Ridgeway College and Ridgeway Independent School in Makhado (Louis Trichardt) have merged into one entity, but will continue functioning on their respective campuses. Both schools have built halls which are nearing completion.

“One bigger school is just more sustainable than two schools of our respective sizes. We worked hard to create a brand running from Grade RR to Grade 12, centering on an international curriculum,” says Ms Leigh Bristow, head of Ridgeway College and the executive head of the “new” merged school, together with her senior management team. Ridgeway Independent School, under leadership of Ms Magriet Swanepoel, has 208 learners and Ridgeway College has 180.

The two schools had been talking about merging for years, but the school boards’ discussion restarted in April this year on a serious note. The merger finally happened in July.

“We have an aligned academic vision. The junior school will start on Cambridge as from Grade 2. We will be able to rank our Grade 2 kids with Grade 2 kids all over the world who are on the Cambridge system. Cambridge is an international education system used in more than 160 countries and administered from the United Kingdom. In the senior school we do Cambridge international exams. We never had a student who did not get into the university faculty of his or her choice. The kids do extremely well at university,” says Bristow.

In Grade 9 and 10, the learners of Ridgeway College prepare to write the international IGCSE exams and Grade 11s and 12s prepare for the Cambridge International AS level, a six- to eight-term course, with exams being written in May and June or October and November of the Grade 12 year. AS levels qualify students for entry into South African universities.

The college in Leeu Street commenced with the building of a multi-purpose hall on 18 June and expect it to be completed by 5 November. The college was founded in 1999 “to provide a quality, affordable, independent English-medium educational opportunity”. The college moved to its present campus in 2002 and, ever since then, the infrastructure has been steadily developed to include laboratories, additional classrooms, a library and sporting facilities.

Ridgeway Independent School on the Roodewal road envisage that their hall will be completed at the time of their annual prize-giving ceremonies, which are scheduled for 6 and 7 November. The school was founded in January 1997.