South African schoolboy rugby high school ages in 2026

28 September, 2025 beet General 8

Pearson High School in Summerstrand, Gqeberha, will celebrate 100 years in 2026! On the rugby front, the co‑ed lead by sports enthusiast Haldane Pienaar—only the school’s 13th headmaster—has already made a significant breakthrough a few years ago, boosting the school’s profile through inclusion in the Easter Festival programme. Pearson currently holds a three-year contract to participate in the KES Festival.

Pretoria Boys’ High is going all out to mark 125 years, with its rugby festival set to become a highlight of the 2026 schoolboy rugby calendar.

The golden jubilee club of schools celebrating major milestones includes Brackenfell (Cape Town), Pionier (Vryheid), and Secunda (Mpumalanga).

# AGE SCHOOL EST REG TYPE GEN #BOYS
1 204 Muir 1822 EP State Boys 450
2 199 Durbanville 1827 WP State CoEd 600
3 197 SACS 1829 WP State Boys 850
4 185 Wynberg 1841 WP State Boys 930
5 177 Bishops 1849 WP Indep Boys 720
6 175 Nico Malan 1851 EP State CoEd 400
7 171 Grey College 1855 FS State Boys 1150
8 171 St Andrew’s 1855 EP Indep Boys 460
9 170 Grey HS 1856 EP State Boys 860
10 168 Paarl Gim 1858 WP State CoEd 600
11 168 Queen’s 1858 BOR State Boys 600
12 165 Dale 1861 BOR State Boys 600
14 163 Maritzburg Coll 1863 KZN State Boys 1250
15 160 Durban HS 1866 KZN State Boys 1000
16 160 Paul Roos 1866 WP State Boys 1150
17 158 HJS Paarl BH 1868 WP State Boys 950
18 158 Hugenote 1868 BOL State CoEd 400
19 158 Hermanus 1868 BOL State CoEd 450
20 156 Beth Voortrekker 1870 GRF State CoEd 350
21 154 Hilton 1872 KZN Indep Boys 560
22 154 Selborne 1872 BOR State Boys 700
23 153 Graeme 1873 EP State Boys 300
24 151 St Charles 1875 KZN Indep Boys 450
25 147 Cambridge 1879 BOR State CoEd 470
26 136 Jeppe 1890 LIO State Boys 1200
27 133 Daniel Pienaar 1893 EP State Boys 650
28 132 Kingswood 1894 EP Indep CoEd 220
29 132 Swartland 1894 BOL State CoEd 370
30 130 Michaelhouse 1896 KZN Indep Boys 600
31 130 Upington 1896 GRQ State CoEd 300
32 129 Rondebosch 1897 WP State Boys 830
33 128 St John’s 1898 LIO Indep Boys 640
34 125 Pretoria BH 1901 BUL State Boys 1400
35 124 KES 1902 LIO State Boys 1000
36 123 Drostdy 1903 BOL State CoEd 550
37 123 Heidelberg VS 1903 VAL State CoEd 440
38 122 Louis Botha 1904 FS State CoEd 690
39 121 Hudson Park 1905 BOR State CoEd 530
40 121 Sentraal 1905 FS State CoEd 440
41 119 Potch Gim 1907 LEO State Coed 460
42 116 Glenwood 1910 KZN State Boys 840
43 110 Nelspruit 1916 PUM State CoEd 670
44 108 Middelburg 1918 VAL State Coed 620
45 108 Landboudal 1918 FS State CoEd 180
46 108 Charlie Hofmeyr 1918 BOL State CoEd 300
47 106 Affies 1920 BUL State Boys 1200
48 105 Helpmekaar 1921 LIO Indep CoEd 500
49 105 Kearsney 1921 KZN Indep Boys 650
50 105 Lichtenburg 1921 LEO State CoEd 420
51 105 Monument 1921 LIO State CoEd 620
52 105 Pietersburg 1921 LIM State CoEd 510
53 105 Klerksdorp 1921 LEO State CoEd 400
54 104 Rustenburg 1922 LEO State CoEd 750
55 104 Potch Volkskool 1922 LEO State Coed 400
56 103 Outeniqua 1923 SWD State CoEd 750
57 103 Parktown 1923 LIO State Boys 850
58 100 Pearson 1926 EP State CoEd 545
59 99 HTS Middelburg 1927 PUM State CoEd 540
60 98 Oakdale 1928 SWD State Boys 420
61 95 Marlow 1931 EP State Boys 220
62 91 Diamantveld 1935 GRQ State CoEd 400
63 90 Merensky 1936 LIM State CoEd 550
64 89 Bellville 1937 WP State CoEd 580
65 89 Brandwag (EP) 1937 EP State CoEd 450
66 85 St David’s 1941 LIO Indep Boys 550
67 83 Noord-Kaap 1943 GRQ State CoEd 540
68 78 Alberton 1948 LIO State CoEd 560
69 77 Northwood 1949 KZN State Boys 1250
70 75 DF Malan 1951 WP State CoEd 620
71 74 Oos-Moot 1952 BUL State CoEd 700
72 73 Boland Landbou 1953 WP State Boys 350
73 73 St Stithians 1953 LIO Indep Boys 640
74 73 Welkom Gim 1953 GRF State CoEd 520
75 73 Hentie Cilliers 1953 GRF State CoEd 240
76 72 Tygerberg 1954 WP State CoEd 420
77 71 EG Jansen 1955 VAL State CoEd 500
78 71 Westville 1955 KZN State Boys 1200
79 70 Kempton Park 1956 VAL State CoEd 600
80 70 Ligbron 1956 PUM State CoEd 400
81 68 Transvalia 1958 VAL State CoEd 550
82 68 St Benedict’s 1958 LIO Indep Boys 635
83 67 Jim Fouche 1959 FS State CoEd 540
84 67 Milnerton 1959 WP State CoEd 550
85 65 Goudveld 1961 GRF State CoEd 360
86 65 Marais Viljoen 1961 LIO State CoEd 700
87 64 Ben Vorster 1962 LIM State CoEd 440
88 64 Strand 1962 WP State CoEd 530
89 63 Menlopark 1963 BUL State CoEd 800
90 63 St Alban’s 1963 BUL Indep Boys 530
91 62 Duineveld 1964 GRQ State CoEd 430
92 61 Die Anker 1965 VAL State CoEd 550
93 60 Framesby 1966 EP State CoEd 540
94 55 Jeugland 1971 VAL State CoEd 590
95 54 Witteberg 1972 FS State Coed 360
96 54 HTS Bellville 1972 WP State CoEd 400
97 52 Eldoraigne 1974 BUL State CoEd 680
98 52 Wesvalia 1974 LEO State CoEd 400
99 50 Pionier 1976 KZN State CoEd 200
100 50 Brackenfell 1976 WP State CoEd 820
101 50 Secunda 1976 PUM State CoEd 500
102 47 Waterkloof 1979 BUL State CoEd 930
103 46 Noordheuwel 1980 LIO State CoEd 930
104 45 Montana 1981 BUL State CoEd 700
105 42 Fichardtpark 1984 FS State CoEd 400
106 42 Zwartkop 1984 BUL State CoEd 840
107 41 Stirling 1985 BOR State CoEd 530
108 40 Parel Vallei 1986 WP State CoEd 600
109 40 Stellenberg 1986 WP State CoEd 720
110 38 Garsfontein 1988 BUL State CoEd 900
111 34 Worcester Gim 1992 BOL State CoEd 500
112 24 Clifton 2002 KZN Indep Boys 400
114 15 Melkbosstrand 2011 WP State CoEd 440
113 5 Trio 2021 GRF State CoEd 440

