof wine production facility into a campus for Apex High School.

Instead of building the school from the ground up, they adapted the existing industrial structure to educational facilities.

They inserted learning labs and extended the school through courtyards, verandahs and outdoor gathering spaces.

“Rather than starting again, the architecture works with what was already there,” SALT Architects explained.

“A building once used for the production of wine now supports the production of educational opportunities.”

The project was completed in two phases to support the growth of Apex Stellenbosch from grade 8 in 2024 to grade 12 in 2028.

In February 2026, the Stellenbosch campus was completed. “This inspiring transformation is a testament to the great South Africa we envision and believe in.”

---

The old Louisenhof Cellar

---

Apex Stellenbosch campus construction

---

Apex Stellenbosch campus

---