Over 111 years of education experience and excellence, St Columba's Primary Education is focussed on providing your child with holistic education experience designed to celebrate each child as an individual. St Columba’s blend of excellent academics, along with sport, culture, community, social and Christian participation enables every child to explore, develop and grow.
St Columba's Primary School
Equipping students to thrive in an extraordinary world, takes an extraordinary approach to education in which depth of experience, an excellence in education history and a passion for innovative, student centric learning blends seamlessly with both the St Columba’s at school education program and the St Columba’s Online education program.
St Columba’s ability to adapt the CAP’s curriculum content to modern learning techniques ensures our students are engaged and excited to learn while the depth of experience, both
A History of Education: Excellence St Columba’s is the most experienced primary school on the East Rand. We have weathered more storms, developed intense education knowledge and thrived through the toughest time.
Primary School Focus: Choosing to focus on Preschool and Primary school has enabled St Columba’s to become specialists in the development of early education and primary school children.
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Child Centric Learning: Every child at St Columba’s is a cherished individual, celebrated for the unique talents they possess.
Christian Education: The Christian ethos of service to others, perseverance, resilience, love and joy are woven through all aspects of life at St Columba’s.
Education Innovation: St Columba’s blends hard won education knowledge with contemporary technology, to serve the modern learner.
Founded in 1909 by the Dominican Sisters, St Columba’s is one of the oldest schools on the reef, with several of the school buildings classified as historical buildings.
The 4 nuns who stared St Columba’s came at the bidding of Rev. Mother M. Rose Niland, an extraordinary woman whose passion for Christian education has been continued in her legacy at St Columba’s.
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At the time St Columba’s was founded, Benoni was the extremity of the East Rand, but Mother Rose even then foresaw that Benoni would become a centre of culture, kindness and cordiality.
From the school’s humble beginnings in 1909 with only 4 sisters and 25 students, St Columba’s has grown and thrived into the sprawling, well equipped grounds at the heart of Benoni on the East Rand.
The founding principles of St Columba’s remain, with every staff member dedicated to carrying through the traditions that enforce the culture of service to others at the school.
Engaging modern children in academic subjects requires a blend of experienced teachers, exciting material and a curious, collaborative approach to learning. The St Columba’s CAPs curriculum has been designed to prepare students for real-world challenges by instilling a range of practices, life skills and evergreen learning methodologies that energise individual student’s natural thirst for knowledge.
At St Columba’s, your child is invited to participate in several sport disciplines including tennis, cricket, netball, cross country and swimming to name a few.
The St Columba’s sport training ethos is one of inclusion and fairness as we strive to give each child the opportunity to develop into a sportsman/woman by ensuring they get a fair chance to participate in sports of their choice regardless of skill level. We believe in giving children access to a range of different sports and while having fun, children will learn to love sport, giving them a powerful mental, physical and social grounding for their future
Providing your child with a holistic education is so much more than just academics. St Columba’s offers your child the opportunity to participate in Chess, Choir and Public Speaking activities among others. This provides your child with the opportunity to join teams of like-minded children during practices and participate in exciting performances with their peers.
Providing your child with a supportive community encourages them to develop perspectives outside of their immediate surroundings. Having a broader world view and participating in service to others brings a healthy balance of self and community awareness. St Columba’s provides children with the opportunity to participate in onsite community projects encouraging connection, empathy and understanding.
Developing well rounded, socially adept students, proficient at navigating the intricacies of complex personal relationships, requires a progressive approach to student social integration. The St Columba’s social program is designed and overseen by our educational psychologist and includes a variety of exciting forward-thinking encounters designed to foster long-lasting social relationships with other students.
Discipline
St Columba’s, in line with the Catholic School Office- Signs of God’s Presence, implement The Child Safeguarding Policy which is a process driven approach in which all potential dangers to children are documented and prepared for.
Part of this process is to recognise potential situations where the correction for dangerous or harmful behaviour of a learner is needed. All discipline at St Columba’s is restorative, ensuring the dignity of every party is carefully considered and upheld in any situation.
Through this process students are given the opportunity to learn the consequences of actions in a safe, caring, and uplifting environment. These critical life-skills help to develop students who are responsible, confident and consequence aware, helping them to safely explore their budding independence.
Quality Control
In addition to the official registration and recognition of the St Columba’s curriculum with the Department of Education, St Columba’s is also registered with IQAA (Independent Quality Assurance Association) which is affiliated to ISASA. IQAA regularly assesses the quality of teaching, learning, governance and finance of the school. Additionally, St Columba’s is registered with Umalusi the National Quality Assurer at which St Columba’s has permanent accreditation. The Catholic Schools Office- Signs of God’s Presence is a monitoring tool to ensure that St Columba’s works within the Ethos of a Catholic School.
Regular submission to audits and analysis of all programs offered at St Columba’s ensures that your child receives the highest quality education safe guarded by independent and national regulatory bodies.
Parent Partnership
St Columba’s fosters a healthy partnership with parents in which the learner’s development is at the forefront of everything we do. The teaching, answering of questions and assessment of your child is managed by the highly qualified and passionate teachers that make up the St Columba’s education team. This leaves you free to remain in a parenting role, supporting your child and cheering them on in their education journey.
