Shares in Stadio Holdings rose as much as 3% in early trade on Thursday after the private higher education group reported growth in student numbers and said it will fulfil its prelisting statement promise of 56,000 students in 2026.In a voluntary business update to be presented at the group’s annual general meeting, CEO Chris Vorster said overall growth in student numbers of 9% is satisfactory considering the challenging South African landscape.The group’s higher education unit saw “outstanding growth” of more than 18%, with the Durbanville campus exceeding 1,300 students and the Centurion campus exceeding 2,300 students.Its distance learning student numbers rose 8% to 47,750 as of June, while contact learning enrollments were up 15% at 8,104, it said.The group said, however, Milpark B2B continues to lag, impacting overall distance learning numbers.“We remain the leaders in private higher education distance learning with more than 47,000 students and a second semester intake under way,” it said.Contact learning student numbers continue to grow, despite a sluggish film industry impacting the overall contact learning student numbers, it added.“The Stadio Group is encouraged by continued growth in contact and distance learning enrolments. As part of its 2030 strategy, Stadio has made 2026 a deliberate year of investment, opening two new campuses, advancing the Durbanville development, launching 18 new qualifications or sites of delivery (including engineering for the first time), and continuing to invest in technology, AI, the brand and academic capacity,“ it said.The group remains confident in its long-term ambitions, including reaching 80,000 students by 2030, and 100,000 students, and more, over time.In 2025 the group purchased 6.9-million shares for R75.7m, and a further 0.5-million shares in 2026 for R6m.“These repurchases reflect management’s confidence in the company’s long-term growth and help prevent dilution when settling obligations under the long-term share incentive scheme,” it said.At 10.50am, Stadio’s shares were up 0.35% at R11.45, giving it a market capitalisation of just under R10bn.