Boarding Houses

The majority of pupils at the College are boarders and they are housed in five Boarding Houses:

• Founders House was the first boarding house at the College and has been divided into two units:
  • Founders North (Boys)
  • Founders South (Boys)
• Serala House (Termly Girls). Named for the peak in the Wolkberg which is visible from the school.
• Lakeside House (Girls). Named by the first residents of the boarding house in 2004.
• Ken Shuter House (Girls). Named after the late Ken Shuter, a remarkable man and a founder teacher at the College.

Each boarding house is supervised by a Senior House Parent who has a residence attached to the boarding house. The Senior House Parent is assisted in duties by resident staff members who live on campus, either in the boarding houses themselves or in houses. Each boarding house also selects a Head of House and the Grade 12 pupils assist the Head of House in day to day duties.

The boarding houses are comfortable and every effort is made to ensure that a boarder’s time at the College is both happy and productive. Most boarders are weekly boarders but each year there is a small number of termly boarders.

School Houses

There are three School houses at the College and, in keeping with our outdoor emphasis and our proximity to Troutbeck Lake, each has been named after a prominent make of trout rod:

Fenwick (Blue)          Loomis (Red)        Orvis (Yellow)

Pupils are placed into houses randomly unless they have siblings in a particular house. Houses compete in various sports, cultural and other activities for the Inter-House Shield, which is awarded at the end of the year. There is great rivalry between the houses and the Inter-House Shield is much sought after.

Spiritual Guidance

Stanford Lake College has a Christian ethos whilst still accepting and acknowledging pupils of other faiths. Mr James Quibell, Deputy Head, acts as the College chaplain. Our Assemblies on Mondays and Fridays give us an opportunity of reflecting on the teachings of the Bible through readings and prayers. Mr Quibell also shares thought-provoking stories with the pupils, often relating to the Values of the College.

In addition, pupils have the opportunity of meeting during the week in a more informal way to worship and share. Beanz which is student-lead and guided by the Chaplain meets twice a week with a pentecostal flair. In addition, SALT another student-lead group meets 'down at the lake' for Christian fellowship and encouragement. Mr Haarhoff runs an Afrikaans bible study twice a week for all pupils. Furthermore, members of staff are freely available should pupils want input into their spiritual lives.

At the end of Term 4, a Carols by Candlelight is held in the amphitheatre to celebrate the birth of Jesus.

 Servant Leaders  "Service first"

It is a strong value of the College that every Matric be seen as a leader of the school. Matrics must take pride and responsibility for serving the student body and its welfare. The basic implementation is, “to be a servant first.  It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first.  Then a conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.”  Service is the basic principle of putting others needs and desires before your own.

There is a leadership team of ten students and six Grade 12 Committees. These committees are organized according to the six Round Square pillars, namely: Internationalism, Democracy, Environment, Adventure, Leadership and Service. Each committee elects a chairperson and a secretary and each committee is overseen by members of staff.

Pupils are asked to apply for a servant leadership positions in their Grade 11 year.  In the spirit of democracy, there is no weighting of votes – all votes count equally. 

Each Boarding House and the day scholars elect their own Head of House.

Student Leadership 2012

The following pupils were elected by their peers

Tarryn Brent (Head Girl)
Hlulani Mayimele (Head Boy)
Fezeka Ntsanwisi (Deputy Head Girl)
Marinus Gubitz (Deputy Head Boy)

Heads of Sports Houses:

Fenwick: Puleng Mathabatha  and Tarryn Brent
Orvis: Michaela McGaffin and Farai Chigumadzi
Loomis: Elmar Prinsloo and Lori Hyde

Heads of Boarding Houses:

Lakeside House: Tshepiso Lekganyane
Serala House: Mahlatse Mothiba Ken
Shuter House: Lori Hyde
Founders North: Thomas Wilken
Founders South: Dylan Baptista
The Day Scholar Heads are: (Girls): Anja Revelas (Boys): John Coetzer

Social Behaviour

Pastoral care is essentially fostering a school environment that enables each individual student to be happy, engaged, productive, inspired and recognized. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, it is a school environment in which teachers see themselves as pastoral caretakers and have the power, resources and opportunity to shape, mould and lead the children in their care into positive adulthood. The role of pastoral care within a school is to enhance the educational process of our students by promoting their spiritual, moral, emotional, social and physical development, thus preparing them for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life. We are a people of optimism, imagination and commitment. Stanford Lake College is a place of learning where acceptance and belonging prevail. We value the unique richness of every individual member of the school community. At Stanford we thrive on challenges and on stretching ourselves beyond the ordinary.

The focus at Stanford Lake College is on a “well-rounded” education, with exposure to a full range of academics, arts, sport, extracurricular activities and community service. Our key priority is to provide a rigorous academic programme for each student. We also acknowledge their physicality and offer a vigorous all-year sporting programme of more than 15 summer and winter sporting opportunities to students of all abilities. The cultural opportunities at Stanford have grown enormously in the past few years - be they music, drama, debating or societies - and for many students they occupy a substantial part of their day. Perhaps the lasting test of a student’s time at Stanford is the calibre of friendships that are developed, cherished and maintained long after their schooldays are over. Boys and girls learn to be teammates, soulmates, brothers and sisters, and they forge strong loyalties and bonds in a fragmented world that has long since given up on such ideals.At Stanford we strictly adhere to the Code of Conduct.