About Us

Founded in 1877, Durban Girls’ College is a world-class independent Christian school located on the Berea, overlooking the city of Durban. We follow the IEB curriculum and offer education for girls from Grade 00 to Grade 12, with weekly boarding available from Grade 8.

Durban Girls’ College is proud to be an internationally accredited Thinking School, recognised by the University of Exeter in the UK. Beginning in the Junior Primary in 2017, our Thinking Schools approach has expanded through the Senior Primary and into the High School. This international framework enriches the IEB curriculum by nurturing essential learning behaviours and encouraging girls to “think about their thinking.”

Renowned for excellence in academics, culture, and sport, DGC is a vibrant community where girls are encouraged to grow with confidence and purpose. Our values guide everything we do as we prepare our girls to thrive in a changing world.

Our Purpose

At Durban Girls’ College, our purpose is to nurture confident,
value-driven young women — guided by faith, rooted in tradition,
and equipped for a changing world.

Our Vision

Developing significant, values-led citizens in all spheres of society through a globally relevant, holistic, education.

Our Mission

Durban Girls’ College is an independent Christian school that inspires pupils to realise their potential through a dynamic educational experience built on tradition, innovation, diversity and excellence. Through our relevant, holistic curriculum and active partnerships, pupils are empowered to enrich our world.

Our Values

Integrity | Courage | Agility | Respect | Empathy

Heritage

Durban Girls’ College was founded in 1877 as the “Durban Young Ladies’ Evangelical Collegiate Institution” by a group of six Durban Commissioners and Protestant Clergy under the leadership of J F Churchill. The founders are still remembered in our Founders’ Day service each year, and the six school houses bear their names – Churchill, Cottam, Greenacre, Hunter, Palmer and Rutherford. In 1905, DGC moved to Musgrave Road, its present site, which was donated by Sir Benjamin Greenacre. The beautiful original school building is a monument to the spirit of excellence in which the school was established. Over time, the spacious campus has been extended and developed and the present pupils enjoy world-class academic, cultural and sporting facilities and equipment.

The founders and benefactors envisioned our school to be an institution that would provide women with a quality education that would span across generations. For more than a century, our school’s ethos and philosophy have been shaped and developed, resulting in the strong core values and standards that underpin our school today.

The pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit of the DGC founders remains in effect today, as our school embraces positive change, reform and the best of new trends in education policy, curriculum development and teaching methods. This proactive and creative management ethos also permeates facets of school life such as staffing and admissions policies.

The outstanding school-leaving results achieved by our Grade 12 girls and the successes of our Alumni stand as testament to the Durban Girls’ College educational experience. Combining tradition and innovation, with the aim of educating holistically, typifies the DGC educational approach. The thriving Alumni Association, which is represented on the Board of Governors, is an active custodian of the school heritage and the DGC ethos.