| Headmaster | Johann Ueckermann |
| School type | Independent Day/Boarding Co-Ed |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Location | Haenertsburg, Limpopo Province, South Africa |
| Enrollment | 272 (max) |
| School colours | Green, navy and white |
| Grades | 8 - 12 |
Stanford Lake College is an independent, co-educational, day and boarding high school located in the Magoebaskloof area of the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The college is situated at the edge of Troutbeck Lake and Stanford Lake, and across from the Ebenezer Dam in the mountains of the Wolkberg, part of the northern Drakensberg range. The slopes are covered with indigenous forest as well as large tracts of pine forests, the most important feature of the Magoebaskloof.
Stanford Lake College is a full member of the Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa (ISASA) and of the International Round Square Organisation.
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Stanford Lake College is located on the edge of two lakes and is surrounded by forest. This allows for a different sort of education to take place. The College has facilities such as an adventure centre ("The dad Centre") and a 15 m tall climbing tower.Kayaking and canoeing take place on the lakes during summer and the forests have many cycling routes that the students are encouraged to use.
The college has moved away from the traditional academic programme seen in most schools in South Africa. Instead it includes the "dad" (dream an' do) programme along with traditional classes during grades 8 - 10. The dad programme focuses on developing self-confidence along with skills needed in the modern world including problem solving, communication skills and risk taking opportunities
The College has four Boarding Houses.
The boarding houses are run by a senior houseparent, deputy-houseparent and a Grade 12 pupil who is elected as Head of House by the members of his/her house.
As well as running a 'traditional' sports programme with sports such as Hockey, Rugby, Cricket, Soccer, Swimming and Tennis, the college has an extracurricular programme offering sports such as Rock Climbing, Kayaking, Orienteering and Golf. The other co-curricular activities include Chess, Bridge, debating and community service projects, in accordance with the Round Square IDEALS, such as paired reading and The SMILE Program which assists in teaching local children English.
The college Interact club was started by Ashleigh van Niekerk in 2006. The club is supported by the Haenertsburg Rotary club and is thus named Haenertsburg Interact. The aim is to raise funds for local charities or people in need, the annual funds go to the president's choice of organisation. Interact has three main fund raisers during the year: they participate in the Rotary Ebenezer Mile as well as host a "Junior Bright Sparks" quiz competition for junior schools and a 24hr swim/triathlon.
Stanford Lake College runs itself on a multi-tiered leadership system that allows the Matric pupils to have a hand in the running of the school. This system is (in increasing order of power)
There are five committees, each chaired by an elected Matric and including seven to ten additional Matrics and a staff coordinator. These committees are
The SRC comprises two pupils from each Grade, elected by their grade - except for the Matrics who are directly represented by the Deputy Head Boy and Girl
The Head Boy, Head Girl and their Deputies are elected each year by the student and staff bodies. Until the election for the 2007 Head Prefects the voting was weighted such that the entire school's vote counts ⅓, the staff vote counts ⅓ and the incoming and outgoing Matric group together's vote counts ⅓. The votes are now all equal due to the Democracy input of Round Square. The Head Prefects serve for a year from the Valediction Ceremony preceding their own Matric year until the Valediction Ceremony of their Matric Year at which they hand over office.
| Years | Headmaster/mistress | Deputy Headmaster |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 - 2000 | Gavin Scholefield | Brian Dawson |
| 2001 - 2002 | Anne van Zyl | Brian Dawson |
| 2003 - 2008 | Brian Dawson | Denis Jack[1] |
| 2008 - present | Johan Ueckermann | Denis Jack/James Quibell/Bridget Painter[2] |
| Years | Chairman |
|---|---|
| 1998 - 2000 | Howard Blight |
| 2001 - 2004 | Colin Morgan |
| 2005 - 2006 | John Rech[3] |
| 2006 - 2010 | Maggie Baleta |
| 2011 - present | Grant Daly |
Being a young school, Stanford Lake College does not have a large alumni network. Mrs Wendy Willson, the school matron, is the Alumni director and she maintains contact with past pupils. The school has a small alumni website[4].