Counselling Programme
/ CounsellingThe School Counsellor, who is a qualified teacher with a BA Honours degree in Education and an Honours degree in Psychology, is employed to provide a broad range of services including individual counselling and a group-based Life Orientation programme.
Every class group in the school has at least one timetabled Life Orientation Lesson in each ten-day cycle. The content of the programme is guided by the IEB Life Orientation Syllabus, but its delivery is flexible and varies both according to a group’s needs and developmental level. Each boy in the school is also assigned a Home Room teacher who meets with the boys daily to discuss a variety of issues and to touch base during the school day.
Individual counselling and support forms an integral part of the school’s team approach to pupil support. Parents are partners in this process and are encouraged to make direct contact with the School Counsellor whenever they feel the need to do so. While boys normally book counselling appointments in advance, an ‘open door’ policy allows for intervention at almost any time should the need arise. Frequent interaction with neighbouring girls’ schools on a more informal level, in the form of gender dialogue sessions, contribute significantly to the process of moulding well rounded, confident young men.
Each year a variety of talks and workshops are organised for parents by the School Counsellor.
The two foremost of these in recent years are “Strong Mothers-Strong Sons” for Mums and “The Courage to Connect” which is held for Dads and their sons together.
A significant part of the School Counsellor’s time is given over to helping senior boys, particularly those in Matric, to explore possibilities for the immediate post-school phase of their lives. The processing of all tertiary applications is also handled by the School Counsellor who has regular contact with liaison persons from the most popular universities. In addition, assistance is also given in applying to universities abroad.