Christel House South Africa offers 100% no-fee education and support services to all its students. Our holistic, character-based, and career-focused education supports students from some of Cape Town’s most under-resourced communities for 19 years, from Grade RR to Grade 12, and continues for five years post-Matric.
We believe in the potential of every child and provide them with the tools, support, and opportunities to create a brighter future.
Applications are currently closed for all Grades. Admissions open annually on 1 March.
To apply, students must meet the following qualifying criteria:
Financial Need
We prioritise learners from families facing extreme economic hardship and living on R1 800 – R3 000 per month. Admissions decisions are based on a holistic assessment of need, which includes income context alongside social, household, and educational factors. Final admissions decisions are always made holistically and in line with our mission to serve families with genuine economic need.
To calculate: divide your household’s total monthly income (salaries, social grants, etc.) by the number of people living in the household.
Location
The child must permanently reside in one of the following catchment areas:
Hanover Park • Manenberg, Tambo Village • Jim se Bos, Smallville, Springfield, Olieboom Farm, Sonnestraal Farm, Schaapkraal, Jabula, Lekkerwater • Phumlani • Lotus River • Strandfontein • Pelican Park • Lansdowne • Parkwood • Langa • Athlone: Kewtown, Bridgetown, Silvertown • Belgravia, Parktown, Pook Se Bos, Statishights, Bokmakierie • Ottery, Freedom Park • Mitchells Plain: Eastridge, Beacon Valley & Lentegeur only • Kiki Informal Settlement • Ottery Farms • New Rest • Kanana/Ny 111 Road • KTC
Note: High school applicants who live close and around the above-listed areas may be considered. Considerations will be made based on space availability on our buses and the family’s ability to access public transport and affordability. Christel House admissions criteria applies.
Results Requirement (Grades 2-12 only)
While we do not enrol students based solely on their academic talent, we do prefer children who have achieved a code 6 or 7 in Math, English, and Afrikaans/isiXhosa. Please share the child’s most recent report.
Terms & Conditions: Please read our Terms & Conditions before proceeding with the application. Applications that do not meet all criteria will not be processed.
Christel House South Africa reserves the right to prioritise qualifying siblings of current Christel House families.
Applications for Grade RR and Grade 8 open on 1 March 2026. Grade RR applications close on 30 March 2026, and Grade 8 applications close on 15 May 2026.
Yes, our qualifying criteria includes financial need, location and results requirement. These are listed above.
No. We have limited spaces available. At the time of application, your placement is not guaranteed. Please ensure that you apply to and accept placements from other schools for your child. If your child is accepted into Christel House, a staff member will inform you telephonically.
Junior School Applicants: We only process applications from learners that live within our catchment areas as we follow a specific bus route when picking up and dropping learners off every day. A list of the catchment areas is provided above.
High School Applicants: Applicants who live close and around our catchment areas may be considered. Considerations will be made based on space availability on our buses and the family’s ability to access public transport and affordability. Christel House admissions criteria applies.
The average household income must be between R1,800 and R3,000 or less per person per month. To calculate: divide your household’s total monthly income (salaries, social grants, etc.) by the number of people living in the household.
For example, if your household receives R5000 per month, and there are 5 people staying in your house, divide 5000 by 5 to get the average income per person. In this case, it will be R1000 per person, per month.
If you haven’t heard from us by August, you may consider your child’s application unsuccessful. We will however send an SMS to inform you of the outcome of your application.
At the beginning of the school year, all our classes are full. When applications open, you are applying for the possibility of a space becoming available. Spaces become available when learners exit our school or repeat a grade at the end of the year. This means that we do not know if or when spaces will become available, and in which grades.
As per our application confirmation message, we will only contact you once we have a confirmed availability.
In 2021, we started a new class for Grade RR (sometimes called Grade 0 or Pre-Grade R). These learners then pass over into Grade R and fill the class automatically.
The same applies for our Grade 1 class. All our Grade Rs pass over at the end of the year and fill the Grade 1 class automatically. Any spaces that do become available are then filled with applicants who applied for Grade RR in previous years but were unsuccessful due to space availability.
For more information or queries about the
application process, please contact our
Admissions Office via:
WhatsApp: 067 035 6608
Email: admissions@sa.christelhouse.org
Phone: 021 704 9429
