OUR  LOCATION

Amity International School (AIS) is situated in Erasmia, a leafy suburb of Pretoria West, less than 20 minutes from the heart of the capital, and only 45 minutes from busy metropolitan Johannesburg by road.  Set on over 4 hectares of flat ground in a quiet, peaceful corner of Erasmia, the open, tranquil spaciousness of the campus provides ample scope for development and an ideal setting for an educational institution. 

OUR  ETHOS

With an open admission policy, and registered with the Gauteng Department of Education, the school enrols learners regardless of race, gender or religious orientation.  Religious occasions are observed for each of the major religious groups – Hindu, Muslim and Christian - and are used as a springboard to educate and inform learners in terms of inter-faith harmony, acceptance and co-operation.  Educators are also employed irrespective of race, gender or religious persuasion.  AIS subscribes to the rich legacy of Amity International Schools to impart values-based education and support the intellectual, creative, physical and emotional development of the learner in preparation for his or her role as a meaningful contributor to family, community and society.  

OUR  CURRICULUM

AIS follows the Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) National Curriculum Statement (NCS) with added value in terms of Physical Education and sports skills coaching, education in vernacular languages, cultural studies and computer literacy.  Our educators are CAPS (Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement) trained so that compliance with standards set by the Department of Education is ensured and exceeded. 

OUR  LITTLE  LEARNERS

Pre-primary (Grade R)
Our youngest group is the Grade R class. They will be ready by the year-end to enter Grade 1 next year.  Their day is spent engaging in stimulating and structured play and activities designed to develop their young minds and bodies in preparation for the more formal environment of Grade 1.  Their activities involve several of their senses at a time; the introduction of music into their activities infuses further enjoyment into their learning environment.  Some of the activities Grade R children participate in include:  drawing and colouring, numeracy, literacy, life skills, physical education, computer literacy, music and movement, and a variety of outdoor and indoor structured play.  Reports are prepared on each child’s progress and furnished to parents each term.  At the end of the Grade R year, the little learners are tested by the Head of Department (FP) for readiness to enter Grade 1 in the new year, and pass out into the “big school” at a colourful graduation ceremony custom-made for them.

ENTERING  THE  “BIG  SCHOOL”

Foundation Phase (Grades 1 to 3)
The Foundation Phase (FP), comprising Grades 1 to 3, forms one of the most important phases in the child’s learning experience where, through a wide variety of increasingly complex formal activities, young intellects and impressions are developed in literacy, numeracy and life skills with structured physical education activities and supervised play on the jungle gym improving their bodily development in leaps and bounds.  Computer Literacy classes play an important part in introducing children uninhibited by fear for computers to the marvellous world of technology.  Foundation Phase learners are taken on their own, age-appropriate excursions to places such as the zoo, Bird Park, and Little People’s Theatre.  Term reports give an assessment of their development in detail according to an extensive list of criteria.  Regular interaction and communication with parents keeps them up-to-date with the growth of their precious little ones. 

BIG  STRIDES  FOR  LITTLE  PEOPLE

The Intersen Phase (Grades 4 to 9)
Building on the basics learnt in the FP, learners are introduced to the more formal and structured world of skills development through individual and small group activities, a range of assessment types including tests, examinations and projects, and steadily increasing homework.  More complex competencies are built up on the sports field and in the computer room, and term reports now make use of marks.  The quantity and complexity of work is taken to new levels by the time the learner arrives at Grade 9, which is regarded as an exit point from the school system.  Entry into teenage with its attendant changes places new challenges in the hands of educators.  The pace of work speeds up and moderation of written work is also done at an external level.  The “big school” has more than arrived! 

