Tyger Valley College


Tyger Valley College, also known as TVC is a private English medium, combined, co-educational situated in the suburb of Silver Lakes in the East of Tshwane in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Competing annually in the Sim-Farrer cup with sister school Pecanwood College, TVC has been found lacking in sporting ability against their smaller and less equipped sister school. Winning the cup on only two occasions.
Founded in 2007 by Centurus Colleges, the education subsidiary of Centurus Ltd. It follows a co-ordinate educational model within a village of schools consisting of a pre-preparatory, preparatory, and college.
TVC offers education to children from the age of three to age eighteen. TVC has achieved 100% matric pass rate since the first matrics wrote exams in 2011.
Matric pupils write the Independent Education Board's school leaving certificate.
TVC follows the South African National Curriculum Statement and is registered with the Gauteng Department of Education. The teachers of TVC are affiliated to the South African Council of Educators.

History

Centurus Colleges, the education subsidiary of Centurus Ltd, opened its first school Pecanwood College in 2005. This was followed by Southdowns College in 2007 and Tyger Valley College the same year.
The College was opened on 15 January 2007, by the founding principal Mr G Sim. The College opened with 62 students, 10 teachers, 1 administrator and 2 general assistants, from Grade 000 to Grade 6. During the first term of 2007, TVC never had school uniform because of an administrative oversight from Head Office – it had been designed and approved but not ordered. The first year ended with 89 pupils.
The swimming pool was built in 2007, initially the school would shuttle pupils in the kombi bus to Mr and Mrs Papas' pool for swimming. Tennis was played at Mr and Mrs Van Achtenberg's house till the school tennis courts were finished in March 2007.
In 2008 the school opened with 182 pupils in January and included grades from Grade 7 to Grade 9. The school added a grade each year until 2011 when it had expanded to include all the grades from Grade 000 to Grade 12. By 2016 the school had grown to 1038 pupils.
Until 2009, the entire school was housed within the Pioneer campus, in 2008 the first phase of the Explorer campus was built and occupied in January 2009. The staff accommodation, maintenance shed and performing arts buildings were also completed in 2009. The second half of the Explorer campus was built in 2010 for occupation in 2011, this included the Explorer Fields, which included floodlit tennis courts and nets. The first Phase of the Discovery campus, the Discovery fields and the school Hall were built in 2012 for occupation in 2013. The second phase of the Discovery block was completed in 2014 for occupation in 2015. In 2016 work began on a learn to swim, indoor swimming pool built for the Pre-Preparatory school. The learn to swim program is known as the TVC Orcas Swim School.
On the 16th September 2014 the ADvTech group announced that they had procured Centurus Colleges, along with Pecanwood College, Southdowns College and Tyger Valley College for R712 million. The group announced that, "Centurus Colleges will continue to operate as an independent brand within the ADvTECH stable, with each retaining its unique character." The general manager of Centurus Colleges within the ADvTECH group is Christo De Wit.

Pre-Preparatory

The Pre-Preparatory school, located on the Pioneer campus, caters for boys and girls from three years of age to seven years of age, after which they move to the Preparatory School. The current headmistress is Mrs C. Weir.

Headmasters since 2007

The Preparatory school, located on the Explorer campus, is divided into two sections: Junior Preparatory from Grade 1 to 3 and Senior Preparatory Grade 4 to 6. The current headmaster is Mr G. Langley

Headmasters since 2007

The College, located on the Discovery campus, is divided into two phases: General Education and Training from Grade 7 to 9 and Further Education and Training from Grade 10 to 12. The current headmaster of the College is Mr Clyde MacDonald.

Headmasters since 2007

Tyger Valley College, is the only Centurus College to have achieved 100% matric pass rate since the first matrics wrote exams in 2011. Tyger Valley College has a Prefect Body.
YearNumber of MatricsIEM Pass rateHead BoyHead Girl
201112100%Poyan MesgariNatasha Brockwell
201222100%Juan SunkelBronte Roberts
201329100%Lungelo XuluAriana Fredricks
201442100%Christopher BreytenbachKhelita Kalonde
201544100%Brandon FourieNokuthula Manonga
201639100%Gerhardus BadenhorstRebecca Verhaege
2017--Graham ThompsonPaige Georgiades

The General Education and Training phase

The following subjects are made available
Natural Science as a learning area comprises Science and Biology. Economic Management Sciences as a learning area comprises Accounting and Business Studies. Social Sciences comprises Geography and History.
Assessment will take place in many forms throughout the year, but can be divided into two
main groups: Continuous Assessment and Summative Assessment.

