JSE-listed higher education provider STADIO plans to develop a new comprehensive campus in the Western Cape, with the first phase set to launch mid-2025. Located in Durbanville, in the northern suburbs of Cape Town, the new campus plans to  offer schools in education, IT, law, media and design, commerce, architecture and engineering, with a planned capacity of between 4000 and 5000 contact learning students. The campus will officially welcome students in the 2026 academic year.

VIEW OF SQUARE AND BLOCKS B (behind) AND C (front)  

VIEW OF COURTYARD BETWEEN BLOCKS B (left) AND C (right)

VIEW OF BLOCKS C

AERIAL VIEW

Chris Vorster, Chief Executive  Officer at STADIO explains that developing the new campus is part of the group’s strategy. “Our vision is to broaden access to higher education in South Africa, with a goal of accommodating 100 000 students in time, 80% of which will be distance learning students and 20% contact learning students,” he says. “If you do the mathematical calculation, that means we need to accommodate 20 000 contact learning students, and the Durbanville campus, together with our other campus strategies, will provide us with sufficient capacity to achieve this. Our strategy is not to have many small campuses, but to strategically invest in a few comprehensive campuses. Broadening access to education is also more than creating places for more students; it’s about offering alternative pathways into tertiary education.”

In this regard, the Durbanville campus will offer higher certificate qualifications, as well as undergraduate degrees and post-graduate programmes.

Vorster says the new campus will help to underpin STADIO’s national footprint by creating a private tertiary education hub that rivals the Western Cape province’s four public universities. “There is a huge demand for higher education in the province and not enough supply,” he says. “Our new campus will tap into the rapidly growing economy in the northern suburbs, including the planned Cape Winelands Airport, and offer an alternative to commuting to one of the public universities for students in the region, as well as creating job opportunities and facilitating development in this new hub.”

The campus, envisioned to be 13 000m2 of buildings at completion, will be launched in three phases, starting in mid-2025 with the access points, roads, first academic blocks, offices, and lecture halls, parking facilities and in February 2026; a rugby field that complies with the International Rugby Board Artificial Rugby Turf specification, suitable for international rugby games . Vorster says the campus has benefits for the whole STADIO community, which comprises students, staff and investors.

“For students, we’re offering increased choice in institutions and qualifications, as well as higher certificate courses as a bridging course to a degree for those who have not achieved a university exemption pass in Matric,” he explains. “Those who choose to do their postgraduate studies with us also automatically become shareholders through our STADIO Khulisa Student Share Scheme upon graduation. There are also cost savings for students in the area if they don’t have to travel into Stellenbosch or Cape Town.”

For staff, there will be new employment opportunities created, but Vorster notes that in an institution of this size, there are also growth structures in place that allow for professional development. All permanent staff who have been employed by STADIO for more than a year and who are not active participants in the STADIO long-term incentive scheme also qualify for the STADIO Staff Phantom Share Scheme, which pays out dividends aligned with STADIO’s annual declared dividend.

“Our shareholders will benefit from our growth and investment in the Durbanville campus due to  increased student numbers,” adds Vorster.

STADIO is in discussion with developers in the region, ensuring a range of student accommodation options will be available, as well as other facilities. For example, an underpass has been built between the STADIO campus and Curro Durbanville, allowing for the  sharing of sports facilities in future.

The STADIO Durbanville site development plan has been developed by BPAS Architects and Vorster says much attention has been given to ensuring the campus will not only be functional, but attractive and sustainable. “For example, we’ve allowed for free flow of pedestrian traffic between the different buildings while ensuring there’s minimal crossing over with vehicular traffic and implemented measures like rainwater harvesting and waterwise landscaping across the site,” he says.

“Aside from investing in some of our own sports facilities, such as the rugby field and multi-sport courts (in a later phase), our sports strategy will also focus on building relationships with clubs in the area to offer opportunities to our students to play at a competitive level.”

The first phase will also include building the library and a centre for academic success and student support, ensuring the campus is equipped to offer the full student experience, on par with any top higher education institution in the country.

Site Development Plan