
On Wednesday, Curro announced its plan to buy HeronBridge College in Fourways, Johannesburg
The 20-year old school offers an education from pre-primary to matric level, with high-school fees upwards of R112,000 a year.
The school will be part of Curro’s “Select schools” group – which means "the heart and identity of the school will remain untouched", according to the company.
Earlier this year, Curro bought St George's Preparatory in Port Elizabeth, which will also be part of this group.
“We look forward to growing with Curro and are excited about the opportunities that being one of their Select Schools brings to our current and prospective learners,” the school's executive head, Tim Irving, said in a statement.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval.
Curro currently has 76 school campuses, and in February this year had more than 66,000 registered learners.
While its revenue increased by 5% to R3.1 billion last year, its headline profit fell by a third to R171 million mainly due to bad debts and discounts given to assist parents during the pandemic.
During lockdown, nursery schools saw a decline in learner numbers as remote learning proved least effective among this age group. Curro addressed this by converting some nursery schools to primary schools and assisted-learning facilities.
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