 | This article contains promotional content .(September 2025) |
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| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| JSE: COH | |
| Industry | Education |
| Founded | 30 December 1998 |
| Founder | Dr Chris van der Merwe |
| Headquarters | Durbanville, Western Cape, South Africa |
Area served | South Africa |
Key people | |
| Services | Private schooling |
| Subsidiaries |
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| Website | www |
Curro Holdings Limited, often referred to simply as Curro, is a South African educational holding company. [1] The company owns private schools across all nine South African provinces. [2]
The first Curro School was incorporated as a public company on 30 December 1998 by Dr Chris van der Merwe, with the goal of making private education affordable. [3] [4] van der Merwe began teaching in a church vestry with 28 pupils, this was soon followed in 1999, with the construction of Curro Durbanville a privately owned campus in Durbanville. [4]
By 2006, Curro's enrollment numbers were almost 1,000 and a second campus Curro Langebaan Private School was built. [5] Curro Hazeldean Private School was the third school, opened in 2008. 2010 was a busy year and three schools were built, including Curro Roodeplaat, who twice found themselves in a racial controversy. The other two schools were Curro Bankenveld High and Curro Serengeti Preschool.
In 2011, Paladin Capital, a subsidiary of PSG Konsult, bought a 50% stake in Curro Holdings. [6]
In June 2011, when Curro Holdings was listed on the Alternative Exchange (AltX) of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, [4] their stated intention was to have 40 schools and an enrollment of 45,000 by 2020. [7] In 2013, Curro moved into the post-school education environment and acquired Embury, [8] a private teacher education institution offering accredited teacher education qualifications.
In 2015, the Gauteng Department of Education [9] found that a Curro School [10] was segregating grade classed based on race. [11]
In 2017, Curro's unbundling of former subsidiary Stadio completed. Stadio incorporated as its own entity, focused on tertiary education, and listed on the JSE Limited as Stadio Holdings.
Curro Online was launched in 2020, in response to Covid 19. [12] By 2020, this for-profit education chain, [13] had just under 60,000 enrolled students, 175 schools, and 76 campuses. [14] On the 1 March, the PSG Group Ltd (JSE : PSG) sold off a 63.6% stake in Curro Holdings Limited (JSE : COH) for ZAR 5.1 billion. [15] [16]
In 2024, Curo Holding's ancillary revenue was up by 12%, [17] which improved their profits, despite lower enrollment numbers. [18] Of the estimated 2282 Independent Schools, Curro owns approximately seven percent of this exclusive market. [19]
As of February 2025, Curro’s enrollment numbers were just over 72,000. [20] A set of economic imperatives had successfully permeated the private school culture and market forces had commodified independent schools [1]
The 1996 South African Schools Act aimed to create uniformity and recognized two types of schools, state schools and independent schools. [21] Curro Holdings have recognized the range of customers and offer them eight choices
Globally, publicly listed Edu-schooling companies are not a common phenomenon, [22] but in South Africa they have become common as public education or state school continue to "fail". [23] Curro's intent is to make independent education more accessible. Curro holdings will either develop or acquires an independent school and then manage it. In the last few years, Curro have capitalized a range of different curriculum models. [24] The costs of developing new curriculum materials, subjects, and teaching methods are seen as intangible assets, since this content is sold separately. [24]
Curro may have set a legal precedent. in the case of and Another v Curro Holdings Ltd t/a Curro Academy Soshanguve and other (39189/2021) [2021] ZAGPPHC 498 (12 August 2021). [25] The non-payment of Private School fees is a breach of contract and parents have to remove the child from school. [26] The Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa (ISASA) held a different perspective who argued that any enrolment contract must first consider the bests interest of the child. [25]