The top private school with a 100% matric pass rate that produced Kagiso Rabada and Gavin Hood

St Stithians College has built a reputation as one of South Africa’s leading private schools, producing top-performing matriculants, international sports stars, and business leaders.

However, its list of alumni also includes the architect of one of South Africa’s largest Ponzi schemes involving R2.3 billion.

St Stithians was founded in 1953 by Albert Collins, William Mountstephens and Gilbert Tucker, and is located on a 100-hectare campus in Lyme Park, on the border of Sandton and Randburg.

The school’s trustees purchased part of the Driefontein farm in 1943. After years of planning and overcoming financial and logistical challenges, the college opened its doors in January 1953.

Initially established as a Methodist boys’ school, St Stithians steadily grew alongside Johannesburg’s northern expansion during the 1960s and 1970s.

By its 40th anniversary in 1993, it had become one of South Africa’s best-known independent boys’ schools, with hundreds of pupils in both its preparatory and college divisions.

A major turning point came in the mid-1990s when the school expanded and introduced separate girls’ schools on the same campus while retaining single-sex education.

The result was a unique “coordinate” model, where boys’ and girls’ schools operate independently under one governing body while sharing facilities and opportunities for collaboration.

Today, St Stithians comprises seven schools: the Junior Preparatory, Boys’ Preparatory, Girls’ Preparatory, Boys’ College, Girls’ College, Kamoka Bush School, and the Thandulwazi Maths and Science Academy.

It remains one of the largest private school campuses in South Africa. The college continues to achieve strong academic results.

In the 2025 Independent Examinations Board (IEB) matric examinations, both the Boys’ College and the Girls’ College ranked among South Africa’s top 15-performing schools.

Across the combined 264 matric candidates, the school recorded a 100% pass rate and a 98.86% bachelor’s degree pass rate.

Learners earned 814 distinctions, while 15 pupils achieved the St Stithians Summa Cum Laude award for averaging 90% or higher.

Another 189 pupils achieved averages above 70%, and 32 learners earned 51 subject marks, placing them among the top 1% of all IEB candidates across 15 subjects.

Alumni include international cricketers, Oscar winners, top CEOs, and a pyramid scheme mastermind

The school has also developed a reputation for producing elite sportsmen, particularly cricket professionals.

Its alumni include Proteas fast bowler Kagiso Rabada, all-rounder Wiaan Mulder, wicketkeeper-batsman Ryan Rickelton, former New Zealand international Grant Elliott, and fast bowler Kwena Maphaka.

The school has also produced Oscar-winning Tsotsi director Gavin Hood, who is among its best-known former pupils.

Business leaders with St Stithians ties include Masa Auditors co-founder and CEO Emma Mashilwane, EasyEquities CEO Charles Savage, and Absa Head of Global Markets, Garth Klintworth.

Attending a top School such as St Stithians is not cheap. In 2026, annual fees reach R199,680 for day scholars, while boarding fees are as high as R346,295.

Despite its long list of distinguished alumni, the school has also been linked to one of South Africa’s biggest investment fraud cases through former pupil Craig Roy Warriner, who matriculated in 1982.

Through the BHI Trust, Warriner promoted three investment products to wealthy clients, claiming he generated returns by day trading shares in BHP Billiton and Anglo American.

His standing as a St Stithians alumnus gave him access to many affluent investors and influential networks.

However, an investigation by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), which began in 2020, found that only about R584 million of the R2.9 billion entrusted to him had been invested legitimately. 

The remaining funds were largely kept in a money market account and used to pay returns to earlier investors while financing Warriner’s lifestyle, operating as a Ponzi scheme.

Following a joint investigation involving the FSCA, the National Prosecuting Authority and the South African Police Service, Warriner was convicted on 207 counts of fraud

Although sentenced to 537 years’ imprisonment, those terms run concurrently, resulting in an effective 15-year sentence.

He also received a further 10-year prison sentence for conducting unregistered financial services businesses, bringing his total effective sentence to 25 years.

In March 2026, members of the Old Stithians Association held a special general meeting to consider expelling Warriner.

Under the association’s constitution, a two-thirds majority was required for expulsion. The motion failed to secure the necessary support, meaning Warriner remains a member of the alumni association despite his convictions.

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Images of St Stithians College

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