Mbeki attended primary school in Idutywa and Butterworth and acquired a secondary education at Lovedale, Alice. In 1959, he was expelled from school as a result of student strikes and forced to continue his studies at home. In the same year, he sat for matriculation examinations at St. John's High School, Umtata. In the ensuing years, he completed A-level examinations (the same tests undertaken in schools in England) in Johannesburg; and undertook an economics degree as an external student with the University of London. During this time, the ANC was outlawed and Mbeki was involved in underground activities in the Pretoria-Witwatersrand (now Gauteng) area. He was also involved in mobilising students in support of the ANC call for a stay at home to be held in protest of South Africa becoming a republic. He also holds a master's degree in economics from Sussex University. He was the first black South African to obtain a distinction in economics.