On the edge of the village, Franschhoek High School has been educating the children of the valley since 1872. Its buildings carry the marks of that long history, and its story of academic ambition, Victorian grandeur, and the gradual loss of original details is as instructive as anything taught within its walls.

From Government School to High School

The school began as a government school in 1872, serving the basic educational needs of the Franschhoek community. By 1899 it had become a High School, and in the decades that followed it developed a reputation for high academic standards that reached well beyond the valley.

The original building has survived with relatively few changes, though not without loss. The veranda has been removed, as have the decorative turrets that once adorned the roofline. The date 1907 can still be seen on an addition to the old school hall, a quiet timestamp on the building's growth.

The Hostel: La Rochelle

The old school hostel, named La Rochelle, was also built in 1899. It was a handsome building in an ornate Victorian style, with a double-storey veranda that gave it an air of distinction. Today it is barely recognisable. Its veranda is gone, as are its original doors and windows. What remains is the bones of the building, enough to suggest what it once was, but not enough to fully recover it.

Today

Franschhoek High School's long tradition of academic excellence has in recent years been overshadowed by a controversy playing out on its own grounds. Swimming South Africa (SSA) planned to establish a national High Performance Centre at the school, one that would have been among only four World Aquatics-accredited centres in the world, attracting international scholarship athletes and generating income to benefit the school community. Funded with more than R50 million from the National Lotteries Commission, World Aquatics and The Sports Trust, the project has instead stalled entirely, leaving behind half-built, vandalised infrastructure and pools holding stagnant water. Following the school's termination of its lease with development partner in 2024, the Special Investigating Unit launched an investigation into the disappearance of the funds. As of early 2026, the facility remains derelict. (Source: Daily Maverick, 29 January 2026)