Independent Schools in the Eastern Cape of South Africa

Family of Three Schools
St Andrew’s College, St Andrew’s Preparatory and the Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) are the oldest family-orientated independent schools in the Eastern Cape, known for their excellent reputation in all spheres of education. The schools lie adjacent to Rhodes University forming a unique educational belt in the historical city of Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
Situated on adjacent, expansive open-plan campuses, each school has its own individual aesthetic architecture and atmosphere. We have a very favourable pupil to teacher ratio and provide highly skilled individual attention focused on fostering individual talent.
Family of Three
At St Andrew’s Preparatory, classes are co-educational from Grades 0 to 3. From Grade 4 girls move across to the Diocesan School for Girls (DSG) and boys remain at St Andrew’s Preparatory until Grade 8, when they then move across to St Andrew’s College. This allows for the differential development paths of boys and girls.
St Andrew’s College and the DSG have established an academic model unique in South Africa. They remain single gender schools, but boys and girls are co-instructed from Grade 10. This relationship gives pupils the best of both worlds; autonomy and separate emphases, and yet provides a largely co-educational environment for many academic, cultural and social activities. Pupils enjoy all the benefits of a co-educational environment and still have the particular provisions of a single gender school.
Premier Boarding Schools
St Andrew’s College and DSG are primarily boarding schools, 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 pupils can forge friendships with classmates from all corners of the globe. About 85% of our pupils are boarders and are accommodated in different houses with about 75 pupils in each House.
These Houses, each with their own identity and traditions, form all-important home-from-home for boarders. Housemasters/mistresses live in the Houses with their families and are responsible for all aspects of the development of each pupil. Housemasters/mistresses are assisted by Deputies, Tutors, Matrons and elected pupil leaders. The House is the pupils’ immediate community in which they sleep, do prep, relax with friends and spend leisure time. Houses have common rooms, recreational facilities and television. Meals are served in central dining halls, and catering is outsourced to a professional catering firm.
Junior pupils share dormitories but are given increasing privacy and independence with seniority, eventually graduating to their own rooms.
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 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 every morning and in the afternoon if necessary. A fully qualified nursing sister looks after pupils until they are well enough to return to classes.
Facilities
Our campus boasts probably the most admired state of the art Design and Technology Centre in South Africa. Pupils engage in different activities such as drawing, product design, architecture, interior design, technological design, electronics and robotics.
Our widely acclaimed DR Wynne Music School, Dance Studio and Olympic sized heated pool for indoor water sports are hives of activity.
The Mathematics Centre has every tool necessary in understanding the art of Mathematics. Staff members assist with competitions, mathematical games and projects. 
The schools have excellent Information Technology facilities housed in libraries, computer labs and, at the senior schools, in the boarding houses.
Pupils thrive in the exciting cultural life of Grahamstown; home to the National Arts Festival and the annual SciFest. Pupils have access to a wide range of cultural and artistic opportunities through the array of school clubs and societies. Drama plays an important role and at least one major annual theatrical production is staged.
The schools are proud of their sporting achievements. Many past pupils have played or coached for Springbok teams or have participated in the Olympics.
A full seven-day week program includes academic, cultural, sporting and spiritual activities.
The DSG and 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 Grade 10-12, 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 pupil is assigned an academic tutor who monitors their progress and assists with any personal problems that may arise. The tutor is, in turn, responsible to the Housemaster or Housemistress, 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 and girls to progress at a rate which builds self-esteem, gives each pupil the best possible learning environment. St Andrew’s and DSG 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.
St Andrew’s College is piloting the Cambridge International Examination AS and A level courses in Thinking Skills with a select group of boys. The program focuses on critical thinking and problem solving, developing a specific set of intellectual skills independent of subject content and reflects the need voiced by universities and employers for more mature and sophisticated ways of thinking. AP Mathematics and AP English is also offered.
St Andrew’s College, DSG and St Andrew’s Preparatory School are happy, closely connected schools where pupils thrive in a vibrant and safe environment, supported by a foundation of excellence and Christian values.
For more details on the three schools please visit:
www.saprepschool.com, www.dsgschool.com and www.sacschool.com
or call the Marketing Office at +27 (0) 46 603 2300 or email marketing@sacschool.com

 
Diocesan School for Girls
P O Box 194
Grahamstown
6140
South Africa  
Telephone:  
+27 46 603 4300
email:
marketing@sacschool.com
Website:
www.dsgschool.com

 
St Andrew's Preparatory School
PO BOX 187
Grahamstown
6140
South Africa
Telephone:  
+27 46 603 2400
Website:  
www.saprepschool.com  
Email:
contact@saprepschool.com
 

 
St Andrew's College
Somerset Street
PO Box 182
Grahamstown
6140
South Africa
Telephone:
+27 46 603 2300
Website:
www.sacschool.com
Email:
marketing@sacschool.com