Welcome to Green School South Africa

Welcome to a school where curiosity, creativity and innovation flourish. Welcome to a school that inspires and equips its learners and community to thrive with purpose, now and in the future. Welcome to a campus that ignites the senses and creates a sense of wonder in adults and children alike. Welcome to Green School South Africa.

Green School South Africa educates for sustainability in a progressive, learner-centred way. We are focused on preparing young people to thrive in a changing world. Our carefully researched educational approach is designed to ignite a love for lifelong learning, a joyful, wonderous journey, and teach our learners the skills we believe are required to thrive now and in the future.

We believe that each child learns differently and with 1 teacher for every 10 learners, we provide a personalised approach to our learners.

We’re part of the global Green School movement, launched in 2008 by Green School Bali. Green School South Africa is the third school in this global network, along with Green School New Zealand and Green School Tulum will open in 2022 in Mexico.

We offer Kindergarten (ages 1 to 6) and Grades 1 to 9 in 2022 – growing annually to become a school that educates up to Grade 12 in 2025.

Welkom by Green School Suid-Afrika

Welkom by ’n skool waar ons fokus op kreatiwiteit, innovasie en entrepreneurskap. Welkom by ’n skool wat poog om sy studente en gemeenskap te inspireer en toe te rus om hulle doelstellings na te streef, nou en in die toekoms. Welkom by ’n kampus wat die sintuie prikkel en kinders en grootmense in verwondering laat staan. Welkom by Green School Suid-Afrika.

Green School Suid-Afrika is toegewyd tot onderwys vir volhoubaarheid op ’n progressiewe, student-georiënteerde manier. Ons fokus daarop om jong mense voor te berei vir ’n veranderende wêreld. Ons goed nagevorsde onderwysbenadering is spesifiek ontwerp om ’n liefde vir leer te kweek as ’n wonderlike, vreugdevolle ervaring en ons leer ons studente die vaardighede wat ons glo nodig is om te floreer: nou én in die toekoms.

Ons glo dat elke kind sy unieke leervoorkeure het, en met 1 onderwyser vir elke 10 studente kan ons ’n persoonlike benadering vir elke student volg.

Ons is deel van die internasionale Green School beweging wat in 2008 begin is deur Green School Bali. Suid-Afrika gaan die derde skool in die netwerk wees, saam met Green School Bali en Green School Nieu-Zeeland.

Ons bied kleuterskool (ouderdomme 1 – 6) en Graad 1 – 9 aan, met jaarlikse uitbreidings totdat die skool tot graad 12 in 2025 gegroei het.

A School with a Purpose

Green School’s purpose is to educate for sustainability through community-integrated, entrepreneurial learning in a natural environment. We believe that we must prepare the youth of today to deal the challenges of a changing world. A world that will different challenges compared to previous generations and that, in addition to learning how to spell and count, we have to integrate sustainability into our learning, and to lead by example. This means that our campus is green, our procurement is green, our habits are green and our curriculum is green.

’n Skool met 'n Doel

Green School se doel is om te onderrig vir volhoubaarheid deur gemeenskap-geïntegreerde, entrepreneuriese leer in ‘n natuurlike omgewing. Ons glo dat ons die jeug van vandag moet voorberei om die uitdagings van ‘n veranderende wêreld te kan hanteer. ‘n Wêreld wat ander uitdagings gaan hê as vorige generasies en dat bo en behalwe tradisionele akademiese kundigheid, ons volhoubaarheid moet integreer in alles wat ons leer. Ons lei met ons voorbeeld deur ‘n groen kampus te hê, groen aankope, groen gewoontes en ‘n groen kurrikulum.

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."

Nelson Mandela

A Campus for
Inspired Learning

Our school is surrounded by majestic mountains in an area that is celebrated for its rich plant life and natural beauty: close to Cape Town in the verdant Paarl-Franschhoek Valley.

Our campus was designed and constructed according to the gold standard of green design and building: the Living Building Challenge (LBC). The LBC requires buildings to be regenerative, not just zero footprint. This means that:

We are regenerative in terms of energy: we produce 105% of our own electricity consumption, giving to the grid and not taking from it.
We are regenerative in terms water: we use less water than what the site naturally gets per year from rainfall – so we give more to the river and groundwater aquifers than we take from it.
We are a zero waste-to-landfill site (which is quite tricky), and also take in waste from neighbours and the community and thereby have a net positive impact on waste to landfill.
We follow a strict ingredient list to ensure that no harmful chemicals are procured, and that there are no harmful chemicals in the manufacturing process of any item procured (think glue, markers, cleaning materials, etc).
We re-established endemic flora thereby positively contributing to the biodiversity not just of the site, but the area, with so many different types of bees, butterflies, and seeds spreading; and
We incorporate vegetable gardens, fruit forests, medicinal gardens and herbal corridors in our campus and our school day includes growing, caring for and harvesting – re-establishing our connection to the land and food

'n Kampus Gemaak vir
Geinspireerde Leer

Ons skool word omring deur majestueuse berge in ‘n gebied wat gevier word vir sy ryk plantlewe en natuurlike skoonheid: naby Kaapstad in die groen Paarl-Franschhoekvallei.