The Further Education and Training phase

The following subjects are made available:

Compulsory subjects (Core)

Three subjects must be selected to complete the list of subjects for the year. A subject must be selected from each elective grouping
Elective 1Elective 2Elective 3
Physical SciencesAccountingLife Sciences
Information TechnologyInformation TechnologyArt
HistoryGeographyBusiness Studies
Business StudiesGermanComputer Applications Technology
Physical SciencesDrama
Life SciencesSports Science
MusicAccounting

Elective 1Elective 2Elective 3
Physical SciencesAccountingInformation Technology
Business StudiesHistoryArt
Life ScienceGeographyHistory
GermanPhysical SciencesComputer Applications Technology
Sports SciencesDrama
Geography
Accounting

Elective 1Elective 2Elective 3
Physical SciencesPhysical SciencesInformation Technology
HistoryLife SciencesLife Sciences
AccountingGeographyArt
Business StudiesAccountingComputer Applications Technology
Information TechnologyBusiness Studies
Music

School

School song

The official school song, Through the vision of our pioneers, was written and composed by Andrea Mitas, the music teacher of the school at the time. Gary Sim and Gavin Langley made some slight changes to the song.
Through the vision of our pioneers
Through their dreams we can achieve
Anchored in our pillars of excellence
Tyger Valley stands today

Sports, academics, arts and environment
These are the spheres we hold true and dear
Tyger Valley we salute you

Proudly and victoriously
Building rich and happy mem’ries
Truly through diversity
To God and country for our school
Through enjoyment to excellence

Heraldry

The school badge was designed by Chris Lee - the director of Infinite Learning Solutions. The school badge has two components: a gold bird of prey and behind it a green shield. The colour gold, is associated with illumination, love, compassion, courage, passion. The depiction of a bird of prey represents the possibility of flying high and strength, this is enhanced by their motto "Through Enjoyment to Excellence". The green badge is a symbol of Tyger Valley College's pledge to the environment.

Tradition

The Polar Bear Swim began as a high school social and is now a tradition. At 22:30 in the evening in June each year college pupils swim the length of the swimming pool. The swimmer and their time is noted and after completing a swim for 3 years the pupil is eligible for a badge which may be worn on their blazer.

House system

Tyger Valley College has a house system. Each house competes against each other in Inter-house events.
In 2007 Centurus sponsored one of Holgate's Land Rovers on his Expedition “Africa the Outside Edge”. Mr Holgate visited TVC and in August 2007, two pupils and the Headmaster Gary Sim accompanied him for a week through Ghana. The school then decided that the Houses would be named after great explorers as education is about exploring. There are currently four houses:
In the high school Prefects are used to lead the house, while in the preparatory house captains are selected.

Academics

The college writes the Independent Examinations Board exams. The school follows a three term system per-year with a mid term break each term. The academic year begins in January and ends in November/December.

Awards

Tyger Valley College recognizes excellence in: Culture, Sport and Academics.

Cultural Awards

Half Colours and Full Colours are awarded on merit, considering performance in internationally recognised external exam bodies’ examinations as well as participation in school activities Eisteddfods and festivals.

Sport Awards

Half Colours and Full Colours are awarded on merit, the specific criteria required for each sport is outlined within the sport policy. Candidates are required to apply for colours should they feel they have met all the criteria in their sport.

Academic Awards

Tyger Valley College rewards scholars of excellence in three ways: Certificate of Merit, Half Colours and Full Colours.
Colours are limited to Grade 10 to 12 and are awarded regardless of academic performance in previous years. The criteria is represented below.
GradeMerit CertificateHalf Colours Certificate and TieFull Colours Certificate and Ribbed Blazer
775%
875%
970%75%
1065%70%80%
1165%70%75%
1265%70%75%

Honours

Honours are the highest award one can achieve at the college. To be eligible for the Honours award a student must have been awarded Full Colours three times in a minimum of two areas, with one of the areas being academics.

T.I.M.E

The Tyger Valley Institute of Mathematical Excellence, is under the leadership of Mrs Kim Masson. The institute trains staff in the latest development and trends in Mathematics. The institute offers extra Maths Tuition to all children not just those that attend TVC. The vision of TIME is to use experts in Mathematics to work in conjunction with the school's Mathematics department to ensure all pupils from Grade 000 through to Grade 12 are offered every opportunity to excel in Mathematics.

Orcas

Tyger Valley College, introduced the Orcas program in 2016, which teaches swimming lessons and water safety to the Pre-Preparatory children.

A.E.C

The Academic Enrichment Centre exists to provide support that facilitates independent learning and assist children with emotional, behavioral and social development. The A.E.C monitors the learning of students and provides intervention when required. This ensures that children are equipped with the tools needed to advance in the later grades. The A.E.C also teaches learners skills not often taught in the classroom, such as study methods and test taking skills.
The centre provides the following support:
The current A.E.C team members are:
TVC takes part in a number of outreach programs each year. Each phase of the school partakes with the following goals in mind:
Traditionally in the spirit of Mandela Day the Preparatory school hosts a fun day for Boschkop Primary School. The fun day includes donations to Boschkop Primary as well as a fun day of activities shared by both the Bosckop Primary School children as well as the Preparatory children.
The college too, has a number of outreach programs that they traditionally partake in which include: