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International Schools in Durban: What's Actually On Offer for Expat Families

By The Expat Club · Updated October 2026

We did not find an American or British international school in Durban, so most expat families end up choosing a local IEB private school. The exceptions are Deutsche Schule Durban, a German-medium primary school, and Crawford's IB primary programme, which the school says it will start moving away from in January 2027. Published 2026 and 2027 fees run from under R50,000 for the youngest grades to over R200,000 a year in the senior years.

Search "international schools in Durban" and you'll find a lot of pages implying Durban has the same kind of international-school scene as Johannesburg or Cape Town. It doesn't, and it's worth knowing that before you shortlist a suburb around a school that may not offer what you think it does. Here is what exists, school by school.

The starting point

Johannesburg has a full American school, a German school and a French lycée. Cape Town has an American school and a German school of its own. Durban has nothing on that scale for a general expat population. The nearest thing is Deutsche Schule Durban, a small independent school in Cowies Hill, near Westville. It blends the South African and German curricula, describes itself as welcoming all-comers, and advertises a pathway for English-speaking learners. It takes children from 18 months to Grade 7, so it will not see them through to matric.

Families relocating from Germany or France specifically may want our country guides to moving to South Africa from Germany and moving to South Africa from France for the wider picture beyond schooling.

What Durban has instead is a strong bench of local IEB private schools. A few have added extras beyond the standard curriculum without becoming full international schools: Advanced Programme Mathematics at Reddam House Umhlanga, for example, and an IB primary programme at Crawford that the school will start moving away from in January 2027.

Choosing a local IEB school is not necessarily a downgrade: for a family not planning to move again after South Africa, a good IEB school is often the better and cheaper choice anyway. But if a fully portable IB Diploma or Cambridge A-Level qualification is the priority, Durban is thinner ground than Joburg or Cape Town, and it's worth confirming directly with any school rather than assuming.

What curricula are available

• German (primary only): Deutsche Schule Durban, in Cowies Hill near Westville, is a German-medium primary school that blends the South African and German curricula. It stops at Grade 7 and has no secondary school, so families need a plan for high school regardless.
• IB (primary level, due to be phased out): Crawford International's La Lucia Preparatory school is an authorised IB World School running the Primary Years Programme, but the school says its Pre-Primary and Preparatory schools will start moving away from the IB in January 2027. We also could not confirm an IB Diploma Programme through to Grade 12 at any Durban-area school, so if the IB Diploma matters to you, ask schools directly rather than assuming Durban offers one.
• Cambridge (CAIE): thin on the ground in Durban proper. A common assumption is that Reddam House runs Cambridge everywhere it operates, but it doesn't. Reddam House Umhlanga follows the IEB, not Cambridge. Its college page lists Advanced Programme Mathematics as an extra subject for stronger mathematicians, which is not a Cambridge qualification. We didn't find a confirmed full Cambridge IGCSE/A-Level provider inside the Durban metro; confirm with individual schools if this is a must-have.
• IEB, South Africa's own strong local qualification: the default for almost every private school in and around Durban. St Mary's DSG, Thomas More College, Kearsney College, Clifton School, Crawford's La Lucia and North Coast colleges and Reddam House Umhlanga all write IEB, and Curro Hillcrest teaches CAPS and sits the IEB exams.

Common mistake: assuming "Reddam House" or "Crawford" automatically means Cambridge or IB right through to matric. Some campuses in those groups offer one of the two, but that does not carry over to every campus. Ask the specific campus what it offers in the grade your child will be in, not what the group offers nationally.

The schools expat families ask about most

Not exhaustive, but a reasonable starting shortlist. Figures come from each school's own published fee documents where we could open them, and each figure is labelled with its year. Fees are reissued for each school year, so confirm the current schedule with the school.

Two things stand out in that table. First, Durban's private schools mostly cost well under the top end in Johannesburg, where the American school's highest fees are about R643,000 a year (2026–27). That fits with the city's lower cost of living, and our comparison of international school fees in South Africa shows how the three cities stack up.

Second, fee schedules are published one year at a time, and some add enrolment charges, exam fees and sundry charges on top of the annual figure. Check the school's own current schedule rather than relying on a secondhand number.

Where these schools are

Durban's private schools cluster in four pockets, which broadly track where expats already live:

• Umhlanga, La Lucia, Durban North & Morningside: Reddam House Umhlanga, Crawford International La Lucia and Clifton School (boys, in Morningside), mostly close to the beachfront apartments and estates most corporate relocations gravitate to first. Our guide to living in Umhlanga covers the suburb itself, from rent to the airport run.
• Kloof & Hillcrest (the Upper Highway belt): St Mary's DSG, Thomas More College, Kearsney College, Curro Hillcrest and Highbury Preparatory, cooler, greener, more space, a 25–40 minute drive inland.
• Westville: Deutsche Schule Durban (in Cowies Hill, near Westville) and Westville Boys' and Girls' High.
• Ballito & the North Coast: Crawford's North Coast College, Reddam House Ballito and Curro Salt Rock (preschool through to an IEB matric), which serve families living further up the North Coast.

As with Johannesburg, it's worth shortlisting a school or two before committing to a suburb rather than the other way around. A great-looking house can quietly rule out the school run you wanted. Our guide to the best places to live in Durban is a good starting point for matching a suburb to your shortlist.

Government ("Model C") schools: still a real option

Durban has several well-regarded semi-independent government schools that cost a fraction of private fees. Durban Girls' High School in Glenwood lists 2026 fees of R44,500 on its website, against well over R100,000 a year at most of the private high schools in the table above. Northlands Girls' High School in Durban North and Westville Boys' and Girls' High are also worth a look for families who want a government-school option without full private-school pricing.

Schools like these are often oversubscribed in the suburbs expats prefer, so a good address doesn't guarantee a place. Check each school's admission policy and waiting list before you assume anything: Durban Girls' High and Westville Boys' High had both closed applications for 2027 when we looked in October 2026.

Applying: practicalities worth knowing

One structural point catches out almost every newcomer: South Africa's academic year runs January to December, not September to June or July as in the US, the UK and much of Europe. A family arriving mid-year is arriving mid-school-year, which affects both timing and what places are open. Beyond that:

• Apply as early as you reasonably can. Popular entry grades at the schools above fill up well in advance, and several don't publish availability online.
• Expect a one-off enrolment charge at most private schools. Among the ones we checked for 2026, it was R4,000 at Deutsche Schule Durban and about R5,800 at Curro Hillcrest, while Thomas More College charges a non-refundable R18,000 facilities levy for places offered. Ask each school what, if anything, is credited against fees.
• Ask specifically what curriculum is taught in the grade your child will enter. As noted above, a school group's national offering doesn't always match what a specific campus provides.
• Confirm current fees directly with the school. Fees are reissued every year, so check the schedule for the year your child will start.

If you are shortlisting now, start from the grade your child will enter and ask each school about its waiting list for that year. Durban offers fewer international-curriculum options than Johannesburg or Cape Town, and its private fees are generally lower.

Frequently asked questions

General information only, confirm current details for your situation.