Page 6 - Education Feature Issue 2 2021
P. 6

Celebrating Cambridge at



                              Dainfern College










             ainfern College is a proudly South
             African school which also places
       Dhuge emphasis on the value of
        internationalism.

        Since inception in 1997, Dainfern College has
        offered the IEB National Senior Certificate
        (‘matric’) as its exit examination, and the
        first Grade 12 cohort wrote matric in 2001.
        The College has maintained an outstanding
        record of 100% pass every year in this well-
        respected exit exam and students have gone
        on to achieve significant success at tertiary
        level and in the workplace.

        As Dainfern College is a member of the
        international Round Square association of
        schools, internationalism is one of its key
        drivers. The College therefore began to
        research international exit exam options   Cambridge Biology practical lesson
        that would not only give its students a
        globally recognised school qualification    of intense market research, it was decided that   HOW IT WORKS
        but which would also benchmark the   Cambridge Assessment International Education   The Cambridge Studies programme
        College’s academic offering against other   should be added to the Dainfern College   is an optional curriculum, offered in
        schools, not only in South Africa but   academic offering from 2019, alongside the   parallel at the College. Students choose
        internationally as well. After several years   excellent IEB matric curriculum.  to follow either the Cambridge A Level
                                                                                      or IEB Matric programmes at the start
                                                                                      of Grade 11. Cambridge students work
                                                                                      towards writing A Levels (Advanced
                                                                                      Levels) at the end of Grade 12 as
                                                                                      their exit exam. In Grade 11, the
                                                                                      students write Advanced Subsidiary
                                                                                      Level (AS Level) exams at the end of
                                                                                      the year – these are internationally
                                                                                      recognised external exams that assess
                                                                                      half the content of the A Levels, thus
                                                                                      giving students the opportunity to
                                                                                      ‘write off’ some of the syllabus.

                                                                                      In order to meet university entrance
                                                                                      requirements in South Africa, all
                                                                                      Cambridge Studies students are
                                                                                      required to take Mathematics,
                                                                                      English Language and a second
                                                                                      South African language in addition
                                                                                      to three or four elective subjects.
                                                                                      Elective subjects currently offered
                                                                                      include Biology, Chemistry, Physics,
        Some of the 2021 Cambridge Studies students                                   Geography and History.


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