Top South African private school that is completely free achieved a 99% matric pass rate over 24 years

Christel House South Africa is a private school in the Western Cape that offers free education to its students.

The school was founded by the late Christel DeHaan, a German-American entrepreneur who sold her business and built a global education network called Christel House International.

Born in Germany, DeHaan lived in England and then the United States before meeting her second husband, Jon DeHaan.

The couple made their money as co-founders of Resort Condominiums International (RCI), a global travel membership platform they founded in 1973.

After taking sole ownership of the company following the couple’s divorce in 1989, Christel DeHaan sold the company in 1996 for $825 million.

The sale gave DeHaan the time and resources to explore a new interest: philanthropy.

After conducting research into how to break generational poverty cycles, she determined that education would be her focus.

This led to the founding of Christel House International in 1998, which is a non-profit organisation that educates children who come from under-resourced communities.

It uses an educational model that DeHaan herself developed, which combines academics with other important support – such as healthcare, food, family assistance, and career guidance.

DeHaan personally funded the organisation’s operational and administrative expenses and ensured that all donations went to student programmes.

DeHaan passed away in June 2020, having already established schools in the United States, Mexico, Jamaica, India, and South Africa.

Of these, the local school – Christel House South Africa – opened in 2002 and is located in the Cape Town suburb of Ottery.

Private schools have a reputation for steep school fees, but Christel House South Africa does not charge its students a cent for their education.

Instead, learners are supported financially for 19 years by Christel House, which includes two years of pre-school, 12 years of schooling, and five years after matric.

Impressive results

Christel House South Africa offers high-quality education despite its fee-free structure.

It has averaged a 99% Matric pass rate since it opened in 2002, while 95% of its alumni engaged in higher education, training, or employment after completing their tenure at the school.

The school’s Matric class of 2025 achieved a 96% pass rate, with 70% of its learners earning Bachelor passes.

These results were far above the Western Cape average pass rate of 88% and Bachelor pass rate of 49%.

Key to this success is Christel House’s unique approach to education, which differs extensively from traditional curricula.

Learning days are longer at Christel House South Africa than at most other South African schools, while 30% more teaching time is spent on critical subjects like Mathematics and languages.

The school offers courses in coding, robotics and other scientific disciplines to ensure students are prepared for the technologically evolving modern workplace.

Schooling does not end in the classroom, though.

Learners receive daily meals that are planned to be nutritious, and they also get medical checkups and dental care for free.

There are on-site social workers, nurses, and counsellors to help learners navigate challenging experiences in their communities and the stress that comes with being impoverished.

To be accepted by Christel House South Africa, the only criterion is that you need help getting out of a generational cycle of poverty.

The institution targets children who are from homes where there is financial hardship, with the school predominantly getting its intake from the Cape Flats.

Parents play a key role in the programme and are expected to commit to an active partnership with the school for their child’s educational journey.

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Christel House South Africa photos

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