Cape Town has a small, well-spread group of international schools: Cambridge, American, German, French and IB options, from the City Bowl and Southern Suburbs to Hout Bay, Blouberg and Somerset West. The right one is usually decided by three things: the curriculum your child must be able to continue or finish, the suburb you can realistically live in, and the full cost once fees on top of tuition are counted. This guide walks through each, school by school, so you can build a shortlist before you land.
TL;DR
- Cape Town's international schools include Cambridge, American, German, French and IB options. Hout Bay International School offers the full IB continuum.
- Location matters as much as curriculum: traffic and geography mean the school often decides your suburb.
- Budget beyond tuition. One published 2026–2027 schedule lists tuition from R78,435 to R310,949, plus application, deposit, capital, transport and support fees.
- Admission is decided per child and per year group, so start early and contact each admissions team directly.
- We do not run schools. We handle the practical side of a school-search trip or a move: arrival, transport, accommodation and settling in.
Table of Contents
- The international schools you will meet most often
- South African curricula next to the international ones
- Location: the school decides the suburb
- What international schools cost
- Admissions: how to approach them
- Our perspective
- Make the search week easy
- A short checklist before you decide
- FAQ
- Sources
The international schools you will meet most often
This is not a ranking. It is a map of the main options and what each is known for, based on the schools' own pages.
| School | Area | Curriculum and focus |
|---|---|---|
| International School of Cape Town | Claremont (two campuses) | Cambridge, Nursery to A levels |
| American International School of Cape Town | Constantia area | American curriculum, own published fee schedule |
| Deutsche Schule Kapstadt (DSK) | Tamboerskloof, plus Parow North satellite | Bilingual German and English |
| Cape Town French School | Cape Town | Bilingual French, preschool to high school, ages 2 to 18 |
| Hout Bay International School | Hout Bay | IB Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma |
| Blouberg International School | Parklands | IES group school |
| Helderberg International School | Somerset West | IES group school |
Cambridge: the International School of Cape Town
The International School of Cape Town (ISCT) was established in 1998 and teaches the Cambridge curriculum from Nursery through High School and A levels. It runs two campuses in Claremont: Struben House at 31 Eden Road for Early Years and Key Stage 1, and Woodland Heights at 4 Edinburgh Close for Key Stage 2 and High School. For families who want a British-style pathway, with IGCSE and A levels at the end, this is the obvious first call.
American: AISCT
The American International School of Cape Town publishes a detailed fee schedule, which makes budgeting easier than at many schools. The American school year is the other thing to plan around: it does not follow the January to December rhythm of most South African schools, so check the intake dates on the school's own admissions pages before you book flights.
German and French: language-led schools
The German International School Cape Town is bilingual. Its main campus offers Grades 1 to 12, and a Tygerberg satellite campus covers Kindergarten and Grades 1 to 4. Its contact page lists the main campus in Tamboerskloof and the satellite at Jan Burger Sport Park in Parow North, so a family living on the Atlantic side of the city should look at the commute for younger children.
The Cape Town French School offers bilingual learning from preschool through high school, for ages 2 to 18. Language schools like these suit families who expect to move between countries where that language is used, because the child keeps continuity of instruction.
IB: Hout Bay International School
If you are searching for IB schools in Cape Town, start in Hout Bay. Hout Bay International School describes itself as an authorised IB Continuum World School, offering the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma programmes. That means a child can follow one IB pathway from primary to the Diploma without changing school. Other schools in the city may offer IB or Cambridge components, so ask each school directly which programmes it is authorised to teach and for which year groups.
The IES group: Blouberg and Helderberg
Blouberg International School is at 74 Ringwood Drive, Parklands, north of the city. Helderberg International School, part of the same IES group, is in Somerset West. Both widen the choice for families who would rather live in the northern suburbs or toward the Helderberg basin than in the Southern Suburbs.
South African curricula next to the international ones
Many expat families end up looking at local independent schools too. Cape Town has South African CAPS with an IEB or NSC matric, plus IB and Cambridge at a few schools. One professional school guide notes that the IEB is considered more demanding and robust than the National Senior Certificate, which is why some families who plan to stay long term prefer an IEB school over an international one.
The practical question is the exit qualification. Ask yourself:
- Will my child finish school in South Africa, or move again within two to three years?
- Which universities, in which countries, do we expect to apply to?
- Does my child already have credit in a system (IGCSE, IB, American high school) that would be broken by switching?
If the answer to the third question is yes, an international school that continues the same system is usually the smoother move, especially in the final two or three years.
Location: the school decides the suburb
One 2026 school-choice guide puts it bluntly: choosing an international school in Cape Town is effectively a decision about where to live, because geography and traffic often mean you pick the suburb to fit the school. That matches what you see on the map. The schools are spread around the metropolitan area, from Claremont and Tamboerskloof to Hout Bay, Parklands and Somerset West.
A few working rules:
- Test the commute at school hours. Drive or ride the route at 07:30 and 15:00 on a weekday, not on a Sunday viewing.
- Match the suburb to the youngest child. Early years campuses are often separate from senior ones, as ISCT's two Claremont campuses show.
- Think about a bus. Some schools publish a bus fare. AISCT lists R44,000, so a long daily drive may be cheaper or dearer than you expect.
- Look at the sea side separately. From the Atlantic Seaboard to Hout Bay the roads are limited. A school that looks close on a map may not be close at the school run.
