What SchoolSeek is
SchoolSeek is an information service. We publish profiles of South African schools built from official Department of Basic Education data so that parents can find and compare schools. We are not affiliated with the Department of Basic Education, with any provincial education department, or with any school listed on this site. Nothing here is advice about which school to choose.
Where the data comes from
School records come from the Department of Basic Education's EMIS dataset. Matric results come from the DBE's NSC School Performance Report and NSC School Subject Report. We process that data — cleaning it, adding geographic detail, and grouping schools for comparison — but we do not create the underlying facts, and we do not speak for the Department. Every figure and its source is set out on our methodology page.
The data may be wrong, and sometimes is
We take accuracy seriously and check our data against independent sources, but we cannot guarantee that every record is correct or current. Official data contains errors: in July 2026 we found and corrected 461 school records where the Department's own publications disagreed with each other, and we publish a log of every such correction. Records can also be out of date. The school register currently reflects the Department's EMIS Q3 2025 extract and matric results cover the 2025 exam year — those are the most recent editions the Department has published, but they are not a live feed, and the Department publishes new ones periodically rather than on a fixed schedule. Every page shows which edition its figures come from. Verify anything that matters directly with the school before acting on it. This is especially true of contact details, fees and enrolment.
No warranty, and limits on our liability
SchoolSeek is provided "as is". We make no warranty that the site will be available, error-free, or fit for any particular purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by South African law, we are not liable for any loss arising from your use of this site or reliance on the information it contains — including any decision about a school, a place, or an application. Nothing in these terms limits any liability that cannot lawfully be limited.
Using the site
You may browse SchoolSeek, and link to it, freely. Access to the site is on condition that you do not extract data automatically beyond what our robots.txt permits. We may block access that breaches this. Reasonable indexing by search engines and AI assistants is welcome — see our robots.txt for what is permitted.
Reusing our data
Individual figures may be quoted with attribution to SchoolSeek and a link to the page they came from. Bulk reuse — extracting substantial parts of the dataset, redistributing it, or building a competing product or commercial service on it — requires a written licence from us. The underlying facts originate with the Department of Basic Education and we claim no exclusivity over them; what we licence is our compiled, cleaned and verified version of that data, and the work that goes into keeping it right. If you need data in bulk, contact us — it is usually straightforward to arrange.
Schools listed on this site
Schools appear on SchoolSeek because they are registered with the Department of Basic Education, not because they asked to be listed or paid to be. A school may ask us to correct its record at any time, and we verify every such request against the source data or with the school directly before publishing. Where a school has provided information itself, the profile says so. We do not remove a school's listing simply because the school would prefer not to be listed: the register is public and the listing is factual. We will correct anything inaccurate, mark a school as closed once the Department does, and remove any individual's personal details on request.
Information schools provide
When you submit information on behalf of a school through our claim form or the self-serve portal, you confirm that you are authorised to submit this on the school's behalf and that it is accurate to the best of your knowledge. If it turns out you were not authorised, we may remove the information immediately and you, not the school, are responsible for any loss that causes us. By submitting it, the school grants SchoolSeek a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to publish, adapt and distribute the information, including to third parties and through data feeds, APIs and partner products. This licence covers school-facing facts such as fees, admissions details, school contact channels, descriptions, and later photos. Only submit information the school has the right to share, and no personal information about learners or staff beyond the school's public contact details. The licence covers information about the school, not personal information about any individual. It never covers your own details as submitter, and you should give us named staff contact details only where that person's role makes them a public contact for the school. We may verify, decline, edit for format, or remove any submission. You can update your school's information at any time through the portal. To withdraw it, email [email protected]. The licence lasts while the information is published and for as long as any licensee is entitled to keep a copy already supplied to them. If the school withdraws information, we stop publishing it and stop sending it in feeds and APIs within 30 days, and we tell licensees it is withdrawn. We cannot recall copies already supplied.
Advertising and paid placement
Any advertising or sponsored placement is labelled as such. Paid arrangements never affect how schools are ranked, scored, compared, or presented. Our comparison methodology is editorially independent of anything commercial, and that separation is a condition of the service existing at all.
Changes to these terms
We may update these terms as the service changes. The effective date above shows when this version took effect. Material changes will be noted on this page rather than applied silently.
Governing law and contact
These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Questions about them, about reusing our data, or about a record you think is wrong, can be sent through our contact page.
Questions about your terms?
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