Cordwalles Preparatory School

About

Cordwalles Preparatory School in Pietermaritzburg, is a junior private school for boys, with boarding from grade 4-7.

Description

Cordwalles Preparatory School is situated in Pietermaritzburg, the capital of KwaZulu-Natal, a province in the Republic of South Africa. The school, proudly 'boys only', was founded in 1912 by the then Bishop of Natal, Bishop Samuel Baines with twelve boys. Enrolment has now grown to more than three hundred and sixty boys in 2015.

Boarding facilities are available for boys from Grade 4 to 7.

Cordwalles is a member of the Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa (ISASA). A focus of personal excellence; an emphasis on christian values; long-standing tradition - these are just some of the facets which make Cordwalles Preparatory School a popular choice for young boys. The sixth Headmaster, Simon Weaver, is himself a Cordwalles Old Boy.

Mission

Cordwalles is an Anglican Independent Boys’ Preparatory School, which strives to provide a balanced and relevant education in a nurturing environment. Through the provision of innovative, quality teaching and learning resources and the exposure to varied activities, each boy is inspired to develop respect, empathy, personal excellence, leadership qualities, independence and a belief in himself.

OUR VISION

To be a boy’s best foundation for life.

We believe that a boy’s foundation is secured by building and developing SAVY

Skills (Knowledge) : These two aspects need to be developed in all the boys so that they are able to cope confidently in a changing and competitive world.
Attitude (Passion and Motivation) : Our boys need to be inspired, dedicated and focused on doing the best they can in the activities they are exposed to.
Values : Boys at Cordwalles need to be instilled with the following core values:
Respect - for God, oneself, others and the environment
Courage - to stand up for the truth and what is right
Compassion - to care for the wellbeing of others in our community
Integrity - in all things to act with honesty and fairness
Responsibility - to act and take responsibility where necessary
Y – Why! : Critical thinking is so important to develop in our boys.
These aspects contribute to ensuring that boys leave Cordwalles with confidence and self-belief providing them with the essential foundation for life.

KEY GOALS

C Citizenship and community.
Boys are encouraged to become responsible citizens of our country. We need to develop a learning environment in which all members of our diverse community are encouraged to understand and respect each other.
Furthermore, Cordwalles is committed to developing a shared vision, effective communication, respect and courtesy in order to form a basis for the partnership between parents, boys and staff.
E Excellence
Cordwalles will strive for excellence in all that it does to educate its boys. It is also essential to develop personal excellence in each boy where each boy has the opportunity to realise his God-Given potential.
L Leadership
It is the goal of Cordwalles to develop leadership, independence and interdependence in each boy so they make a positive contribution to society in all environments in which they live.
E Environment
Cordwalles aims to develop in each boy a respect and appreciation of the environment. We believe that it is vital that our boys engage positively in the environmental issues facing the world today.
B Boys only
Boy-centred education focuses on boys learning styles, interests and skills whilst catering for every boy’s individual needs. Cordwalles strives to develop Best Practice for boys, staying abreast of global trends.
R Relevant and balanced
A relevant education is one that builds the spiritual, social, emotional, intellectual and physical potential of our boys through the academic, extramural and cultural elements of the school curriculum.
A Awareness
Cordwalles aims to develop an awareness in the boys of the difficulties faced by different sectors of our community and thereby fostering compassion for those in need which results in action and caring.
T Technology
We as a school recognise the importance of embracing technology so that our boys are able to function effectively and confidently in our ever changing technological world.
E EQ
Developing the emotional intelligence of all our boys is an important goal. We need to nurture and grow boys who are able to empathise with those around them and thereby socialise and interact effectively.

Products

Grade RR - Grade 7.
ACADEMIC AND SPORT
ACADEMIC
Personal excellence and the development of all boys have always been a priority at Cordwalles. Boys are extended and allowed to exert their individualism throughout their School careers from Pre-primary to Grade 7.

Guided by experienced, enthusiastic teachers and support staff, our boys are encouraged to be confident, independent and creative problem solvers.

To achieve this our academic programme is relevant to the boys. Each child is encouraged to reach his maximum academic potential. The Pupil Support Programme is extensive and of great benefit to our Boys.

In addition to the traditional languages of English, Afrikaans and Zulu our thrust in the Senior Primary Phase(Grade 3 to 7) is that of Integrated Studies, combining the Human and Social Sciences of Geography and History. We are thus able to concentrate on the skills required in these subjects rather than the pure content. The Natural Sciences of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, along with Mathematical Literacy remain the corner stone of our school. Specialist teachers are employed to develop pupils' Entrepreneurial skills, Music and Speech and Drama. An extremely well structured and balanced academic programme is in place for the boys.

Our Media, Information Technology, Design Technology and Art centres, staffed by professional specialists in each field, are at the cutting edge of education.

A great deal of care is taken to ensure a healthy balance between Academic, Cultural and Sporting Activities.
SPORT
Cordwalles provides an activity for every individual at the school and is an integral part of the Cordwalles experience.

Grades 1 and 2 are offered mini-cricket, mini-soccer, mini-hockey and swimming with tennis and ball skills available to interested parties. The boys are instructed by at least eight male Student Masters (a ratio of 1:8).

Grades 3 - 7 are offered swimming, cricket, rugby, cross-country, athletics, tennis and hockey.

It is policy to provide a team for each boy and to ensure that all teams take part in regular and equitable fixtures. Cordwalles at present has twenty male sports coaches who are either members of the academic staff or resident boarder masters. Coaches attend regular clinics (both internally and externally), are enthusiastic and are well equipped to provide boys with an excellent grounding in all sports.

In addition to interschools fixtures, interhouse competitions are held in all activities and the school team represents us at Interprep activities. All our teams are competent, well drilled and always give an excellent account of themselves against any opposition.

SPORT ACTIVITIES PER TERM

Term One: Cricket, Swimming,Tennis
Term Two: Rugby, Cross-Country, Tennis
Term Three: Athletics, Hockey, Tennis
Term Four: Cricket, Swimming, Tennis
COACHES
Cordwalles Preparatory School are privileged to have the following coaches involved at the school who are all experts in their own field. Darryn Mortimer (ex-Yorkshire and Devonshire County Cricket Club player and a CSA Level 3 cricket coach), Mandy Wheeler (ex-Springbok swimmer) and Chris Folker (ex-tennis touring Pro). These coaches have all added huge value to the existing high quality of sporting coaches already available at Cordwalles.