Uplands
- Alternative schools
- Boarding School
- Mixed gender schools
- Religious schools
- Private
About us Uplands is one of Africa’s leading, independent, co-educational, family schools following the traditions of the Anglican Church. The school offers quality, holistic education to pupils from 18 months to Grade 12, with outstanding boarding facilities from Grade 4 upwards. A contemporary school, Uplands has a proud tradition with a proven track record of success with almost 100 years of timeless quality and values. Uplands delivers an engaging and globally relevant curriculum for our diverse pupil body. This is achieved through a skills-based approach which promotes a culture of learning, creativity, critical thinking, social growth, inclusion (transformation and diversity) and talent realisation. Pupils benefit from building effective relationships through inspired, collaborative, and innovative engagement. Set in an area of extraordinary scenic beauty, Uplands is located on a spacious 110-hectare country estate in White River, Mpumalanga, South Africa. We have exceptional facilities in the academic, sporting, cultural and outreach arenas. Our dynamic, caring, and supportive staff provide individual attention to all pupils within a family-friendly environment, from 07h30 to 16h30 for day scholars and 24 hours for boarders, so that each pupil thrives. This full-day integrated programme is fully inclusive of required meals and tea-time snacks, sport, culture, community service sessions, supervised homework sessions and extra-curricular activities.
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Head of school
Mr Allan Laing
Contact person
Cindy Walker (Head of Marketing)
Email address
marketing@uplands.co.za
Website address
https://uplands.co.za/
Religious
Uplands holds the belief that every child is beloved, belongs, and is a child of God. The spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of each child is based on the values and virtues of the school’s Christian tradition: love of God and love of neighbour; the pursuit of truth and justice; the challenge of service and duty; and the experience of trust and forgiveness.
Uplands remains true to its fundamental and progressive educational mission – one which encourages critical thinking, diversity and unfettered freedom of choice in matters of spirituality.
We recognise the importance of providing opportunities for worship and take great care in following the liturgical year.
Academic Excellence Uplands has always been a school that strives to marry innovation with the best of traditional approaches. Our vision is to nurture pupils who, by the time they leave school, are intellectually ambitious thinkers; effective and independent pupils, and; possess the knowledge, skills and habits of mind to succeed and thrive.
Like many schools, we are able to help our pupils achieve outstanding results in their examinations. However, whilst acutely aware that public exam results are the key to the best possible future for our pupils, we are not an exam factory. The Uplands difference is that our holistic educational philosophy teaches our pupils how to take their studies further and rise to the intellectual challenges that they will encounter in their later lives. Indeed, we excel in delivering an engaging and globally relevant curriculum for a diverse pupil body. This is achieved through a skills-based approach that promotes a culture of learning, creativity, critical thinking, social growth, inclusion (transformation and diversity) and talent realisation. Pupils benefit from building effective relationships with an inspired, collaborative and innovative staff.
Our classrooms are well-resourced and reflect an attention to ICT and mobile device technology to support and enhance learning. Despite moving with the technological revolution, literacy and numeracy skills remain fundamental to all that we do.
We challenge our pupils to develop their intellectual curiosity, to ask questions, to broaden their knowledge and intellect, and to be aware of the world beyond the School. At Uplands we believe that the very best education can only come from being part of an outstanding community of pupils – pupils, teachers and parents.
We are proud of our rich and varied curriculum; one that develops the potential of all our pupils and provides the building blocks for them to go out and make a difference.
CURRICULUM: GRADE 8 AND 9 All pupils take English, Mathematics, an additional language (Afrikaans or isiZulu and, for immigrants, either French or Spanish), Life Orientation, Economic Management Science, Natural Science, Human and Social Science, Technology and Arts and Culture (Art, Drama and Music).
CURRICULUM: GRADE 10, 11 AND 12 All pupils take English (Home Language), Afrikaans or isiZulu (1st Additional Language) or French or Spanish (2nd additional Language – this is only for immigrant pupils), Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy and Life Orientation.
Then all pupils choose 3 of the following subjects:
Accounting
Business Studies
Computer Applications Technology (CAT)
Dramatic Art
Engineering Graphics and Design (EGD)
Geography
History
Information Technology (IT)
Life Science
Music
Physical Science
Sports and Exercise Science
Visual Art For those pupils who want a further extension, we also offer Advanced Programme Mathematics, Advanced Programme English and Advanced Programme Physics.
Uplands prides itself on being a school where family matters and, as such, siblings are able to remain together in our co-educational environment, enjoying each other’s company and learning from each other before matriculating and venturing confidently out into the big wide world.
Uplands boasts a wide array of exceptional facilities in a secure environment. Boarders have free access to the squash and tennis courts, Astro hockey field, indoor cricket centre, gymnasium, netball courts, endless fields, equestrian centre, dams for those who relish fishing over weekends, mountain biking trails (a key sport at Uplands), swimming pools and more, or they can spend quiet time in the Chapel or be at one with nature and walk safely around the 110-hectare school property which is home to abundant fauna and flora.
The four boarding homes on campus have resident staff who are available at all times for boarders to reach out to, whether it be to receive a comforting hug when a knee has been scraped or to ensure that children are feeling happy, safe and nurtured, and that tranquillity and order prevail.
College boasts the following boarding houses: Goss house and Founders house for Boys boarding. Bishop house and College house for Girls boarding.
At Uplands, boarders truly do feel at one with their school and as such play a meaningful role in school life, from leadership opportunities to creating a positive spirit and to having a strong sense of belonging and camaraderie.
Our pastoral team prides itself on shaping young men and women to become confident, well-adjusted, happy people who will go forth when they leave Uplands to influence others in a positive and meaningful way as they create successful futures for themselves. The Uplands boarding environment is rich with opportunity. The semi-rural setting, the year-round equitable climate, the world-class off-road cycle trails and a variety of top-class sports facilities, as well as music, art and drama spaces all create a context for growth and development – academically, physically and socially.
CULTURE We believe in the value of the Arts in creating broad-minded, well-balanced young individuals. Apart from offering Dramatic Arts, Music and Visual Arts as academic subjects, the College also offers extra-curricular opportunities to pupils interested in further developing their talents. The College boasts beautiful state-of-the-art facilities that include an amphitheatre, independent art and drama studios, and music rooms. Our school productions are of an exceptional standard, and our regular visits to art hubs (galleries and theatres, for example) ensures our pupils receive a contemporary appreciation for the cultural world.
SERVICE Community service is keenly undertaken at Uplands. Our aim is to involve every student in a variety of environmental and or community-driven activities. We hope to broaden perspectives, encourage a love for service, and ensure our pupils experience our broader community, recognise their position of responsibility, and are empowered to make a difference.
SPORT We strive to achieve excellence in all our sporting activities and do so through a consolidated programme of training, local fixtures, regional derby weekends and national festival attendance. We offer a diverse mix of sports from the traditional (such as swimming, athletics, cross country, rugby, hockey, netball, cricket, soccer and tennis) to the more specialised and more unusual (mountain biking, squash and horse riding, for example). With the benefit of excellent coaching, we have established a proud sports record, as evidenced by the number of provincial representatives we have competing in a wide variety of sporting codes.
