Waldorf News

Imhoff Waldorf School: Bringing Learning to Life

Imhoff Waldorf School (Cape Town, South Africa) was started in 1996 by a group of parents who believed in alternate education with roots in conservation of the environment. Waldorf education was the nearest form of curriculum embracing these ideas. The school is situated on an old and mostly undeveloped farm called Imhoff Farm. The school grounds are untamed, resulting in a natural and appealing sense of freedom. There are goats, camels and peacocks on the farm and there are rabbits, porcupines (we see mostly tracks and quills), baboons, scorpions, insects and the occasional snake!

Today, in 2012, both the Imhoff Farm and our Waldorf School have managed to maintain their natural and rural feel. We hope in future developments that this natural spirit be preserved as it has become such an important part of the Imhoff Waldorf School.

The farm’s grounds are shared with a few other tenants, which include a Farm Stall and Craft centre, riding stables, cheese makers, the camel herders and three restaurants.

The philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the school’s unique grounds, the relatively low fees and our committed sponsorship programme make the school both appealing and accessible. Children come from Kommetjie, Scarborough, Noordhoek, Fish Hoek, Masiphumelele, Ocean View, Glencairn and Muizenberg.

It has been a dream of Imhoff Waldorf School to own land and build a permanent school. This has been a quest since 1996 and 15 years later it is almost a reality.

Imhoff Waldorf School is growing and developing at a fast rate. As more and more people learn about the value of Waldorf Education and discover the charms of our school, enrolment has steadily increased. With the support of the South African Waldorf Federation of Schools, in 2011 Imhoff Waldorf School started their high school class with Class 8. In 2012, class 8 & 9 are almost full. With this expansion Imhoff Waldorf needs its own land on which to build a permanent school. There is a pressing need in the South Peninsula for additional high schools. Our development plans will help to accommodate these needs. We welcome support from the community.

Imhoff Waldorf considers itself an eco-school. As an ‘eco-school’ we are committed to environmental education. Environmental awareness is an intrinsic part of the life and ethos of the school. Some of our focus areas include:

• The Imhoff Waldorf curriculum draws constantly on the wonder of nature to inspire respect and reverence for truth and beauty in our learners.
• Environmental awareness is promoted by linking projects to a range of curriculum subjects. Children learn about the effects of global warming, resource use, healthy living, local and global issues and how to protect nature and promote biodiversity.
• Maintaining the status of being a school that is run “off-the-grid”. We use renewable solar and wind energy as our source of energy.
• By recycling our waste and thus being a positive role-model for surrounding neighbours, we value a litter-free school environment and use water sparingly.
• Linking with neighbouring schools to take environmental action. In 2011, Kommetjie Primary, Marine Primary and Imhoff Waldorf teamed up to visit the Boksramspruit river and learn about how pollution is affecting the wild Otter.
• We do beach clean-ups to protect the ocean from the harmful effects of pollution.
• We provide opportunities for learners to take responsibility. Children help the school recycle, create compost, grow vegetables and are taught to monitor the use of resources.
• We encourage lift clubs and support local business. We purchase locally produced food and green products.

As part of Imhoff Waldorf School’s ongoing commitment to sustainable practices and environmental projects, our school is enrolled in WESSA’S (Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa) Eco school’s project. This project aids our school by developing our environmental capacity with respect to both education and management at the school, ensuring whole school involvement and affording us the opportunity to achieve international green flag status. We obtained our eco school flag in 2011 and intend having a flag raising ceremony in honour of this achievement.

Wessa does incredible work by providing environmental awareness within the community. They have over 1200 schools registered with the eco-schools programme. Eco-School is an international programme of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) (www.fee-international.org). To date over 30,000 schools are registered with the programme globally, with approximately 9 million students and 628,000 teachers involved! To be a supportive part of this global movement is important to our school.

Learn more about the Imhoff Waldorf School by visiting their web site at www.imhoffwaldorf.org