Alma Mater International School

A Cambridge-only school on a Krugersdorp estate west of Johannesburg, with a STEM and elite-sport flavour and an unusually strong dual emphasis on academics and rugby. Mixed reviews suggest checking matric outcomes carefully.

Alma Mater has used the Cambridge International curriculum since 1998 and runs through to AS and A Level. The school sits on a sizeable estate in Paardeplaats, Krugersdorp, with an Elite Sports Programme run with UXI Sport and affiliated rugby institutes. Class sizes are small and the school promotes a STEM focus across both primary and secondary phases.

Parent voice is split. Some families speak warmly of dedicated teachers and individual attention, and the school was named Best STEM-Focused Primary and Secondary School in 2024. Others have flagged uneven matric results in recent years and a reliance on outside tutors among senior students. Fees of ZAR 49,200 to 118,800 are mid-range for a Johannesburg Cambridge school. Worth visiting, asking for the most recent two years of A Level results, and pressing on teacher continuity in the senior phase.

• Three International Schools Database reviews give a polarised picture, with no middle ground.
• The most recent review, from January 2024, gave and said "matric results were terrible. Teachers are not up to standard", with most students relying on external tutors and fees described as not cheap.
• An earlier review praised the Cambridge IGCSE programme and called the educators "extraordinary".
• Aggregate sits at 3.7 across three reviews, which the style rule treats as polarised rather than a numeric score.
• The signal pool is small. No usable Reddit, Mumsnet or expat-forum threads surfaced.