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St Andrew’s Preparatory School and St Andrew’s College (Grahamstown, South Africa)
Founded in 1885, St Andrew's Preparatory in Grahamstown is a nurturing family school where children from Pre-Primary to Grade 7 are educated in a caring, Christian environment so that each child can develop his or her potential to the full. St Andrew’s Preparatory has a network of Old Boys and Girls all over the world and whenever they pop in to visit the school, the most common remark remains “It was the best time of my life.”
Boys and girls start in the Pre-Primary School and move up to the adjacent Junior Primary School in the park-like setting the school is well known for. Learners may board from Grade 1. After completing Grade 3, girls move to the Diocesan School for Girls and the boys remain at the Prep school. For more than a century, the school has been known for its ethos of individual care, ensuring a high academic standard and instilling confidence in all learners. St Andrew’s Prep hosts the annual Children’s Arts Festival and the Children’s SciFest. Being the main feeder school for St Andrew’s College, many parents opt to send their boys to Prep for a part or their entire Grade 7 year, preparing them for life as a boarder in the nurturing environment of a small school and giving them the opportunity to slot into their peer group before they adjust to senior school. St Andrew’s College proudly celebrated its 150th year in 2005. Together with the adjacent Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) which was founded in 1874, they have established an academic model unique in South Africa: they remain single sex schools, but boys and girls are co-instructed from Grade 10. “It’s like being at a co-ed school, but we don’t have any boys,” explains a DSG Grade 12 pupil who moves across from the DSG campus to St Andrew’s for Mathematics and English, but does Drama, Music and French at DSG. The impressive million Rand dance studio on the girls’ campus is used by boys too, for Drama lessons, but the state-of-the-art gymnasium, which includes the service of a bio-kineticist, is strictly girls only. The boys have their own weights room on St Andrew’s campus. Other shared facilities include the Music School (with 10 full-time and 9 part-time teachers) and the Design and Technology Centre, together with the Aquacentre with an olympic sized heated swimming pool and floodlit artificial hockey field. Olympic Air Rifle Shooting, Archery and Waterpolo are taught and played on St Andrew’s campus, but all other sports are played separately. St Andrew’s is particularly proud of its rowing, with their First Coxed Four winning the South African Championship for four consecutive years and being chosen to represent South Africa at the International Championships for the same number of years. Community Outreach plays an important part in school life. In 2003, a group of DSG girls decided to run from London to Folkestone, swim the English channel and then cycle from Calais to Paris to raise a million Rand to buy a home for Aids orphans. And they did! In 2008 11 Girls took part in the DSG Challenge, a fund raising event that involved the girls running and cycling their way to Cape Town from Grahamstown in a relay style format and a 22 km swim across Algoa Bay. Each school has a chapel and chaplain responsible for the pastoral care of the pupils. With many years of 100% pass rate and the regular inclusion of some of their pupils in the Independent Schools’ top 50 in the country and their University exemption standing at 99%, DSG and St Andrew’s College are clearly in the top academic drawer. As with most South African schools, Outdoor Education is a popular part of the curriculum. But the schools stretch this aspect to new boundaries. Annually Grade 10 boys and girls participate in an amazing journey, where they run, cycle, hike and canoe, from the source of the Great Fish River to the mouth: a survivor-style journey of 300km that takes 18 days! This included academic stop-overs where pupils learn the history, geography and literature of the area. St Andrew’s Preparatory and College and the Diocesan School for Girls are proud of their high academic standing, the musical and cultural excellence, the sports prowess and unique outdoor education but what really makes them special is that the schools are all about their young people. FACT SHEET: Numbers: St Andrew’s Prep: 220 St Andrew’s College: 450 DSG: 380 Full time Boarding: 85% of senior schools Subject choices: English, Mathematics, Afrikaans, French, isiXhosa, German, Business Economics, Art, Drama, Music, Physical Science, Biology, Accounting, Computer Sciences, Food Technology, Business Economics, History, Geography, Design and Technology. Sports played: Tennis, squash, hockey (field and astro), basketball, netball, rugby, cricket, waterpolo, rowing, athletics, air rifle shooting, archery, golf, horse riding, cross country, tri- and biathlons. Music school: Jazz band, 6 choirs, pop band, classical ensembles, traditional pipe band, wind orchestra, marimba bands. Clubs: Angling, fly fishing, cycling, running, chess, cookery, astrology, exploration, scripture union, debating, leatherwork, computers, etc.etc.
