Woodridge College and Preparatory School

Woodridge College and Preparatory School is a private, co-educational, ISASA-accredited independent school set on a magnificent 365-acre estate near Thornhill in the Kouga, roughly halfway between Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and Jeffreys Bay on the Eastern Cape’s sunshine coast. Perched on the edge of the Van Stadens River gorge, it is home to nearly 800 day scholars and boarders from across South Africa and abroad. The school was started by the Carter family in 1936 as a preparatory school, with the college added in the 1960s, and today educates children from as young as two years old through to Matric. A Christian school and an Anglican parish, it takes its motto, Fideliter (“Faithfully”), from its emblem.

Academically, Woodridge writes the IEB matric examinations and offers a rich subject range, including Advanced Programme Mathematics and English, foreign languages, drama and music, supported by small classes, individual attention and a dedicated music department with choir, a cappella, steelband, marimba and wind and rock bands. Its underlying values are discipline, accountability, commitment, honesty and mutual respect.

What truly distinguishes Woodridge is its spectacular natural setting and its commitment to holistic, outdoor education. The estate – which includes its own nature reserve and a top-class equestrian centre – becomes a vast natural classroom for hiking, rock climbing, abseiling, canoeing, mountain biking, surf-lifesaving and wilderness excursions through the surrounding gorges and mountains, alongside a full programme of mainstream sport, the “Knock on Wood” arts festival and community service. Termly and weekly boarding and a daily bus service make it accessible to families near and far. Full fee and admissions details are available directly from the school.