The SA boys private school tiers (based on Academics, Sports, History, Prestige, Selectiviness etc) are:
Tier 1: Bishops, Hilton, Michaelhouse, St John's, St Stithians, St Andrew's, Kearsney, St Albans.
Tier 2: Clifton, St Benedicts, St David's etc.
You can't really go wrong with Tier 1 or 2 schools
Among the Tier 1 schools, Saints is probably the 'Boldest' of the lot. It also has a very diverse student body and is probably the most progressive of the Tier 1 Boys Schools for better or worse depending on how you see it. Kids that go there will benefit from being in a melting pot/fast paced schooling environment with lots going on, in one of the most sprawling campuses in the country.
If your kid thrives in a bold, fast paced, and diverse environment, then Saints is probably the best culture fit. A place like SJC, for example, will be too underwhelming.
On the girls side the tier 1 schools generally are;
St Mary's Waverley, Roedean, Herschel, St Stithians, St Andrew's School for Girls, DSG, St Anne's, St Mary's Kloof, Kingsmead, St Cyprian's, Brescia, DGC etc.
You can't go wrong with any of these girls schools. The biggest thing to consider is culture fit.
St Stithians Girls College is among the more well rounded girls schools in the country among its peers, where it is very competitive in sports and academics. Like the boys college it's one of the more diverse, progressive, and inclusive schools among its peers. It is also on the larger side both in class and campus size vs smaller, more intimate schools. It strikes a slightly different cultural tone from the Boys college where the school is more reserved, albeit still in a fast paced, melting pot environment on a large campus.
If your daughter leans more towards a larger girls school, prefers a diverse, fast paced competitive environment, that is part of a larger community on a sprawling campus , then Saints Girls College will be ideal vs a more intimate/smaller sized school, where they may feel underwhelmed.
Eitherway among the tier 1 schools, most of the students all end up occupying places in top degrees among the top universities in SA or abroad. For example if you look at UCT's Business Science degree, which requires an A-aggregate to get in, 80% of the class is made up of folks from the above schools. So you can't go wrong with any of them, except choosing the wrong culture fit for your kid.
As an ex-student at this school, I can say that bullying is a massive problem in this school. There are no protective measures in place for children who are bullied. In fact, teachers often exacerbate the bullying by gossiping about students to other students. The school struggles with discipline and it seems that the focus is on keeping the parent happy, not the child.
Positively challenging school filled with lots of opportunities to grow. The experience is definitely great preparation for University and the workplace as you are able to draw on much of what you learnt at Saints. The campus is magnificent/expansive. Definitely the best school campus in Gauteng, which adds to the experience. Loved wandering the grounds. The boarding experience was also great and made lots of lasting friendships.
As a former student at the Girls' College I can say that this schools does give good opportunities, but at the great cost of your mental health. The constant pressure to be perfect from the school gave me such crippling anxiety and depression that I wasn't even able to take advantage of any opportunities. The Girls' prep isn't great either but for different reasons. It is in its own weird bubble and looking back it was quite cut off from reality. Altogether Saints was a horrible experience for me and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, especially if you are not sporty.
This school has presented me with so many opportunities I don't feel I would get at any other school. The school culture focuses on building a whole student. The focus is mainly on academics however it is also a good school to send your children for sports, especially hockey and water sports such as swimming and diving. The environment is always kept clean and the ground staff makes sure of that. It is an environmentally friendly school as there are recycling bins all around the school and sale of plastic straws is not permitted. The school also emphasizes the importance of serving in the community and servant leadership. There are school community service projects hosted at the school and also a Saturday school open to all students from surrounding schools, especially underprivileged students. There are cultural activities offered at the school. Every student is encouraged to join at least one sport and one cultural extra mural as part of building a whole student. The level of education is also very high and the system of education is internationally recognized. I would highly highly recommend this school to set a good foundation (also because of the Methodist values of this school) for your child.
I love saints. The summer sports are great (cricket, basketball,waterpolo,tennis,squash.) The teachers are passionate and it feels like they all care about the student.
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Tier 1: Bishops, Hilton, Michaelhouse, St John's, St Stithians, St Andrew's, Kearsney, St Albans.
Tier 2: Clifton, St Benedicts, St David's etc.
You can't really go wrong with Tier 1 or 2 schools
Among the Tier 1 schools, Saints is probably the 'Boldest' of the lot. It also has a very diverse student body and is probably the most progressive of the Tier 1 Boys Schools for better or worse depending on how you see it. Kids that go there will benefit from being in a melting pot/fast paced schooling environment with lots going on, in one of the most sprawling campuses in the country.
If your kid thrives in a bold, fast paced, and diverse environment, then Saints is probably the best culture fit. A place like SJC, for example, will be too underwhelming.
On the girls side the tier 1 schools generally are;
St Mary's Waverley, Roedean, Herschel, St Stithians, St Andrew's School for Girls, DSG, St Anne's, St Mary's Kloof, Kingsmead, St Cyprian's, Brescia, DGC etc.
You can't go wrong with any of these girls schools. The biggest thing to consider is culture fit.
St Stithians Girls College is among the more well rounded girls schools in the country among its peers, where it is very competitive in sports and academics. Like the boys college it's one of the more diverse, progressive, and inclusive schools among its peers. It is also on the larger side both in class and campus size vs smaller, more intimate schools. It strikes a slightly different cultural tone from the Boys college where the school is more reserved, albeit still in a fast paced, melting pot environment on a large campus.
If your daughter leans more towards a larger girls school, prefers a diverse, fast paced competitive environment, that is part of a larger community on a sprawling campus , then Saints Girls College will be ideal vs a more intimate/smaller sized school, where they may feel underwhelmed.
Eitherway among the tier 1 schools, most of the students all end up occupying places in top degrees among the top universities in SA or abroad. For example if you look at UCT's Business Science degree, which requires an A-aggregate to get in, 80% of the class is made up of folks from the above schools. So you can't go wrong with any of them, except choosing the wrong culture fit for your kid.