About Us

The Crawford Story

The first Crawford School opened its doors in Killarney, Johannesburg, in 1993. Today, the Crawford collection of schools

constitute the largest single private school organisation in South Africa. The group boasts 19 schools known for their future-focused, innovative approach to education.


At Crawford International, we see ourselves as a home for our students and parents’ hopes and dreams for a first-rate future. We aspire to help our students become fully rounded individuals who exercise voice and choice. While academic excellence forms the core of our offering, our students are at the heart of everything we do. By combining a strong sense of curriculum with the necessary global competencies, we create a scaffolding where our teachers can support our students. At Crawford, we believe every child is a masterpiece and are committed to preparing young people to become future changemakers by providing a full spectrum of experiences and opportunities to enrich and expand students personal interests and aspirations. We develop leadership capabilities through various sports, cultural, and additional activities taking place on a competitive, collaborative and/or social level.

Your school of voice and choice

While many schools expect students to conform by wearing the same uniform, taking the same subjects, and being taught by an appointed teacher, Crawford International students can make personal decisions around what best suits them as unique individuals. We embrace each child’s individualism by allowing them to have a choice in the bouquet of subjects that they can take, a choice in subject teachers for specific grades, and a choice in the uniform (multiform) they wear.


Academic Excellence

At Crawford International, we promise to deliver academic excellence. Our four academic pillars demonstrate our commitment to provide a dynamic, personalised learning journey for each student. These are:


Pillar 1 Local and Global Relevance

Providing an education that is locally and globally relevant.

Pillar 2 Future-focused Skills

Developing mastery of future-focused skills relevant to a fast-changing world.

Pillar 3 Student Agency

Empowering students with agency, where they have voice, choice and ownership of their learning.

Pillar 4 Personalised and Mentored Learning Journey

Creating a unique personalised learning journey for each student.


We continually review and renew our teaching and learning approaches to ensure that the education we provide remains innovative and relevant.

Future Changemakers

We encourage our students to become empowered, inquisitive young people who choose to make a difference. Crawford students take action and advocate for change in the world around them, confidently providing solutions and continuously displaying who they are as globally-minded thinkers and leaders rather than followers. At Crawford, we inspire and nurture each individual to become a changemaker of tomorrow.


Changemakers are:



  • Open-minded with a positive perspective.
  • Curious and creative problem-solvers.
  • Doers, with ambition and drive.
  • Engaging communicators.
  • Risk-takers with confidence and courage.

Every Child a Masterpiece

At Crawford, our promise to our parents and students is to ensure every child’s uniqueness is celebrated. We seek to discover talent in every student because we believe every child is a masterpiece! Our education policy adapts to the students’ needs by finding and creating different spaces where every student is accepted and valued. We aspire to create an environment where everyone feels a sense of belonging. Our student-centred approach provides encouragement and positive guidance while focusing on wellbeing, happiness, motivation, and inspiration.


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