For MORE information, call the Marketing Office at +27 (0) 46 603 2300 or email marketing@sacschool.com Contact: Lisa Hobson Director of Marketing Telephone: + 27 46 603 2353 Fax: + 27 46 603 2354
Diocesan School for Girls P O Box 194
Grahamstown
Tel: +27 46 603
4300
Website:
St Andrew's Preparatory School
PO BOX 187 Website:
Email:
St Andrew's College
Somerset Street
Tel: +27 46 603 2300 Fax: +27 46 603 2381
Website:
Email:
Lisa Hobson Director of Marketing Telephone: + 27 46 603 2353 Fax: + 27 46 603 2354
St Andrew’s College South Africa The St Andrew’s College curriculum offers a wide range of options to pupils with many different interests and talents, and allows for individual attention and assistance. High achievers who need extra challenges are continually stimulated and pupils of lesser academic capability can progress in a group that builds esteem and confidence. From Grade10-12, pupils are generally divided into "sets" according to individual ability in each subject, while in Grades 8 and 9, there is a combination of setting and mixed ability groups. The teacher:pupil ratio is about 1:10 which enables both a range of subjects and individual aspirations to flourish in classes which are usually upwards of 20. Within these small classes, pupils are encouraged to think independently, to develop enquiring minds and the capacity to do research using resources such as the Internet and our own Intranet. Each boy is assigned an academic tutor who monitors his progress and assists with any personal problems that may arise. The tutor is, in turn, responsible to the Housemaster, who is in charge of the pupil’s overall development. This personal attention, together with small classes, dedicated and well-qualified staff and a system that allows for the boys to progress at a rate which builds self-esteem, gives each pupil the best possible learning environment. St Andrew’s has a fine tradition of academic achievement to prove this. In Grades 8 and 9, most of the classes are single-gender which allows for boys and girls to settle into the own environments, but from Grade 10, classes are combined with the Diocesan School for Girls (DSG). This gives pupils a co-educational experience and, thus, optimises both schools’ resources and strengths. Pupils write the matriculation examination of the Independent Examination Board (IEB) which enjoys a high profile both within South Africa and abroad. Access to such events as the National Arts or Science Festivals significantly enriches the academic and cultural programme enjoyed by St Andrew’s pupils. In Grades 8 and 9, boys take a wide range of subjects so that they are able to establish where their special aptitude and interest lies before specialisation in Grades 10-12. Boarding at St Andrew's St Andrew’s College is primarily a boarding school, providing a home for pupils from all over the country, and, indeed, from all over the world. This makes for an interesting student body in which boys can forge friendships with classmates from all corners of the globe. About 85% of our pupils are boarders. Boys are accommodated in 6 different houses: Armstrong, Espin, Graham, Merriman, Upper and Mullins. Each House accommodates upwards of 75 boys. These Houses, each with each own identity and traditions, form an all-important home-from-home for boarders. Housemasters live in the Houses with their families and are responsible for all aspects of the development of each boy. Housemasters are significant members of the staff and on the Headmaster’s Executive Committee. As such, each Housemaster has an important influence on the direction of school policy and plays a critical role in the nurturing of the boys in his House. Housemasters are assisted by a Deputy Housemaster, House Tutors, a Matron, a Student Tutor and by elected pupil leaders. The House is the boy’s immediate community in which he sleeps, does his prep, relaxes with his friends and spends leisure time. Houses have common rooms, television and video and other recreational facilities. Meals are served in the House dining halls, and catering is outsourced to a professional catering firm. As juniors, boys share dormitories, but are given increasing privacy and independence with seniority, eventually graduating to their own rooms. Friendly Inter-House rivalry plays an important role at the School, and boys grow proud and supportive of the House. There is a sense of belonging and being part of a team which provides for a family atmosphere in each House. Boarders enjoy varying leave-out privileges according to their seniority, and are able to go to a local cinema or restaurant from time to time. Afternoon town leave allows them time to shop for personal requirements, and parents and relatives can invite boarders out for meals on Sundays and, at certain times, for a sleep-out. A General Practitioner visits our sanatorium very morning and in the afternoon if necessary, and a fully qualified nursing sister looks after boys until they are well enough to return to classes.
Contact Address:
St Andrew's College Tel: +27 (0)46 622 7214 Fax: +27 (0)46 636 1806 Email: Website: www.sacschool.com
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