The old Louisenhof Cellar in Stellenbosch has been transformed into the Apex Education Group campus, a private non-profit school. This school sets an annual fee of R7,800 for 2026, which is equivalent to R780 per month for ten months.
The old Louisenhof Cellar in Stellenbosch has been transformed into the Apex Education Group campus, a private non-profit school. This school sets an annual fee of R7,800 for 2026, which is equivalent to R780 per month for ten months.
The project, named Apex School Stellenbosch by SALT Architects, was completed in 2025. The architects described it as an adaptation and modification of the old winery to house a new advanced school in Stellenbosch. According to BusinessTech reports, the building was not completely demolished and rebuilt; instead, the old industrial structure was repurposed into a learning space, integrating classrooms and recreational areas on the site previously used for winemaking.
The school itself began operations in January 2024, starting with the first Grade 8 class. According to the Apex Stellenbosch website, the school expands by at least one grade level annually and plans to accept its first cohort of Grade 12 students in 2028. Teaching is conducted in English using a blended learning model that combines digital instruction with teacher presence. Within this model, 100 students are simultaneously in the classroom, independently mastering material online under the guidance of a teacher and assistant.
The group's CEO, Jana du Plooy, informed Inside Education that the Stellenbosch campus initially operated on temporary sites while the permanent facility was being built. 'We then moved into this building in January 2025 when the first phase of construction was completed. Now the entire building is ready,' she stated. Currently, the campus accommodates about 500 students from Grade 8 to Grade 10. At full capacity, the secondary school is expected to enroll 1,000 students, with 200 students in each class.
Apex does not position itself as a single-building project. The group has a 'Vision 10/10/10' plan, which aims to establish 10 schools and provide 10,000 accessible school places by 2034, and already manages several schools in the Western Cape. The recent opening was attended by representatives from the Western Cape Department of Education, the Stellenbosch Municipality, and civil society partners. The Western Cape Minister of Education, David Maynier, called Apex's planned expansion a 'turning point for the Western Cape.'
According to the Apex Stellenbosch website, school fees for 2027 will be R8,250 per student, minus a registration fee of R450. Maintaining the same ten-month logic, this amounts to R825 per month, which, according to the article, is still considered acceptable compared to the usual costs of private schools.
The central government has appointed senior IAS officer Naresh Gangwar as the new Education Secretary. He replaces Vinita Joshi amid ongoing protests related to the alleged NEET exam leak.
Naresh Gangwar, an IAS officer from the 1994 batch from Rajasthan, previously held the position of Secretary in the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Farming under the Ministry of Animal Husbandry and Dairy Farming. He is now appointed as Secretary in the Department of School Education and Literacy as part of a bureaucratic reorganization.
Gangwar holds an engineering degree, having obtained a BTech in Electronics and Telecommunication from Rourkela University and an MTech in Communications from IIT Delhi, as well as an MA in Economics from Rajasthan University. Throughout his career, he has held several high positions in both the Rajasthan government and the Central apparatus, including the post of Chief Secretary in Rajasthan and Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, where he oversaw pollution and hazardous substance management.
The official government order did not specify any reasons for this change. This reshuffle occurred against the backdrop of ongoing protests by CJP and students demanding accountability and reforms in the NEET examination system due to alleged irregularities.
The central government has made a significant administrative decision against the backdrop of student demonstrations. A major reshuffle has taken place in the position of Secretary of the Department of Higher Education.
Narish Pal Gangwar, an IAS officer, has been appointed as the new Secretary of the Department of Higher Education. Concurrently, the incumbent department secretary, Vinit Singh, has been suspended from his post.
