About

Penryn is an innovative school with a proven track record of nurturing the intellectual, physical, spiritual and emotional well-being of our scholars. Our scholars are challenged to step beyond their comfort zones in order to develop into strong, independent minded, responsible, global citizens.

Mission

To reach out into our community and achieve educational excellence – guided by ethics and the values of adaptability, inclusivity and globalism – to develop future-fit individuals who display integrity, responsibility and respect for themselves and their community and who are guardians of their environment and heritage.

Vision

The Penryn vision was to build a beacon school, a centre of excellence from which a major education outreach programme would be developed into the surrounding disadvantaged school system. We remain true to this vision today.

History

The vision for Penryn has always been to be a model of best practice, the beacon school, to raise the bar and to allow for access to quality education for all children. This is how Penreach came to be.

Our staff and scholars are invested in Penreach through volunteer work, fundraising and development workshops. The campus was designed to be an educational institution, Monday through Friday and then a development centre on weekends for Penreach.

Penreach, which is entirely donor funded and has no impact on the fee structure of Penryn, has become one of the largest educational outreach programmes in South Africa.

CAMPUS

Every Penryn scholar, from preschool to matric, signs and lives by our Honour Code. Even our alumni still live by it today – it has become part of their DNA and thus part of Penryn’s legacy.

01. Honour God

By taking every opportunity to develop our spiritual life through service and worship.

02. Honour Others

By discovering with respect, tolerance and humility the thoughts and ideas of others, irrespective of culture, race, creed or gender.

03. Honour Self

By taking pride in our actions and thoughts and striving at all times to act with honesty and integrity and to improve ourselves through moral courage and self-discipline.

04. Honour the School

By maintaining at all times, a high level of dignity, sportsmanship and behaviour. Remember the school motto ‘one and all’, that through our individual actions we bring honour and respect to the whole community.

05. Honour Society and the Environment

By respecting other people’s property and the environment in which they live and by serving the community with humility and compassion.

St Stithians

Penryn would not be here today if were not for our ‘twinning relationship’ with St Stithians College.

David Wylde, the then head of St Stithians College in Johannesburg, along with a group of like-minded South Africans, including Enos Mabuza, Bill Carter and Dr Simeon Selby Ripinga, had a vision in the late 1980s to form ‘a beacon school’ – now known as Penryn.

It was at Pretoria Boys High, as housemaster of Solomon House in 1988, that David first discussed the concept of Penryn with Peter Anderson. It was preordained that two old Andreans were talking about what St Stithians could do for the disadvantaged youth of South Africans.

Fast forward some 30 years and one can see the incredible journey Penryn and St. Stithians has taken to form this centre of excellence we call Penryn.

As the only school in Mpumalanga affiliated to St Stithians, Penryn’s scholars benefit from the link with this top-tier school and are provided with unique opportunities to attend its elite Johannesburg-based festivals and other events.

Penreach was initially modelled on St Stithians’ community service project, but has since grown to be one of the largest educational outreach programmes in South Africa. As a result, Penryn now offers its learnings to St Stithians, and the significant reciprocal relationship between the two schools continues.

Our Community

Penryn’s scholars are part of the Penryn family for life. It does not matter who you are or where you came from, at Penryn we have a sense of belonging that enables our scholars to find themselves.

Our scholars realise the privilege of a private school education and are taught the responsibility to give back and set an example for others. They are able to assimilate with others with ease and thus break through stigmas and prejudice, believing whole heartedly in encouraging inclusivity. This not only brings our scholars together, but our parents and employees too.

We are one team, working together for the greater good of our school, community and our scholars who, from the first day that they arrive at Penryn, are provided with the age-appropriate skillsets and knowledge that they need to thrive and become the game-changers of tomorrow.

Future-Fit

“Empowering the future-fit child for a world of opportunities.”

In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing world, is your child in an appropriate, future-fit learning environment?

Does your child have the skillset and grit to thrive as a citizen in the African and Global context?

And, why should you act now to ensure that they are future-proof for this dynamic world of work?

In today’s fast-paced and ever-changing world, is your child in an appropriate, future-fit learning environment? Does your child have the skillset and grit to thrive citizen in the African and Global context? And, why should you act now to ensure that they are future-proof for this dynamic world of work? The reality is that we are more interconnected than ever before. As such, our children are required to have universally relevant skillsets – meaning, that they will need to: Fully participate in and adapt to an array of environments. Be able to not just embrace diversity, but actually thrive on diversity. Have razor-sharp communication, problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. And, have a whole-hearted approach to building a more equitable and sustainable world. So, where do you turn to for more than just the conventional education for your child? You choose a school firmly fixed on the horizon and all the wonders that the future holds. At Penryn, we have a strong sense of purpose. Our reason for being surpasses the ordinary. We exist to leave a legacy and build a better tomorrow. This is the basis of our Honour Code, which encourages a sense of belonging, community and a genuine drive to make the world a better place for all. This is the heart of Penryn.

Admissions

You may apply to Penryn at any time following the birth of your child. We accept children from age two into Grade 0000, the year they turn three, up to children turning 18 in their Grade 11 year.