Heidelberg Christian School

Corne Liebenberg
Jun 9, 2016
3 min read

Heidelberg in the Western Cape is not only considered as the beginning of the Garden Route. It also houses the Heidelberg Christian School, where the seeds of faith and knowledge are sown, grown and matured in the minds and souls of young children to blossom to fulfillment into well-equipped adults, ready for further education or the work force.

Heidelberg Christian School uses the Accelerated Christian Education system. The concept of Accelerated Christian Education was originally started by Dr. Donald Howard in 1970 in Garland, Texas. Since then this Christian Education system has spread to over 145 countries around the world.

Accelerated Education Enterprises (AEE) provides end- to- end education solutions to meet the needs of an evolving and often challenging education environment in South Africa, Africa and beyond. AEE supplies curriculum, including the A.C.E system and support services to over 643 associated schools and 1359 Home Schools. Our core mission is to “GUIDE INDIVIDUALS TO THEIR PLACE OF FULL POTENTIAL.” To this end, AEE follows and supports the progression of learners from Early Childhood Development, the Learning to Read phase, full curriculum from Grade 1-12 and through their tertiary education. We are extremely proud of the 4330 learners that have successfully graduated on the A.C.E programme of the past 16 years.

The Africa / Scandinavia office located in Durban has been operating since 1988. This educational system has been widely accepted by universities and other academic institutions around the world and is registered with the local Departments of Education.

In 2006 Heidelberg Christian School opened its doors, with 12 learners and 3 very brave teachers in attendance. Things have grown substantially…We now have a pre-school, Grade R through to Grade 12 and a much larger complement of Staff. The schooling system is an individualised one with a maximum of 12 students per learning area, and a staff of 2, the Supervisor and Monitor for each learning centre as well.

The Teachers and roll players at Heidelberg Christian School have a passion for Christian education and we know the necessity to see young children come to the Lord at a young age and then to be educated in a Christian environment.

We are extremely blessed here at HCS, by the fact that the Charis Bible College is on the same premises. The second year students do devotions with our school children three times a week, as well as bring the message at assembly once a week. Each message is based on one of the 60 character traits of Jesus that we try and highlight and encourage in our students.

Because we are a private school, our fees are higher than main stream schools (although not as high as other private schools). A lot of our parents are middle to lower income earners, and therefore we always can use extra funds in the smooth running of our school.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Heidelberg Christian School recognized by the educational authorities?

YES: Our school has been registered with the Department of Education and Culture since 2006 as an independent school.

Does HCS provide schooling for learners of all ages?

YES: HCS offers schooling for preschool and Grade R through to Grade 12.

Will my child’s progress be monitored?

YES: We measure learners’ outcomes using continuous assessment as required by the Department of Education and Culture.

Will learners receive a certificate on completion of their schooling?

YES: Learners are issued with a Grade 12 certificate. This is endorsed “with exemption equivalence” or “without exemption equivalence” depending on the learner’s score on an external test (National Benchmark Test). This test is internationally recognized and serves to verify our learners’ abilities.

Do we offer sport at our school?

YES: We offer a range of sports, including touchies, soccer, ring ball, bowls, athletics, and more.

Do we offer computer training at our school?

YES: Our computer training includes the Future Kids and Skills Pro learning programs.

In 2014 our then principal started with the expansion and ‘revamp’ of our Pre-School playground. With a lot of help from the community and parents, staff and children, we could start this awesome project.

The playground has been designed to stimulate all 7 areas of a preschool child’s development and we would love to finish this project. There is space for a water play area, a rabbit hatch, a music wall, a see-saw, balancing beam, rocking horses, a submarine and even a pirate ship. Eventually we would like to build something for our older children as well.

So far we have a ‘tyre hill’, an old tractor and mini, some pathways for scooters and bicycles (badly broken up at the moment), a jungle gym and a lovely big sandpit play area. The children are already enjoying this tremendously. Unfortunately, we do not have sufficient funds to complete this project and would really appreciate any help that we can get.