Cape Town's Southern Schools

When I started this blog, I knew I had to write about topics for those who were seeking accommodation, specifically accommodation in Cape Town, South Africa, and even more specifically accommodation in Cape Town's southern suburbs.  I know from experience that writing about what you know is relatively easy, but getting motivated to write can be a bit more challenging, particularly when you are unsure as to who your prospective audience will be.

That said, as I mulled over how to fill this first blog post, I thought about the type of people who would be looking for accommodation in Cape Town, and what might interest them.  Even more specifically, I wanted to write for people who were looking for accommodation in Rondebosch, Newlands, Bishopscourt, Claremont, Kenilworth, and the surrounding areas.

Then I read an article in this weekend's Cape Argus and it struck me that one of the reasons why people visit this area would be the same reason why people want to live here.  The schools in and around these suburbs are some of the best in South Africa, and on par with the best schools in Europe, and possibly throughout the world.

Now, I am not just talking about the University of Cape Town, which is one of the most prestigious universities in Africa.  Of course, parents who come to visit their children going to varsity need a place in which to stay.  Hotels are expensive, and so many parents seek out accommodation, and especially reasonably priced bed-and-breakfasts or self-catering establishments in the area.  But I digress.

There was not just one article that caught my eye about the Western Cape's schools, but three, though I will only get into the first one in this post.  The article dealt with high schools and how fifteen of the top 100 high schools were in the Western Cape.  On further investigation, I found that nine of those fifteen were in fact in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town! 

Bishops Diocesan College, Herschel Girls' School, South African College Schools (SACS), Bergvliet High School, Centre of Science and Technology (Cosat), Rondebosch Boys' High School, Rustenberg High School for Girls, Livingstone High School, and Westerford High School are all in Cape Town's southern suburbs, and were all acknowledged by the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation in their Circle of Excellence program. This program seeks to recognise secondary schools that consistently provide high quality education in general, and specifically those that successfully present candidates to the foundation.  The article gave a little blurb about each school, something that I'm not going to do here, though I think I will write something a bit more in depth on each of them, particularly SACS, as my son will be going to their junior school next year. 

The accommodation providers for which I write this are only minutes away from seven of these schools, and only 10-15 minutes from the other two.  In fact, they are also about 10-15 minutes from St. Cyprian's School in Oranjezicht, which is in the City Bowl.   Many of these schools allow students to board, and some parents live far away from Cape Town, with some not even living in South Africa.  It is for this reason why it is so important to find a place that offers something beyond accommodation, something a little like a home away from home...