Ons kampus is ontwerp en gebou volgens die goue standaard van groen ontwerp en bou: die Living Building Challenge (LBC). Die LBC vereis dat geboue regeneratief moet wees, nie net geen voetspoor nie. Dit beteken dat:

Ons is netto positief in terme van energie: ons produseer 105% van ons eie elektrisiteitsverbruik
Ons is netto positief in terme van water: ons gebruik minder water as wat die terrein natuurlik per jaar van reënval kry – dus gee ons meer aan die rivier en grondwater akwifere as wat ons daaruit neem.
Ons is ‘n nul-afval-tot-stortingsterrein kampus (wat nogal moeilik is), en neem ook afval van bure en die gemeenskap in en het daardeur ‘n netto positiewe impak op afval na die stortingsterrein.
Ons volg ‘n streng bestanddeellys om te verseker dat geen skadelike chemikalieë aangekoop word nie, en dat daar geen skadelike chemikalieë in die vervaardigingsproses van enige item wat verkry word, is nie (dink gom, merkers, skoonmaakmateriaal, ens.).
Ons het endemiese flora hervestig en daardeur positief bygedra tot die biodiversiteit nie net van die terrein nie, maar die area, met soveel verskillende tipes bye, skoenlappers en sade wat versprei; en
Ons integreer groentetuine en vrugte boorde, medisinale tuine en kruie-paadjies op ons kampus, en ons skooldag sluit in die saai, versorging en oes van die plante – die herstelling van ons verbinding met die grond en voedsel.

A Different Curriculum

Our learning programme consists out of learning objectives, 21^st century skills and our iRESPECT values. Our timetable includes a carefully balanced mixture of proficiencies (maths and languages), thematic classes and experiential learning. We follow a child-centered approach to learning, and believe that each child’s inherently curiosity drive their learning, and that a joyful and inspiring learning environment enables learning.

'n Anderse Kurrikulum

Ons leerprogram bestaan uit leerdoelwitte, 21ste eeuse vaardighede, en ons iRESPECT waardes. Ons rooster bestaan uit drie leerraamwerke: vaardigheidsvlak klasse (wiskunde en tale), tematiese klasse, en ondervindingsleer klasse. Ons glo in ‘n leerder-gesentreerde benadering, dat elke kind se natuurlike nuuskierigheid hul dryf vir leer aanspoor, en ‘n vrolike leeromgewing met ‘n fokus op die kinders, leer bevorder.

A Joyful, Child-Friendly Learning Environment

One of the objectives of our physical learning environment is to be a joyful place, that nurtures curiosity. In designing our campus, we have consciously necessitated regular movement and walking, skipping or running through our gardens that not only increase oxygen in little bodies, but creates opportunities to smell herbs, see butterflies and engage in the joy of living.

All our classrooms have ample natural light and natural ventilation. And our daily routine includes a morning break and lunch break, designed to be child-friendly, with enough time to eat, pee and play.

Another critical element in being human-friendly is nutrition. We provide a healthy morning snack and sit down, home-cooked lunch that meets children’s nutritional needs while providing them with slow release energy to sustain them through the day.

Vreugdevolle Leer in 'n Kinder-Vriendelike Omgewing

Een van diedoelwitte van ons fisiese leeromgewing is om ‘n vreugdevolle plek te wees wat nuuskierigheid aanwakker. Die ontwerp van ons kampus noodsaak doelbewus gereelde beweging – klein lyfies wat stap, huppel, en hardloop deur die tuin bevorder sirkulasie en skep geleenthede om kruie te ruik, skoenlappertjies te sien en die vreugde van die lewe te ervaar.

Ons klaskamers het ‘n oorvloed van natuurlike lig en ventilasie. Ons kinder-vriendelike daaglikse roetine bestaan uit ‘n oggend pouse en ‘n middagete breek wat genoeg tyd gee om te eet, piepie en speel.

Voeding is nog ‘n baie belangrike mensvriendelike element. Ons voorsien ‘n gesonde oggend peuselhappie en ‘n tuisgemaakte maaltyd vir middagete wat die nodige voedingswaarde bevat om die kinders energie te gee deur die dag.

Educating for Sustainability

We teach connection – to ourselves, each other and the earth as a starting point. We teach beauty and wonder and how to marvel at the natural world. We instill a love of little creatures and large ones, of the magic of science and natural systems – the ocean, the atmosphere, life on land. And then we teach about small challenges and how each of us can make a difference, taking small actions we have control over. Only then do we introduce larger challenges.

Green School’s approach to educating about environmental and social challenges is a structured, well throught out strategy based on David Sobel’s book: Beyond Ecophobia. We used the stepping stones laid out in the book to develop a comprehensive plan that doesn’t dwell on the negative, but instead builds a real sense of wonder, joy and connection to nature. Through this appreciation children develop an intrinsic desire to protect what they have come to love, and are less likely to succumb to ecophobia, a feeling of powerlessness to prevent cataclysmic environmental change.

Onderwys vir Volhoubaarheid

As ‘n beginpunt leer ons oor konneksies – met onsself, mekaar, en die planeet. Ons leer die waarde van skoonheid en ontsag, en hoe om te verwonderd te staan oor die prag van die natuurlike wêreld. Ons kweek ‘n liefde vir diere groot en klein, sowel as die wonders van wetenskap en natuurlike stelses – die oseaan, atmosfeer, en lewe op land. Dan begin ons leer oor klein uitdagings en hoe elkeen van ons ‘n verskil kan maak en klein aksies te neem waaroor ons beheer het. Eers dan stel ons groter uitdagings bekend.

Green School se benadering tot onderrig oor omgewings- en sosiale kwessies volg ‘n goed-gestruktureerde deurdagte strategie gebaseer op David Sobel se boek Beyond Ecophobia. Dit is ‘n omvattende plan wat nie op die negatief konsentreer nie, maar eerder ‘n ware gevoel van verwondering en vreugde kweek, en ‘n diepe verbintenis met die natuur bou. Deur hierdie waardering ontwikkel kinders ‘n intrinsieke begeerte om te beskerm wat hulle lief het, en is minder geneig om te swig voor ecophobia, ‘n gevoel van magteloosheid om rampspoedige omgewingsverandering te voorkom.