Chesterhouse Academic Structure

Chesterhouse has incorporated the very best of the South African and English educational systems to develop a unique, challenging and internationally recognized curriculum. We feel that, from the point of view of establishing its own brand and niche in the market place, it is important for Chesterhouse to be at the forefront of curriculum development. To this end we recognize our position in South African education and will strive to develop our links with the local educational community. We are a member of the Independent schools Association of South Africa (ISASA) and intend to play a full role in the activities of this organization. Similarly we will seek accreditation with the European Council of International Schools (ECIS).

The Chesterhouse programme from Grade 1 - 9 is based on the British National Curriculum, much of which is outcomes - based. At the end of Grade Nine, our students will be entered for the General Education and Training Certificate (GETC) which is a national requirement and which is demanded of us by our registration with the Western Cape Education Department. The GETC is a national exit examination which all pupils are required to pass. Having followed an outcomes based programme (OBE), our pupils should find it relatively easy to meet the requirements of this local examination.

Thereafter, our pupils will write the Cambridge General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) examination in Grade 11 and the Cambridge AS Examination in their Grade 12 year. This will qualify them for entrance to South African universities. Should numbers justify offering the course, they will be able to proceed to full Cambridge A Levels in their Grade 13 year.

This document is designed to clarify our academic programme for you. It may appear that we are heading down the road less travelled, but believe that, together with all other aspects of our programme, we shall be adding considerable value to the parcel of qualifications, skills, attitudes and values that our leavers will take with them when they graduate from here. We understand that this has been a prime motivating factor in your decision to choose a Chesterhouse education for your children and we intend to deliver it.

Please contact us should you feel that this curriculum fulfils your expectations. At Chesterhouse, we believe that our academic programme value added alternative to South Africans seeking an education which is quality controlled and which is both locally and internationally recognized.

Chesterhouse School Phases

Chesterhouse provides education for boys and girls in English medium from the ages of 3 and a half years in our Nursery/Pre-Reception class through to the end of the student's school career in our Senior School.

The school is divided into the following sections:

EARLY YEARS

Nursery/Pre-Reception and Reception:

We enrol children from the age of three and a half years in our Nursery class. The children must be three and a half on the 1st of January of the year in which they are enrolling. At Nursery level we have 16 children per class and from Reception level upwards, 20 children per class, as small classes with individual attention is our philosophy from the beginning of your child's school life at Chesterhouse. The children enjoy a stimulating range of activities designed to nurture their positive experience at school. Our teachers are dedicated to their every well being and communicate closely with parents to ensure that all aspects of the child's introduction to school life are dealt with.

Our screening programme:

Chesterhouse has a very active and robust screening programme. We have a remedial teacher employed at the school as well as on-site occupational and speech therapists. The screening programme has been introduced to ensure that all issues around your child's ability to optimally perform at school are dealt with from the beginning of their school life in our Nursery School phase. It is our school's philosophy that intervention is dealt with early, as this will ensure that their progress for the remainder of their school life is positive.

" A child who is positively assisted with their initial difficulties in coping with their school work will develop a positive attitude to those, will be taught to best enable him/herself through those challenges and will progress adequately through their school career confident in their own abilities - this is one of the ways in which we nurture happy children, adolescents and young adults."
Ann Cordner
Head of the Pre-Primary School and the Junior School

This educational/ therapeutic intervention continues right through the pupil's school career for as long as is necessary.

KEYSTAGE ONE:

In Keystage One, classes range from Nursery (Grade 00), Reception (Grade R), Year One (Grade 1) and Year Two (Grade 2).
Chesterhouse follows a combination of the British National Curriculum which is outcomes based and which incorporates the core aspects of the curriculum of the Western Cape Education Department.

While the key emphasis of our curriculum is on Literacy, Numeracy and Science, pupils are exposed to a broad based curriculum. Music, Drama, Art, Computer Studies Social Studies, Life Skills, Design and Technology and Religious Education are taught from Year One, to which is added a wide range of extra-mural activities and games.

KEYSTAGE TWO:

In Keystage Two, classes range from Year Three (Grade 3) through to Year Six (Grade 6). The curriculum continues in the same subjects and disciplines as per Keystage One. French and Afrikaans are the two second languages offered at the school and tuition in these begins in Keystage Two. The key emphasis is on Literacy, Numeracy and Science.

The school also manages an Aftercare Facility.

OUR SENIOR SCHOOL

At Chesterhouse the Senior Schools begins in Year Seven (Grade 7) referred to at Chesterhouse as Form One. The following is a description of how the different school years/ grades in the Senior School are referred to:

Relevant Exam, Testing and updates pertaining to Form 4,5 and 6

For information on all subjects offered at our Senior School please link to: "The Chesterhouse Curriculum".