Philosophy

Letter of Appreciation

Sally Rackham
Thank you so much for the time you took to meet with us on Monday. Sorry that I am slow to write, but internet connection is limited while I am travelling.

I really enjoyed meeting you and Shane. I felt that the school has something different to offer, and is more geared towards the needs of the individual child rather than the masses. I think that this is going to be an essential ingredient in the smooth transition of education for my children from the UK. It seemed to me that you are well placed to be able to ease them into school life in SA, and to maximise the potential of each.
… read more.

A Journey of a different kind

Shane Kidwell
I had the fortunate experience of being invited to supper by the CEO of the ‘Prue Leith” school of food a couple of years ago. The Odd Plate restaurant is a wonderful place to relax with friends and the food is scrumptious. The good food facilitated a wonderful conversation about education, I am a teacher and he was in-charge of a school of sorts, training chefs to prepare starters that explode with flavour … read more.

An Oakhill Family’s Journey

Guy Thesen
In preparation for eventually joining the Knysna family business, my grandfather was sent to a boys-only boarding school in Grahamstown as a young boy. My father followed, and subsequently my brother and myself (although the business was sold before we matriculated). There was no consultation and little fanfare. Boarding school was a tradition that was not up for debate. Admittedly schooling options in the Knysna area were then very limited, but my father’s only defence was that he didn’t want me to have to marry a local girl by the age of seventeen … read more.

Letter from an Old Oak

Hi Peebee,
I realise that in our time together at Oakhill, we never really met eye-to-eye. I was pretty much hopeless at maths, and I opted to play football over the more popular hockey. Differences aside, I stumbled across the Oakhill website whilst rambling about the Internet in a fit of boredom. After reading Casey Anley’s letter, I felt compelled to send in a letter myself. Oakhill marked a changing point in my life. I’m not going to sit here and spin a yarn about how amazing and great Oakhill is, but I cannot refute the fact that the person I was when I entered the school was not the same when I left …read more

Learning, safety and happiness

We ended 2010, our country’s soccer world cup year, on a high. We had made good progress across so many areas of activity and the outstanding Grade 12 results were the proverbial cherry on the top. Our successes and achievements confirmed that we are doing more things right, more often, and they are a tribute to the leadership of our Headmaster, Shane Kidwell, and the commitment and passion of our teachers and our administrative staff. …read more