ST CHARLES COLLEGE FEE STRUCTURE FOR 2025

The details of our school fees and a summary of our billing methods and general administration information is set out below to assist parents with planning for 2025.

The financial and legal responsibilities are more fully described in the Terms of Enrolment contract to be signed when accepting a place for your son at St Charles College.

NB: an important reminder is the debit order system that was implemented in 2022. Please refer to the next page under the heading “Debit order process and potential surcharge for SA residents” for further details and explanations pertaining to this.

A non-refundable placement fee is payable at the time of enrolment in confirmation of the place offered.

DOWNLOAD OUR UPDATED 2025 FEE STRUCTURE HERE

TRANSPORT

A limited bus service is available from certain destinations which will be invoiced according to the appropriate transport commitment form.

DAILY BOARDING RATE

A daily boarding rate of ZAR 700 per night will be charged for day scholars staying in the boarding establishment for short periods. Where boys necessarily stay overnight for planned school functions a rate of ZAR 285 may be charged.

ANCILLARY COSTS / INCIDENTALS / EXTRAMURAL ACTIVITIES (EXTRAS)

We seek transparency in providing as complete a picture of the ultimate cost of education as possible and therefore annual fees, in each grade, include expenses planned for the year ahead considered to be for the benefit of all scholars. Traditionally, in the private sector, general purpose or educational levies are added to augment fees, whereas at St Charles College incidentals or “extras” will include only those expenses that depend totally on the individual activities of your son. Extras such as voluntary activities, foreign languages, extra subjects, rewrites, remarks, additional tutoring, medicines, special entertainment and unsubsidized or voluntary sports tours will be recovered individually as and when the specific expenditure is incurred. Charges are available on request. Where readers or workbooks are issued by the College these will be invoiced at the cost to the College.

NOTICE OF WITHDRAWAL

A full term’s notice, in writing, or one (1) term’s fee in lieu of notice, is required before withdrawal of a pupil from the College or the Boarding Establishment. Once the year has commenced (whether a Day Scholar or Boarder) and where registered for the A Level program and/or Grade 12, notice of withdrawal will not result in any reduction in the annual fee payable.

INSURANCE AND MEDICAL AID

Parents are requested to ensure their child / children are members of a medical aid scheme and to provide the College with the details thereof. Doctors consultations and medical practitioners will charge their fees directly to parents or their medical aid, as the case may be. Parents are furthermore requested to ensure that their child’s / children’s possessions are adequately insured under their own personal all risks insurance policies. The College cannot be held liable for theft / loss of any pupil’s possessions from the College premises or Boarding Establishments.

POTENTIAL SURCHARGE

Non-residents deposit: ZAR 2 750 per month

Exchange Control regulations promulgated in 2004 necessitate a deposit of one terms fees (in addition to the usual placement fee) being lodged with the College before a scholar who is resident of a country outside of the borders of South Africa can be admitted. As these deposits have not been separately demarcated by the College to date; any non-resident who does not have a full term’s fees in advance in their account at any time will be levied the increased monthly surcharge until the account complies with this provision. In other words, Annual Fees are payable termly in advance for all non-resident scholars whose fees are paid to the College via exchange control channels and obviously does not apply to parents who take advantage of early settlement payment in advance.

DEBIT ORDER PROCESS AND POTENTIAL SURCHARGE FOR SA RESIDENTS

The debit order system implemented in 2022 saves time and administration costs and has enabled us to contain the increase in subsequent years. The debit order amount will relate to the monthly fee due and payable. Extras are to be settled by the responsible party as noted below.

Based on the above, this change will be compulsory* for:

  1. any new families joining the College for the 2025 academic year onwards
  2. all families as their son progresses into the Junior Primary School (i.e. Grade 0 to Grade 1) or the Senior Primary School (i.e. from Grade 3 to Grade 4) or Senior Primary School to Middle School (i.e. Grade 7 to Grade 8).
  3. any account where there is a default in payment.

*The debit order mandate will not be required for:

  1. non-SA residents,
  2. parents who have taken advantage of the early settlement payment in advance option,
  3. parents who have obtained an exemption approved by the Finance Manager.

Notes:

  1. an annual “debtors’ admin fee” of ZAR 3 700 will be charged, from 1 March 2025 to all NEW compulsory accounts that have not complied with the debit order system.
  2. any debit order that is returned by the bank will attract a revised admin fee of ZAR 460.

PAYMENT OF ANNUAL FEES AND EXTRAS

Annual fees are due and payable monthly in advance via debit order over a period of ten (10) consecutive months from the first business day of January to the first business day of October each year. Grade 12 fees will likewise be accepted by the College via debit order over a period of eight (8) consecutive months from the first business day of January to the first business day of August each year. Where payments are made in advance annual fees will reflect on your account in January.

Where parents make payments from foreign bank accounts, special arrangements should be made with the Assistant Bursar.

All “extras” are to be paid within thirty (30) days of the date of the statement of account upon which the charge for the extra is reflected. No allowance is made for absence from school for illness, extended holiday and disciplinary reasons. The College reserves the right not to enter those pupils whose accounts are not fully paid up by the latest examination entry date and to charge the discretionary Non-residents deposit and Debtors Admin Fee where applicable.

Arrangements can be made with the Finance Department to pay annual fees over extended terms but please note that a late payment penalty fee will be charged at 6.25% above the prime overdraft rate charged by First National Bank (FNB), published from time to time, and compounded monthly in arrears.

PAYMENTS IN CASH AND BY CREDIT CARD

Payments in cash will attract bank deposit fees at applicable rates charged by FNB (currently up to 2.7%) plus an administrative charge of ZAR 350 per deposit. Please note that the early settlement amounts will not apply in full to settlements by credit card and/or payments in cash as the additional bank charges incurred will necessarily be charged to your account. Foreign transfers take longer to clear – you are advised to make allowance for this when taking advantage of the early settlement options, in order to avoid disappointment, as cut-off dates will necessarily be strictly observed. Any bank charges incurred by SCC for cash related transactions (either directly by SCC or via ATM cash deposits) will not be borne by SCC, and rather your account will be debited by the net amount.