PREPARING  FOR  BIG  DREAMS

The Further Education and Training (FET) Phase (Grades 10 to 12) The complexity and quantity of learning tasks, assessment procedures and accompanying due dates, subject choices and changes, career directions, raging hormones, changing temperaments and peer pressure all reach their peak at about the same time in this critical phase of a learner’s schooling life placing new demands on the educator’s time and coping skills.  Higher levels of studiousness are required of learners, with closer monitoring of their performance and communication with their parents on a one-on-one basis.  While excursions still offer recreational value, they take on a greater seriousness of purpose and directed activity.  All of this culminates in the very important Matric examinations and results, which become the main focus of public attention and opinion year after year.  Through much hard work and a kindly dollop of good fortune, AIS/PHS has succeeded in producing a 100% Matric pass rate since Matric examinations were first written in 2003.  This from succeeding groups of very mixed abilities is quite an achievement! 

THERE  IS  LIFE  OUTSIDE  THE  CLASSROOM

To add interest and value to the learner’s total school experience, a wide variety of activities from the religious and cultural to sports, games and excursions are undertaken each year.

The school employs a physical education and sports coach who works within the Life Orientation field providing physical education classes and coaching in sports skills from Grade 1 to 12.  There is a clear emphasis on fitness training - especially in the FET phase from Grades 10 to 12, in line with their particular syllabus requirements in Life Orientation.

Wednesday afternoons see a variety of groups participating in recreational activities such as soccer, cricket, table tennis, pool, volleyball, indoor games such as monopoly and chess, art and crafts, and cookery.  Our junior cricket teams have participated in matches against teams in the District, and have acquitted themselves well emerging either as winners or runners-up playing against schools many times the size of AIS/PHS.  The grade 1 - 3 learners participate in the annual KFC mini-cricket tournament and are doing extremely well.

Educational excursions form an important part of the school’s programme with excursions having taken place to popular venues in the region, for example, the Zoological and Botanical Gardens, the Monte Casino Bird Park (for the Grade 1 to 3 learners), People’s Theatre in Johannesburg, the Cradle of Humankind, Freedom Park, the Voortrekker Monument, the Apartheid Museum and - moving out of the region - to the KwaZulu-Natal coast and Western Cape.

The school concert introduces all learners to the stage each year in a structured and fun-filled way with class productions of entertaining sketches, short plays and vibrant dances.  This year, a professional theatre company will be producing the concert with our learners and with the assistance of educators.

The annual Fun Walk is an attraction for young and old each year and takes participants on an exhilarating early morning walk on a five or ten kilometre course through Erasmia and Christoburg.

Our learners have participated with much success in the Hindi, Gujarati and Tamil Eisteddfods over the years.  This year AIS/PHS hosted the Hindi Eisteddfod and won the event taking seven trophies in various items.  Likewise, our Tamil Eisteddfod participants did well securing thirteen first and second positions in the seventeen items in which they participated this year.

OUR  SOCIAL  RESPONSIBILITY  PROGRAMMES

Each year, our learners are involved in social responsibility programmes that encourage them to participate in the betterment of lives of the very young, elderly and the less fortunate.  This year, learners have collected food items that have been sent to an orphanage, and have collected monies for the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.  In the past, they have collected soft toys for children who are with parents in correctional centres and in the children’s wards of hospitals, gift packs for senior citizens in the community, cans and bags of food for the starving in Ethiopia, and our young dancers have entertained the senior citizens each year at their annual senior citizens’ luncheon.  Last year, our Grade R learners spent the day at Sunrise School presenting their hosts with gifts that brought many a smile to their faces.  The latest activity was participation by a group of learners and educators in the Anti Substance Abuse March through the streets of Laudium with other schools and community groups to focus attention on the need to eradicate substance abuse among school children in particular.

WORK  IN  PROGRESS …

There is no doubt that the story of Amity International School is one of success:  we have a very high rate of success in the classroom; we are getting better all the time at a wide range of activities outside the classroom; we are furthering the development of the campus infrastructure and facilities; most importantly – we are working on constant improvement of our educational programme for the holistic development of the child!  They are our WINNERS!

Let us know what you think about our School. Your suggestions are very valuable.