12/08/2026
Education: private school in Cape Town South Africa offers top education for R0.00 with a 99% Matric pass rate
founded by German-American business tycoon Christel DeHaan.
Malcolm Libera
·11 Aug 2026
Christel House South Africa is a zero-fee private school in Cape Town that supports its students for up to 19 years, which includes top education, transport, tuition, meals, and healthcare.
Christel House South Africa was established in 2001 as part of an international education initiative founded by German-American business tycoon Christel DeHaan.
DeHaan was born in 1942 in Nördlingen, Germany. At 16, she moved to the United Kingdom to work as a nanny, then emigrated to the United States at 20 and settled in Indiana.
In 1974, DeHaan and her then-husband, Jon DeHaan, co-founded Resort Condominiums International (RCI), a pioneering timeshare company.
When her husband suffered a heart attack in 1979, she took over the running of the business.
The couple divorced in 1987, and DeHaan received half of the company and purchased the remaining half for $67.5 million. Her fortune eventually reached about $950 million (around R15.4 billion).
Her focus changed after she was introduced to a nun caring for orphaned and abandoned children in Mexico City.
“After she sold RCI, I introduced her to a nun in charge of orphans and abandoned kids in Mexico City,” recalled Gabriel Oropeza, a former president of RCI Latin America and now board chair at Christel House Mexico.
“I asked Christel for a cheque to help these kids. Christel came back not only with a cheque but with a new mission in her life.”
DeHaan decided that education alone was not enough to help children escape poverty. They also needed nutrition, healthcare, character development, family assistance, and career support.
In 1998, she founded Christel House International and developed a holistic education model aimed at helping children and their families break the cycle of poverty.
DeHaan ultimately donated about $220 million (R3.5 billion) to the organisation, which went on to establish schools in several cities, including Cape Town.
Christel House South Africa opened its doors in 2002 at Bamford Avenue in Athlone, after being founded the previous year.
As demand increased, the school expanded to a second campus in Lansdowne before moving to Ottery in 2009.
A huge success
Christel House South Africa founder, Christel DeHaan.
The school now serves about 1,000 learners from Grade RR to Grade 12 and supports more than 250 post-Matric students. Its wider programmes also reach more than 3,000 parents and community members.
“When we started, our teachers went from door to door to recruit children for Christel House,” said Carol Kriel, the school’s Junior School principal.
“Our prospective parents at the time thought it was impossible. They didn’t believe that you could find a school that was going to give this fantastic education at no cost.”
The school does not charge tuition and provides a range of additional support, including uniforms, books, daily transport, meals, healthcare, social workers and psychological counselling.
Admission is targeted at children from some of Cape Town’s most under-resourced communities.
Families generally need to meet strict income criteria, while applicants must live within the school’s designated catchment areas.
The support continues beyond Matric. Its Career Development Programme assists students with tertiary applications, university stipends and employment mentoring.
This allows learners to receive support for up to 19 years from Grade RR through five years after Matric.
The school reports an average Matric pass rate of 99% since opening, and between 93% and 95% of its alumni are engaged in education, training, or employment.
Its graduates include Nathan Daniels, who studied medicine at Stellenbosch University and became a medical doctor.
“My experience at Christel House has been life-changing,” Daniels said. “In hindsight, I can say that I would not be at this point without the help of the school.”
Other alumni have followed similarly different paths. Lericia Solomon, who experienced homelessness as a child, is now a supervisor of employee training at a large technology company.
“If it were not for Christel House, I would be another statistic. But because of the values Christel House instilled in me, I can be proud of the person I am,” Solomon said.
Nontando Fani, who grew up in a one-room makeshift home in Langa, became the school’s first valedictorian in 2009.
She later qualified in chemical engineering and quality management and went on to establish her own business.
The school has also received funding from prominent philanthropic organisations, including foundations associated with billionaires Johann Rupert and Michael Dell, supporting areas such as healthcare, nutrition, digital literacy, and STEM education.
More recently, Christel House South Africa opened a new high school facility at its Ottery campus to address the shortage of high school places in the area.
It is also seeking funding for a separate Grade RR-to-12 campus in the Western Cape.
DeHaan, who died in 2020, described the students as an example of what can be achieved when barriers to education are removed.
“The obstacles facing Christel House students are daunting,” she said. “But every day our students come to school, learn, and set their sights on a better tomorrow.”
Photos of Christel House South Africa
This private school in Cape Town is completely free and supports its students for up to 19 years with top education, transport, tuition, meals, and healthcare.
