The cost of sending a child to school in 2023 – a price comparison

Sending a child to school becomes more costly every year as inflation eats away at our disposable income.

Although fees and costs vary widely, depending on factors such as what a school offers, extramural activities, and after-school fees, it’s possible to budget for certain items.

To get a handle on what parents are facing in 2023, we chatted with five mums about what they’ll be paying for public school and related expenses and conducted a sample school wear price comparison.

Tip: Back-to-school expenses can leave a hole in your pocket. You may need a personal loan if you need tide-over finances.

What can parents expect to pay for school fees and other extras

Liezel Korf’s daughter will be in matric at Pretoria High School next year. Liezel says the fees for 2023 amount to R43,490, which is comparable to other public schools in the area. 

She recommends buying school dresses and blazers from the school’s second-hand clothing shop, where prices are much reduced. “I paid R80 for a second-hand school dress, instead of R800 for a new one,” she reveals.

Liezel says she will also have to buy a matric jersey and Prefect blazer and must budget for the matric function later in the year.

Other extras include choir membership at R900 per year, plus a choir outfit, and drama classes at R900 per month. Entering competitions for these activities, which take place three times a year, costs about R1,100 per event. Liezel’s daughter attends choir, drama and prefect camps, which cost between R400 and R800 each.

Liezel says expenses that add up but are difficult to keep track of include class parties, contributions for birthday gifts, and snacks at school functions, to name just a few – each costing anything from R50 to R100 per event.

High school mom Dini Redgard from Randburg will pay annual school fees of R34,800 for her grade 9 learner for 2023, of which R3,480 was payable before 30 November 2022.

The fee includes teaching, transport to all academic, sport and cultural excursions within a 100km radius, weekly extra lessons, sports training and cultural activities, after-school centre attendance, internet café usage, and basic team sports equipment.

Dini’s son plays soccer at a private club at R100 a session, and she has to take him to and from chess lessons twice a week. Around ten assignments a year cost her between R70 and R120 each.

Phillippa Barnard, mother of two primary-school learners in Johannesburg, expects to pay R25,800 in annual school fees for each child, plus aftercare at the school premises at a yearly cost of R14,000 each. These are reasonable amounts for Johannesburg government schools, she says.

The school also has a holiday club, which provides a welcome option for working mothers. Children can attend during school holidays at R130 per day, which includes breakfast, lunch, fruit, and daily indoor and outdoor activities.

Phillippa is moneywise and buys school wear essentials such as grey shorts and trousers, grey and white socks, and plain white shirts at Pep Stores, as the quality is good and the price is quite a bit lower than school wear specialists.

In Mossel Bay, Michelle Carstens’ daughter starts grade 4 in January. School fees are R11,250 for the year.

“I have paid R350 for shoes, R1,200 for a school bag, R1,000 for school clothes and R1,300 for sportswear,” says Michelle. “The learners wear sportswear four days a week and their full uniforms on Fridays.”

Christelle van der Westhuizen from Centurion has a daughter in grade 7, and will pay school fees of R1,800 per month and after-school fees of R1,500 per month next year.

Amid the rising costs, parents who cannot afford school fees can apply for conditional, partial or complete exemption based on their income.

The cost of school uniforms and school wear

We did some research to establish what a parent can expect to pay for a basic summer school uniform.

Prices differ vastly, depending on whether school wear is branded or not, whether blazers are plain, striped or piped, and the brand of shoes chosen.

We randomly picked a public Gauteng primary school and a public Western Cape high school and did the calculations.

The tables below show that, in our example, the parents of a girl going to a Johannesburg public primary school can expect to pay between R2,084 and R2,614 for a basic uniform.

The parents of a boy will pay slightly less, at between R1,889 and R2,454 for a basic uniform.

The parents of a high-school girl attending a public school in Cape Town can expect to pay between R2,938 and R3,233, and for a boy, between R3,219 and R3,784.

The costs for a primary school in Johannesburg: 

The costs for a high school in Cape Town: 

Prices correct at the time of article compilation.
Sources: www.toughees.co.za, www.rosewall.co.za

The cost of stationery 

Stationery lists may include exam pads, highlighters, pens and pencils, scissors, glue sticks, blue pens, black pens, HB pencils, erasers, sharpeners, and highlighters. Schools may have a list of subject-specific items on top of that.

Dini paid R1,380 for the rental of her son’s 2023 handbooks and expects his stationery to cost around R1,000.

Liezel also expects stationery expenses to be around R1,000. The school does not require parents to buy or rent books.

Christelle says her daughter’s school fees include her handbooks and exercise books, while her basic stationery will cost an additional R650.

Extras such as a calculator, A4 plastic envelopes, a canvas schoolbag and Oxford dictionaries are not included.

Phillippa also expects to pay around R1,000 per child for stationery the school provides.

If you’re budgeting for back-to-school costs, taking the above into account may help you work out what’s needed and what can be acquired more cheaply.

Tip: Consolidating your debt may lead to more disposable income for school expenses. Find out more about debt counselling