NOT-SO COOL BY DIE SKOOL

SA parents struggle to cope with soaring schooling costs

- BY MURRAY SWART

TOUGH: School has become pricey, especially so soon after the holidays.

AS SOUTH Africa's unified school calendar gets underway on Wednesday, 14 January, parents say the cost of sending a child to school has reached breaking point — driven not only by uniforms and fees, but by increasingly long and expensive stationery lists.

New analysis by Teneo Online School estimates that the minimum "entry fee" for a Grade 8 learner at a public, fee-paying high school has risen to R5 015.78 in 2026. This covers compulsory uniforms, stationery and specialist tools, but excludes school fees, transport and food.

Uniform essentials, including a blazer, shirts, jersey and broek or skirt make up the biggest share at R2 714.90, followed by stationery packs costing R1 336.90. Skoolskoene, a school bag and items such as a scientific calculator push the total beyond R5 000.