Leave a Reply

8 Comments

  1. avatar
    #8 Grasshopper

    @Vleis (Comment #7)
    True but still on the decline, the better number to quote here is boarders, as they provide the majority of the sport playing kids & A teams…

    ReplyReply
    30 September, 2025 at 18:10
  2. avatar
    #7 Vleis

    @Grasshopper (Comment #6)
    Some of these numbers seem off. Per Schoolclick, Glenwood’s numbers were 1,054 in 2021, 1,057 in 2022 and 1,024 in 2023…so it’s unlikely to have dropped so drastically in 18 months. Also, I think that they have KES and Jeppe’s numbers the wrong way round – i.e. KES should be 1,200 and Jeppe 1,000…and Saints and St John’s numbers look a little light.

    ReplyReply
    30 September, 2025 at 13:22
  3. avatar
    #6 Grasshopper

    GLENWOOD NUMBERS

    Is that figure correct? Only 840 boys these days? It used to be 1,200+. If so, it does show the decline in interest to attend, the degradation of the surrounding areas etc. No wonder they can’t compete down the line anymore…
    ReplyReply
    30 September, 2025 at 11:46
  4. avatar
    #5 Kaya 85

    @Beet, HS Alberton should be within Golden Lions Rugby Union… (unless they recently changed affiliation?)

    ReplyReply
    29 September, 2025 at 21:22
  5. avatar
    #4 Smallies

    @Atlantic (Comment #2)
    Nou verstaan ek nie so lekker nie ….hoekom is Boerboel en andere nie op hulle case oor wannabee status nie?

    ReplyReply
    29 September, 2025 at 13:58
  6. avatar
    #3 Die_Ramshoring

    Marlow with 220boys fielded 12 teams in 2025 with a participation of 82%. Considering the few extra reserves the percentage could be closer to 90%. Not the best results in 2024 and 2025, but can still be proud of competing weekly and indications of restructuring the coaching setup is a step in the right direction.

    ReplyReply
    29 September, 2025 at 12:52
  7. avatar
    #2 Atlantic

    Stellenberg HS celebrates 40 years in 2026 #milestone

    ReplyReply
    29 September, 2025 at 12:03
  8. avatar
    #1 Skywalker

    I know this is off topic slightly, but i have raised a question before about the school fees of KZN schools vs CT and JHB. For a city province with lower salaries to both those locations, we mostly pay higher school fees, and i am not even referring to the prvate schools, but rather state state schools. Compare school fees at Northwood, DHS, MBC or Westville vs SACS, Paarl Gym, Boys High etc. I am also noting now that our state schools are larger as well that many others. Look at DHS, MBC, Northwood, all 1000 – 1250 and growing. vs other state schools on this list ranging from 600-830. Why?

    ReplyReply
    29 September, 2025 at 08:53