Somerset College

Somerset College is a leading independent, co-educational, non-profit school set on a magnificent 32-hectare estate in the Western Cape Winelands, between Somerset West and Stellenbosch. Founded in 1997, it welcomes students from Grade 000 (age 3 turning 4) to Grade 12 – around 1,200 learners in all – and offers day schooling as well as full, weekly and flexible boarding for senior students from Grade 8.

With a Christian ethos and a strong emphasis on values, relationships, community involvement and environmental responsibility, the College takes its motto “Pietas” (duty to one’s family and community) to heart, and is a member of ISASA. It has maintained a 100% matric pass rate since opening. Its academic programme is distinctive: the Preparatory School follows the Cambridge curriculum, while senior students choose between two pathways – the IEB National Senior Certificate or the internationally recognised Cambridge AS and A-Levels (completed in two years, uniquely without a “Year 13”). Woven through the school is ESTEAM (Entrepreneurship, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics), a project-oriented, inquiry-based programme enriched by clubs such as coding and robotics, rocketry and an entrepreneurship launch lab, with a Student Development Unit providing academic and pastoral support.

Somerset College is renowned for its outdoor and environmental education, including a celebrated multi-week expedition in which students journey hundreds of kilometres on foot, by canoe and by bicycle as a journey of self-discovery. World-class facilities support strong sport (hockey, cricket, rugby and water polo among the mainstays), music, art and drama, and the boarding community draws students from across the region and abroad.

Recent fees start from around R165,000 a year; full fee and admissions details are available directly from the school.