Academic Enrichment Opportunities
Our students have excelled in ancillary academic research, which is recognised within the school’s Academia Award system. This covers Olympiads (English, Maths, Science, Life Sciences), research projects, Music and Art Eisteddfodau and similar opportunities. Particular national successes recently have come from –
2022 - Daniel Farrell came 1st in South Africa in the Grade 11 National Accounting Olympiad & 1st in the Eastern Cape in the senior section of the national Maths Olympiad.
2022 - Brayden Kilroe passed his Grade 8 Trinity Piano exam in 2021 with Distinction and in 2022 reached the semi-finals of the Makhanda National Music Competition, participated in the Stellenbosch International Piano Symposium and Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Festival, and was selected for the Atterbury National Piano Competition as one of the top eight in his age group in the country.
2022 - Adri Clark - Honours cum laude for Academics & Academia (2020 - Radikale Redenaars)
2018-2022 - Marlo Kirsten was placed in the top three in South Africa in assorted categories in the Radikale Redenaars national competition for the past 11 years, receiving Honours cum laude each year in high school.
2021 Mari-Juan Machin - Honours cum laude for Academics
2018 - Francois Naude – Matric 2018 – top student in East London. 3rd in Eastern Cape
2017-2018 Francois Naudé & Nishaan Vasi - Honours cum laude for Academics
2018 Haydon Anderson - Honours cum laude for Academics
2018 Mari Clark, Haydon Anderson, Marlo Kirsten – top 3 placings in national Radikale Redenaars Competition
2018 Jada Freeman – 3rd in Grade 11 in SAIPA National Accounting Olympiad
2018 Ashley Eichstädt – 4th in national English Olympiad, 1st in national SACEE Language Challenge
2017 Laura-Jean Runchman - Honours cum laude for Academics
2016 Daniel Brodie – Hennie Joubert National Piano Competition (top 10 in SA)
2016 Kai Chen – Honours cum laude for Academics
There is a decades-long tradition of excellence in Maths Olympiads, with numerous Stirling students selected to represent Border and even South Africa in Maths Olympiad teams. Stirling has been recognised as one of the top Maths schools in the country and receives regular funding from the Epoch and Optima Trusts (founded by Anglo American) specifically for the enhancement of Maths education.
Life Science and Natural Science students are very active in extra research and activities, including the Eskom Expo for Young Scientists, Olympiads and the Grahamstown Science Festival. Regular academic tours and excursions in subjects like Geography, English, Business Studies, History and Music are also on offer. We encourage as much international exposure and experience as possible and foreign tours are also available. There have been regular sight-seeing tours to Europe, and an exchange programme with Lancaster High School in Britain has given staff and students an opportunity to experience a different culture for a couple of weeks at a time.
The 21 Club is a very prestigious society consisting of the top 10 academic pupils from Grades 11 and 12, along with the teacher in charge. Members are chosen based on their academic ranking from the previous year (the November examination results). The Chairperson, a Grade 12 learner, and the secretary, a Grade 11 learner, are elected annually, and regular seminars take place where students present the findings of research they have undertaken.