If you are renting before you commit, a short-stay villa near your shortlisted schools is a low-risk way to test a suburb. Our villa and accommodation concierge can help arrange that for the weeks of your school search.
What international schools cost
Fees vary widely, and they change each year, so treat any figure as a snapshot and confirm it with the school. The clearest published example is the American International School of Cape Town. Its 2026–2027 fee schedule lists tuition from R78,435 for Grizzly Cubs half-day with early annual payment, up to R310,949 for Grades 9 to 12 with semester payments.
On top of tuition, the same schedule publishes these additional fees:
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Application fee | R1,500 |
| Seat deposit | R20,000 |
| Annual capital fee (new students, Kindergarten 1 to Grade 12, for five years) | R50,000 |
| Bus fare | R44,000 |
| English language learner (ELL) fee | R26,500 |
| Learning-support fee | R25,000 |
This pattern is common beyond one school. Fees generally exclude registration, deposits, transport, uniforms, meals and external examination entries, which are billed separately. When you compare schools, build a single first-year figure for each: tuition, application, deposit, any capital levy, transport, uniform, meals and exam entries. Only then do the schools become comparable.
Schools that serve families from abroad often add language support or learning support as a separate line. If your child will need either, ask for it to be quoted upfront rather than assessed after enrolment.
Admissions: how to approach them
Enrolment decisions in Cape Town are made per child and per year group, so siblings may receive different outcomes at the same school. Do not assume that a place for the eldest guarantees one for the youngest.
A sensible sequence:
- Shortlist three to four schools by curriculum and commute, not by brochure.
- Email the admissions team of each with your children's ages, current year groups, current curriculum and expected arrival date.
- Ask for the current fee schedule and the intake calendar for the year you want.
- Book a campus visit in one trip, grouped by area so you are not crossing the city repeatedly.
- Ask about assessment and waiting lists for each year group, which can differ even in one school.
- Confirm the paperwork you will need, including any study-permit documents for non-South African children, directly with the school and the relevant official bodies.
Calendar matters too. Most Cape Town schools run January to December, with the year starting in January, while the American school follows its own calendar. Apply well before your planned start, because year groups can fill.
If your child plans to sit external Cambridge exams, note that schools run fixed registration windows. ISCT's external candidate page shows that registration for the November 2026 series closed on 3 August 2026. The November series generally registers in early August, so check the school's page for the current year's date.
Our perspective
We are a concierge service, not a school adviser, and we would not tell you which school your child belongs in. What we do see is where school searches go wrong, and it is almost never the shortlist. It is the logistics around it.
Families fly in for a week, book six campus visits across Claremont, Tamboerskloof, Hout Bay and Parklands, and spend half the week in traffic and half on the phone. A school visit is also a test of a suburb, and you only learn that if you are not stressed about getting there. So we plan the week the way we plan any complex itinerary at Cohen Concierge: a driver who knows the routes and the school-run timing, a villa in the area you are considering, and the evenings kept for the family rather than for logistics.
Our approach is discreet and fast to respond, and it relies on a network of trusted partners across the city. When a visit slips, you message us and the day is re-sequenced. When your toddler is tired, the car is already waiting. That is the work: taking the friction out so you can judge the schools on what matters.
— Jordan
Make the search week easy
If you are coming to Cape Town to see schools, we can take care of the surrounding week. That can mean an airport transfer on arrival, a private chauffeur for campus visits so you can focus on questions rather than navigation, and a short-stay villa while you test suburbs. Our how it works page explains the process, or you can send us a request with your dates and the areas on your shortlist.
If the children are coming with you, our five-day Cape Town family itinerary is a good starting point for the days between visits.
A short checklist before you decide
- Does the school teach the curriculum your child needs to finish, in the year groups your child will be in?
- Is the school authorised for the programme it advertises? Ask for the programme and year groups in writing.
- What is the all-in first-year cost, including deposits, capital fees, transport and exams?
- How long is the real commute from the suburb you can afford?
- What does the school offer for language or learning support, and at what price?
- What are the intake dates and the deadline for your year group?
- Are you comfortable with the exit qualification for university in your target country?
FAQ
Which Cape Town school offers the IB?
Hout Bay International School is an authorised IB Continuum World School, with the Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma programmes. Other schools may offer some IB or Cambridge components, so ask each school which programmes it is authorised to teach.
How much do international schools in Cape Town cost?
It depends on the school and the year group. The American International School of Cape Town's 2026–2027 schedule lists tuition from R78,435 to R310,949, before application, deposit, capital, transport and support fees. Always request the current schedule from each school.
When should I apply?
As early as you can, ideally many months before your planned start. Most schools follow a January to December year, and decisions are made per child and per year group. Contact each admissions team for its current intake calendar.
Can I choose a school without choosing a suburb?
In practice, rarely. Traffic and geography make the commute a main factor, so many families pick the area around the school. Test the route at school-run times before you sign a lease.
Can Cohen Concierge help with school applications?
We do not handle applications or admissions. We help with the practical side of a school-search trip or a move, including transfers, chauffeurs and accommodation, which you can request through our concierge services.
Sources
- International School of Cape Town
- ISCT external candidates and Cambridge exam registration
- German International School Cape Town
- DSK contact page
- Hout Bay International School
- Blouberg International School 2026 fee schedule
- Helderberg International School
- AISCT school fees 2026–2027
- International schools in Cape Town: what families need to know
- International Schools in Cape Town
- How to Choose an International School in Cape Town
- The Good Schools Guide: Cape Town