Choosing a high school is one of those big parenting milestones that feels exciting, emotional, and practical all at once.
Johannesburg has plenty to offer, from historic public schools to specialised private schools. The right choice depends on your child, your budget, and your values. It’s a decision that can impact more than just your child’s future, but also more practical ones like where you choose to live or settle next.
This guide looks at some of the top public and private high schools in Johannesburg to help you compare your options and get a clearer feel for where your family might fit best.
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Founded in 1902, King Edward VII School is one of Joburg’s most established public boys’ schools. It places a strong emphasis on holistic education, with academics, culture, and sport forming the core of the school’s identity.
It’s particularly known for its comprehensive and competitive sports programs. Plus, it remains one of Wits University’s top feeder schools, setting its boys up beyond high school.
Both Jeppe High School for Boys and Jeppe High School for Girls are some of Johannesburg’s finest high schools. These sister and brother schools are both located in Kensington and are part of the original 23 Milner Schools. They share close ties, including joint academic programs, co-ed social events like the matric dance and a shared pipe band.
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Known as Johannesburg’s oldest public school, founded in 1890, Jeppe High School for Boys has a long-standing reputation for excellence and is regarded as one of the best boys’ high schools in the country. The school motto, “Nothing is too difficult for the brace”, is embedded in the school culture.
It encourages a close brotherhood between students, especially in its full boarding program. The Theo Jackson Scholarship Fund provides an opportunity for underprivileged students to access a top-quality education.
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Separating from the boys’ school in 1910, Jeppe High School for Girls has an outstanding academic program. Jeppe Girls has consistently been recognised as a leading school in Gauteng, achieving a 100% Matric pass rate for over 31 consecutive years.
At Jeppe Girls, learning goes beyond the classroom. It offers dynamic academic enrichment, Olympiads, music and art programmes, drama productions, a wide range of sports, and a modern Performing Arts Centre. The Wellness Team is also there to support the emotional and mental well-being of every girl.
The Parktown schools are strong options for families looking in Joburg’s central-northern school belt. The history of both schools can be traced back to 1920, separating into their single-gendered high schools in 1923. It has long been known for its cultivation of a diverse melting pot. Parktown Boys’ High School is known as one of the first government schools to allow boys of mixed race into a mainstream white school.
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The motto of Parktown Boys’ High School, “Arise”, inspires the tradition, values and spirit of the learners, parents and staff of the Parktonian family. Alongside its academic track record, producing many Rhodes Scholars, the school places a major emphasis on sport, culture, leadership, and character. Their spirit is indicative in them being declared the 5FM War Cry Champs!
It not only offers a wide range of cultural activities, from the photography club and traditional dancing to the stock exchange game and the brass and drum corps. It also has an excellent sports program, producing a significant number of Springboks and international sportsmen.
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Parktown High School for Girls is a respected public girls’ school in Parkview. Set in quiet, stunning grounds, it offers a healthy balance of tradition, discipline, and a progressive approach to contemporary education.
The school is especially strong academically, with its 2025 matric class achieving a 100% pass rate, 349 distinctions and a 97.09% bachelor’s degree entrance rate. Beyond the classroom, it offers a wide range of sports, from water polo and tennis to yoga and touch rugby. It also has a busy cultural programme covering choir, debating, drama, contemporary dance, marimba, public speaking, and traditional dance.
Greenside High School stands out for its creative, culturally active personality as much as its academics. Its competitive academic program achieved a 100% pass rate in 2025, with one learner coming first in the province and top 3 nationally. Greenside is also a top feeder school to Wits University and the University of Johannesburg.
Its cultural programme is one of its most distinctive features, with plays, physical theatre, Kwaito, traditional dancing, debating, Model United Nations, and public speaking all listed as part of school life.
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Set below Northcliff Hill, Northcliff High School has built a reputation over more than 50 years around academic excellence, values, and all-round development. It has a school life that stretches from matric performance to sport, debating, public speaking, camps, and cultural tours.
A 100% Matric pass rate is the accepted norm, with over 80% of our students going on to further studies at university. It has consistently been rated one of the top 3 feeder schools for the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Johannesburg.
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Redhill School is the obvious standout for families wanting an international academic pathway without leaving Joburg. It is currently the only school in South Africa where students can choose between graduating with either the IEB or the International Baccalaureate.
It provides students with so much more beyond academics, with the Redhill Arts Festival, a dedicated music school, an aquatic and high-performance centre, a hockey astro, an annual sports festival, and programmes such as robotics, coding, radio, film, debating and public speaking.
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Roedean School is ranked as one of the top independent girls’ schools in the country, but its strongest hook is the combination of heritage, boarding and exceptional IEB results. Its class of 2025 achieved a 100% bachelor’s pass rate and an average of 4.21 distinctions per student.
The school describes itself as an all-girls boarding and day school built around the values of Truth, Honour, Freedom and Courtesy. Students are nurtured through the Pastoral Care System by the House system, by their peer support groups, Tutors, and Housemistresses.
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St Mary’s School, Waverley is a historic independent Anglican girls’ school, established in 1888 and described by the school as Johannesburg’s oldest school.
The independent Anglican girls’ school is also known for serious academic consistency, but what makes it stand out beyond results is The Edge, its arts facility with a 530-seat concert hall or theatre, art studios, music practice rooms, dramatic arts venues and a fitted dance studio.
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What makes Kingsmead College stand out is its more personalised, nurturing take on private girls’ education, guided by a Christian ethos. It recognises that 21st-Century learning calls for more than just the regurgitation of knowledge, tailoring its Senior School academic programme to the needs of each girl.
It also offers state-of-the-art facilities, including squash courts, a gym, a heated pool with diving boards and a diving bubble, a water polo pool, a divers’ hot tub, five tennis courts/netball courts, a floodlit hockey astroturf, and a small practice field for athletics.
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Based in Houghton, it combines a traditional Anglican boys’ school foundation with a broad modern education: IEB in the College, a co-ed Cambridge A Levels Sixth Form, boarding for around 240 boys, and a strong house system.
As an African centre of excellence, they’re internationally connected through the membership of the International Boys' Schools Coalition (IBSC) and the prestigious G30 Schools group, while remaining firmly rooted in an African context.
Choosing between public and private high schools in Joburg is difficult when they both offer such competitive options. Here are a few practical factors to consider to help you determine whether private or public is better for your child:
Because many of these schools factor in feeder zones into their admissions decisions, living near your chosen school can have a major impact on your child’s chances of getting into the school they want.
So, depending on your school, here are the suburbs worth considering for relocation:
Moving closer to the right school in Johannesburg can make everyday family life feel a whole lot easier. For public schools, living within the right feeder zone may also improve your child’s placement priority.
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