Frequently Asked Questions

Highbury College offers occupational qualifications and Occupational Skills Programmes across five specialist schools: Artisan & Trade Studies, Information Technology & Data Science, Architecture & the Built Environment, Occupational Health & Safety, and Business & Finance. Programmes combine knowledge, practical skills and, where the qualification requires it, workplace learning, and are supported by the myHighbury Student Portal.

Choose a programme and select Apply Now, or open the Apply page. Complete the online application, upload your supporting documents and pay the mandatory, non-refundable R300 application fee. Admissions reviews every application and keeps you updated in your applicant portal.

Yes. All current Highbury College programmes, including the Occupational Skills Programmes, are open for enrolment. Admissions confirms your intake when your application is processed.

Sign in through the Applicant tile on the sign-in page using your student number and password, or use the Track Application page. Your dashboard shows your application status, outstanding documents, payments and messages from Admissions.

Your permanent 7-digit student number is issued as soon as you submit your application and is shown on the confirmation screen. It stays the same from applicant through to registered student and alumnus.

Use the Contact page or the Speak to an Advisor option on the website. Registered students can also log a request under Support in the Student Portal, which routes it to the right department.

Every programme page lists its NQF level, credits, duration (where stated), entry requirements and curriculum overview. Admissions confirms your eligibility when you apply.

Durations are shown on each programme page. For example, the Software Developer, Cloud Administrator, AI Software Developer and Design Thinking Innovation Lead programmes run for 18 months, and the Design Thinking Practitioner and Occupational Health and Safety Practitioner programmes run for 12 months.

Yes. You can choose Full Upfront Tuition (some programmes include an upfront-payment discount — where one applies, the percentage is shown on that programme’s fee row), or a deposit followed by monthly instalments (no discount applies). The published amounts for each programme are on the Fees page. The R300 application fee is separate from tuition.

No. Highbury College is not funded by NSFAS. Tuition is paid by the learner, a sponsor or an employer using the payment options on the Fees page.

No. The R300 application fee is mandatory and non-refundable. It is separate from tuition, is not credited towards tuition and is excluded from any upfront-payment discount.

Yes. Highbury College is accredited by the Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) as a Skills Development Provider for specific qualifications. The accreditation numbers, qualifications and validity dates are published on the Accreditation page.

For QCTO occupational qualifications and Occupational Skills Programmes, the QCTO certificate is issued once you have completed the programme and passed the final external or integrated summative assessment required by the QCTO.

No. Existing learners do not submit a new application for their current programme. The Registry issues your Student Portal access. If you have not received your details, contact Student Support.

The Registry issues your 7-digit student number and a temporary password through an official Highbury channel. On your first sign-in you must set your own private password before you can continue.

Go to Sign In, choose the Student tile and sign in with your 7-digit student number (or registered email address) and your password.

You sign in with the temporary password issued to you and are immediately asked to set your own private password before you can continue. The temporary password stops working once it has been changed.

Contact Student Support or the Registry. After verifying your identity they will issue a new secure temporary password, and you will be asked to change it when you next sign in. Highbury College will never ask for your password by phone, SMS or email.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is the process of assessing knowledge and skills gained through work or previous learning against the requirements of a qualification. Where RPL applies, it is described on the programme page, and Admissions will advise whether it applies to your application.

You complete formative assessments during your programme, and results are recorded in the Student Portal. Where a qualification requires an external integrated summative assessment or trade test, it is conducted under the requirements of the relevant quality council.

An Occupational Skills Programme is a focused learning programme, identified by an SP number, that develops a specific set of occupational skills. Highbury College offers six in the School of Information Technology & Data Science: Intermediate End User Computing, Advanced End User Computing, Java Programmer, JavaScript Programmer, C++ Programmer and Cybersecurity Defender. All are open for enrolment.

For 2027 each Occupational Skills Programme is R13,500 when paid in full upfront, or a R1,500 deposit followed by 6 monthly instalments of R2,000. The non-refundable R300 application fee is separate from tuition.

You complete formative assessments with Highbury during the programme, followed by a Final Integrated Summative Assessment set under QCTO requirements. For the Java, JavaScript, C++ and Cybersecurity Defender programmes this is a practical assessment of up to 6 hours with a pass mark of 75%.