Purpose built

UCT Online High School puts learners first
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Our advanced learning analytics and engaging content ensure that learners are brilliantly equipped to excel in an increasingly digital world.
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As a learner, you’ll be able to enrol whenever you want, from wherever you want. You can use supported self-discipline to pace your learning and get high quality 1:1 feedback from brilliant teachers and caring support coaches whenever you need it.

A word from UCT's Principal

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Our vision is to produce conscious, innovative and socially attuned young people, we look forward to the solutions that will be pioneered by our learners in the future, solutions that will improve humanity and move us monumentally forward. UCT Online High School learners will be globally sought after, our learners will be the full embodiment of 21st century skills and disciplines. They will embody the levels of self-discipline and focus that is needed in a digital economy. I have no doubt that our contribution to South Africa and the world will be historical. The vision for the calibre of UCT Online High School alumnus is one that will make all of us proud. I am delighted and honoured to lead such a profound industry change and I take my hat off to the parents and learners who can see their place in the future and are trusting us to transport them there. Here’s to making history!

- Yandiswa Xhakaza

UCT's vice chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng

How it works

Through our unique approach, UCT Online High School offers an action-oriented, transformative education outlined in our six pillars

Personalised Pacing

Tailor-made specifically for you

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In traditional schools, teachers simply don’t have the time or resources to slow down or speed up based on how a single learner is progressing - everyone progresses at the same pace because that’s what the schedule says!
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At UCT Online High School, our expert teachers and support coaches help learners to decide what their day looks like. No learner should ever be bored (because spending hours sitting in a class that you’ve already mastered is as pointless as a broken pencil) and no learner should ever get left behind! Need extra tutoring in Maths? No problem! Feel like working all day just on your English project? Go for it! We encourage a personalised pace, balanced by a structured learning schedule which is tailor-made for you, to help you target specific test and exam blocks.

Mastery-based

You can’t build a house on shaky foundations

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Much like building a strong house, a good education requires a solid foundation. If a learner misses too many building blocks, their whole knowledge structure can become unstable.
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At UCT Online High School, learners can’t progress to the next module without mastering the one that came before it. This is called mastery-based progression, and it ensures that learners do not progress with gaps in their learning (which is imperative for success in subjects like Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths). Where gaps exist, our teachers use data to determine precisely when to jump in and assist, so that no learner gets left behind.

Caring Teachers and Support Coaches

Every learner deserves a champion

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UCT Online High School puts learners first by placing them in the centre of their very own superhero movie. Our multi-layered support system gives them all the encouragement, tools and support they need to master their own destiny.
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By allowing learners to work through their own learning path in their own time, our caring team of teachers are able to focus on providing individualised support in Ask Me Anything sessions, small study groups and 1:1 chats.

In addition, our Support Coaches monitor each learner’s daily progress, assisting them with work schedules and goal setting. They’ll also be there to help learners build a vibrant and social community through a range of extracurricular activities.

Supported self-discipline

Learning to ride a bicycle requires balance

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School isn’t about promotions, demotions, or being in class for a set amount of time; it’s about mastering the skills necessary for life. One of the most important skills that learners develop on their journey towards adulthood is self-discipline.
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UCT Online High School provides learners with everything that they need to succeed at their schooling without parents needing to play the role of a teacher. Through goal-setting, accountability and targeted intervention, learners get as much support as they need while learning the invaluable skill of self-discipline.
Our Orientation and Learning Compass Programmes focus on equipping learners and their family units with the skills they need, not only to succeed in school, but to flourish at life.

The science of online learning

We built this baby on purpose

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Many COVID-era online schools have been retrofitted to “go online” as a temporary fix. UCT Online High School was born online! Our expert team of Learning Designers, Learning Technologists and Data Analysts have worked with the best teachers in the country to design engaging learning paths that are purpose built for online learning.
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From interactive notes and videos to immersive simulations and assessments, learners can engage with multiple modalities to suit a variety of learning preferences. UCT Online High School is the school of the future and it was designed to meet the needs of an ever-changing world.

Data-driven
support

To paint the full picture

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In a traditional classroom, there is a front row and a back row - it’s easy to get lost in the middle. At UCT Online High School, real-time data allows teachers and Support Coaches to get a comprehensive picture of how each learner is doing. We use data dashboards every day to see which learners are falling behind, enabling us to keep every learner on track through small group or 1:1 Ask Me Anything sessions.

Preparing for life beyond the pond

UCT Online High School has been established to help learners succeed at school, university and life. With this in mind, we provide learners with a range of career and university services, including:
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- UCT virtual open days
- Grade 9 subject-choice talks
- A range of personality assessment and career tools
- Matching subjects choices and grades to university study and career opportunities
- Assistance with University application procedures
- Special assistance with UCT applications
- Individual interviews with UCT applicants (and their families where requested)
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We regularly feature inspirational guest speakers and industry experts from different fields in order to help learners embrace a rapidly changing world.
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UCT Online High School is also in the process of introducing dual enrolment programmes, matric rewrites and National Benchmark Test (NBT) preparation courses.

Curriculum

Online schools in South Africa currently fall into the category of homeschooling, which is a legally recognised alternative to formal education in South Africa, and allows parents to choose any curriculum that meets the minimum outcomes as set out in the national curriculum. UCT Online High School offers a CAPS-aligned curriculum which prepares learners for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exam, set by SACAI.

Grade 8 - 9

Ten subjects are offered for Grades 8 - 9 with the option of isiXhosa and/or Afrikaans as a second language.

English (Home Language)
Afrikaans (First Additional Language)
isiXhosa (First Additional Language)
Mathematics
Life Orientation
Natural Sciences
Technology
Economic Management Sciences
Social Sciences
Creative Arts
*new subjects added every year.

Grade 10 - 12

Fourteen subjects are offered for Grades 10 - 12 with the option of isiXhosa and/or Afrikaans as a second language and the option of Mathematics or Mathematical Literacy.

English (Home Language)
Afrikaans (First Additional Language)
isiXhosa (First Additional Language)
Mathematical Literacy
Mathematics
Life Orientation
Accounting
Business Studies
Computer Applications Technology (CAT)
Economics
Geography
History
Physical Sciences
Life Sciences
*new subjects added every year.

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Purpose built

A word from UCT's Principal

How it works

Personalised Pacing

Mastery-based

Caring Teachers and Support Coaches

Supported self-discipline

The science of online learning

Data-drivensupport

Preparing for life beyond the pond

Curriculum

Grade 8 - 9

Grade 10 - 12

Find out more

Data-driven
support