1. How much are the school fees?
Our current fees structure can be found under INFO & FEES.

2. What sports can my child do after school?
We manage all our sports in-house and this includes cricket, tennis, soccer  and chess. Karate is also offered privately, as well as Mighty Kings Rugby for all grades.

3. Do you do the same curriculum that other schools do?
Yes, we follow the CAPS curriculum and write our exams through SACAI (South African Comprehensive Assessment Institute)

4. What subjects do you offer in Grade 10 – 12?
English HL, Afrikaans FAL, Mathematical Literacy, LO, Tourism and CAT. Learners can choose between Consumer Studies or Business Studies. During their Grade 9 year, we evaluate and decide on the Grade 10 subjects based on the interests and abilities of our students.

5. What else does my school fee include?
Every child has access to counselling or play therapy, if this has been recommended for the learners who need it.  Grades 1-12 receive Afrikaans Conversational groups.  Grades 1-7 have access to Reading Eggs and Mathseeds, which are educational tools to extend their knowledge in reading and mathematics. Grades 1-3 and Vocational Phase learners, receive Occupational therapy functional skills groups.  Our multi-disciplinary team led by our SENCO is always on hand to offer any advice or support to parents. Proper exam preparation ensures that learners are well-prepared and organised and concessions that are needed are also provided within our resources.

6. What other therapies do you offer?
The following therapies are not included in school fees but are offered during the school day:

• Speech and Language Therapy
• Remedial Therapy
• Occupational Therapy, and 
• Physiotherapy

7. Are you a mainstream school?
We offer the same curriculum that is followed at other schools, however we include a lot of classroom support for those who need it. We also offer a vocational, and an online option.  Our online learning academy is ideal for students who are self-driven and prefer to set their own pace for learning. 

8. How do I know that Elsen is the right fit for my child?
We offer a no-obligation visit for approximately 5 days to give your child an opportunity to experience Elsen Academy for themselves. This visit also allows us to get to know your child and see what his/her needs are.   At the end of the visit, we will meet with you to give feedback, and to discuss the findings.

9. How big are your classes?
Classes are no bigger than 14, with the exception of Grades 1, 2 and our Vocational Phase. In some cases, we have teacher assistants that co-teach with our teachers. Therapists are also often seen in class adding extra support.

10. Is there a school uniform?
We have a summer and a winter uniform. Learners in Grades 4 – 12 wear blazers and ties. The learning academy do not wear a uniform.

11. What communication will I receive?
We make use of bulk SMS for important announcements and/or cancellations. Teachers send daily homework emails and regularly inform parents about projects or assignments that are due. Learner Support discussions and Leaner Case conferences are also sent home. Parents receive urgent information on a Whatsapp group.

12. Do you offer an after-care programme?
We have an After-care facility for Grades 1-3, and a Homework centre for Grades 4-7 to help learners with the completion of homework and supervision.

13. How can parents get involved?
At the beginning of every year, a list is sent home with some of the areas where help from parents is needed, i.e. EMAS, is our parent body that encourages parents to get involved in fundraising events such as our annual golf day, trivia etc. and contribute to sport events, invigilating during exams, providing flowers for the lobby, and generally get involve in the social activities at Elsen.

14. What if my child is not able to manage the academic curriculum?
Fortunately, we do have various options and categories of support that are offered. Once your child is accepted, he/she is placed according to the amount of support and intervention that is needed, this will be communicated to parents and the categories of support explained. In short, Categories 1 – 3 involve mainstream with some supportive therapies or interventions (if necessary). Category 4 refers to the mainstream with some modified areas such as mathematics and/or exam concessions. If your child is on a category 4 and is still not coping adequately, it might be necessary to consider the vocational stream. These classes have been created with the objective to develop our children into independent, skilled and productive adults. Within the vocational phase we focus on 3 main areas, i.e. literacy, functional mathematics and life skills. Other skills based learning include woodwork, cooking, computer literacy, gardening and other basic life skills. Our online learning academy provides yet another option if the child does not enjoy the formal, traditional classroom setup.

15. Will my child get the same matric certificate as students in other schools?
Elsen Academy is an independent school that has decided to write exams that are set by an external examining body named SACAI, and is a registered SACAI centre. SACAI is accredited with UMALUSI that issues all matric certificates, therefore our matric certificates are the same as the certificates issued at other schools. 

16. My child suffers from dyslexia, what support is there for him?
Our teachers use extensive resources that are dyslexia-friendly, i.e. power-point presentations, songs and rhymes to help learn concepts, mind-maps, diagrams, etc. Using technology in our classrooms such as iPads and laptops enables students to find their most suitable method to learn. We encourage a blended learning approach where at times, work can be accessed on a laptop or iPad and the lessons are online or sent to the students via their Google Drive, email or Google Classroom. This means that the work is presented in a way that the student has both visual and auditory input and the student can repeat the lessons as often as is necessary.

17. What support is there for my child during exams?
During tests and exams, students are offered various concessions, in order to ensure that they are not disadvantaged in any way. The concessions take place in a  separate venue, reader, scribe, rest breaks, snack break, prompt and emotional support if the student is anxious. Our SENCO makes these applications to SACAI at the beginning of the year and the permission that is granted is carried throughout the students time at our school.

18. How does the application process work? 

One of our pre-requisites is a psychological evaluation not older than 2 years, and because we know that it can be difficult to get an appointment with a psychologist at short notice,  we would encourage prospective parents to go for the evaluation as soon as it came on recommendation from your child’s teacher.  Whilst waiting for the evaluation, we can commence with the completion of all the other documentation i.e. application form, parent questionnaire, confidential teacher questionnaire and the assessments.  Paperwork can be tedious, but we strive in trying to assist our parents wherever we can, and help is but a phone call, or an email away.