HeronBridge prep is a place where children love to learn! Through progressive and child-focused teaching approaches, learners are encouraged to explore, collaborate and actively participate in the learning process.
Our heart-led and intentional approach to education is focused on developing the whole child, and our controlled class sizes ensure that we meet each child where they are at.
Our approach combines the use of compassionate teachers and educational specialists, trained in a child’s neurological, physical, social and emotional development so that children are empowered to achieve to their full potential in all aspects of their lives.Bridging classes are offered in Grade 1 and Grade 2 for children who require additional support or extension.
This potential, coupled with international best practice, and explicitly-taught, deeper thinking practices ensure that our children are best placed to face the challenges of a new and complex world. Further to this, Bridging classes are offered in Grade 1 and Grade 2 for children who require additional support or just a little time to find themselves in the world of formal education, as they prepare to launch into full-blooded and rigorous learning programme.
Curriculum
We meet each child where they are at
As our learners move through each phase of the prep school, they are gradually introduced to formal learning and building their skills and knowledge in basic areas such as language (comprehension, speaking and listening), mathematics (counting and understanding numbers), and creative problem-solving.
Self-paced and project-based learning are introduced in the senior prep, and all learners are exposed to 21st century skills through subjects such as robotics in our newly renovated robotics lab.
Teaching takes place in English, but learners benefit from having Afrikaans and isiZulu as additional languages. Outreach, Bible-For-Life and devotions form part of our curriculum, and all children are encouraged to participate in our wide range of co-curricular activities in sport, arts and culture.
Subjects Offered in the Junior Prep:
Language
Mathematics
Life Skills
A heart-led approach that encourages learners to be curious about the world around them. Includes beginning knowledge, personal and social well-being, creative arts, physical education and Bible lessons and devotions as well as the GROW programme (an internal programme that focuses on social and emotional learning within the everyday learning context).
Other
Perceptual development forms an integral part of all learning in the foundation phase, and includes gross motor skills, sensory motor integration, perceptual motor skills, and language development. Computer skills, music, robotics, technology, library and exploration lessons form part of the curriculum.
Subjects Offered in the Senior Prep
School Activities and Extra-murals
Sport and culture are critical building blocks in the development of children, teaching them commitment to a team, resoluteness in the face of challenge and the joy of performance. In order to ensure this exposure, HeronBridge prep aims to offer a wide range of activities to meet every child’s make-up and encourages children to achieve at the highest level. The following activities are offered in the school co-curricular programme and form part of the school fees. Certain activities are age specific.
Cultural activities
Art, chess, dance, drama, choir, craft club, marimbas.
Sports activities
Athletics, cricket, football, hockey, netball, rugby, swimming, softball, T-ball, tennis, cricket, cross country, equestrian, golf, mountain biking and rock climbing.
The following extra-murals are offered by external coaches at an additional cost:
Dance (ballet, modern, tap), drama and speech, drumming, football, guitar, gymnastics, hockey, keyboard, life skills, netball, piano, Playgolf, pottery, rugby, singing, swimming, vocals.
Facilities
HeronBridge College is situated in Fourways along the Jukskei river. The site is divided into two parts: a school campus and a sports campus, providing ample space and excellent resources for everyday school activities and specialised sports and culture programmes.
The school plays host to a fantastic array of sports facilities including an Astro-turf, a flood-lit rugby field, nine netball and tennis courts, multiple soccer fields, volleyball and basketball courts, a mountain-biking route, climbing wall, heated pool and high-performance centre. Seattle Coffee Company also has a coffee shop on site.
We have a large indoor auditorium that seats over 600 people and provides a full service sound desk and lighting array for theatre productions, assemblies and other events, as well as a smaller auditorium in the college for more intimate performances. Additional facilities include a number of music rooms on campus, a robotics labs, lecture theatres, specialist classrooms, and more.
Chaplaincy and outreach
HeronBridge College, founded on strong Christian principles, seeks to encourage and influence individuals, both children and adults, towards a personal and living relationship with Jesus Christ, and to facilitate growth and wholeness in all areas of life.
As a school founded on Christian principles, our outreach and chaplaincy department give a fuller expression to the vision and mission of the school. This is seen in direct ministry, outreach, mission trips, the Bridge of Hope shop (our on-site community store), and bringing thought leadership and Biblical thinking and teaching to the school.
Ministry is done in classrooms and on the playground, and Bible for Life and World View studies are facilitated in the prep and college, respectively. Outreach is offered both as a co-curricular but also as an initiative that runs as a thread throughout the school.
HeronBridge is well recognised in our neighbouring communities of Diepsloot, Cosmo, Lion Park, and Zandspruit and has been serving these communities for 14 years with initiatives such as teacher training, school makeovers, food security through Rise Against Hunger, and the LEGO foundation.
In 2021 we launched our very own on-site community store, Bridge of Hope, which seeks to support and love our HBC staff and direct community through the provision of select food items, toiletries, clothing, and household items.
Additional Services
Therapy Centre
HeronBridge works closely with trained specialists in childhood development to offer programmes, curriculum, and classroom-support techniques that help children to learn more effectively.
We have a fully equipped therapy room and children are assessed and treated at school during the morning at a time that is best suited to them and their class routine. All therapists are available for afternoon therapy too.
Our experienced therapists have been fully integrated into the school and its staff for many years. The team meets regularly and provides detailed therapy and feedback to teachers as well as parents on an ongoing basis.
Aftercare
HeronBridge College provides an aftercare programme for pre-preparatory children and preparatory children during the school term. Lunch is provided every day, and those children who stay for the whole afternoon will have their homework supervised.
Aftercare is available for learners on a half day package until 15:30 or a full day package until 17:30.
Holiday Club
The prep school is closed during school holidays but offers holiday and sports programmes for a determined period at an additional cost.
The programmes are run by HeronBridge staff and information is shared to the parent body during the school term.
School Transport
Our school transport service offers several morning and afternoon routes for learners from Grades 1 to 12. An additional shuttle for pre-prep children runs to and from the Broadacres area and is supervised by a pre-prep staff member. This service is available at an additional cost, as stated on our fees letter.
Our most popular pick-up points include Bryandale, Douglasdale, Radiokop, North Riding, Jukskei Park, Sunninghill, Craigavon, Cosmo City, Fourways Gardens, Lonehill, Cedar Lakes, Broadacres, Dainfern, Copperleaf, Centurion, Lanseria and Peacanwood.
Contact us for a full list of the available routes.
HBC App
Our app hosts an array of informative and engaging features. Through this app, announcements, events, documents, fixtures, and news are delivered directly to your device. Our app can be downloaded from Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
