St Andrew’s is an independent girls' school in South Africa dedicated to the development of girls into grounded, accomplished, and confident young women who leave the school well and truly ‘Skilled for Life’ and ready to lead. Situated in Senderwood, Bedfordview, we offer a challenging yet imaginative education that extends well beyond the classroom.
There are 4 schools on our beautiful campus including our Preschool (coeducational from 3 months to 5 years) Junior School Senior School and Saturday School, uBambsiwano. St Andrew’s School for Girls and its education are benchmarked globally and locally and as such, we believe that we can compete with the best in the world based on our quality of education, staffing, facilities, value-added offerings, independent networks, and good governance.
Our girls write matric examinations set by the Independent Examinations Board (IEB), giving them a school-leaving qualification that is truly world-class. Through its assessments, the IEB aims to develop young people who are life-long learners, critical users of information, have good problem-solving skills, and are creative and reflective thinkers.
The IEB philosophy has an impact on how children are taught in lower grades as they must be able to apply knowledge and not just repeat it. School-leavers who have gained an IEB matric are known to fare well at university, locally, and abroad. It is worth emphasizing that South African school-leaving examinations are benchmarked against the education systems in most foreign countries where young people wish to further their studies.
Our Preschool provides a warm, caring, and happy environment in which girls and boys between the ages of 3 months and 5 years can learn and play. Our classrooms and expansive play areas are the ideal settings for a skills-based learning program that enables children to explore, develop and discover within the framework of structured yet flexible daily routines.
Every staff member is a qualified professional with a passion for early childhood development. They also recognize the importance of adjusting their approach to meet each child’s specific needs. Our little ones are exposed to St Andrew’s values of accountability, balance, community, grace, integrity, and trust and are encouraged to recognize and display these in their daily interactions with others. Our Junior School provides an engaging space in which girls can develop both their known talents and discover some hidden ones during various stages of their development.
Apart from our focus on the academic aspects of the curriculum, girls have an abundance of co-curricular activities from which to choose, helping them feel fulfilled, happy and successful in their education. Whole-girl development is important to us and we believe we provide the space and the opportunity for our girls to enjoy a happy, productive, and successful day at school.
Our guiding values of balance, integrity, grace, community, accountability, and trust are core to each child’s journey with us as they build sound foundations that will enable them to thrive and reach their full potential.
Our academic program is both outcomes and skills-based and nurtures problem-solving, critical, and creative-thinking skills. We believe in whole-girl development and know that core skills such as music, art, drama, and physical education are as important as academic skills and knowledge.
As a school that wholeheartedly embraces technological advancement, girls are not only encouraged to become computer literate but to actively use the technology at their disposal to access, analyze and summarise information. Through our participation in the global Eco-Schools program, the curriculum incorporates environmental education with hands-on projects like a butterfly and bird garden, tree trail, and recycling initiatives being undertaken every year.
Girls learn both isiZulu and Afrikaans until they complete Grade 5, before selecting one of these as a Senior School subject. St Andrew’s has a fully-equipped therapy center run by the school psychologists and a team of highly qualified therapists who form part of the staff body. They work alongside teachers and parents to enable each child to reach her full potential.
Our academic program is both challenging and varied and lives up to our motto ‘Skilled for Life’. Girls write the Independent Examinations Board’s National Senior Certificate, which affords them excellent opportunities to study at the tertiary level, locally and abroad.
Technology has become an indisputable part of modern-day life and we’ve embraced it in the classroom. Tablets used by Grade 8 and 9 girls provide a blended approach to teaching while at the same time maintaining the standards of academic excellence our school has come to be known for technology and multimedia – combined with small class sizes – provide the optimal environment for full engagement. Extra lessons and academic support are available to girls who require one-on-one support to help them along in their academic journey!
