The St Peter’s Prep Foundation proudly supports three main educational initiatives:
Intern Programme: Invest in a Teacher. Change a Generation
The St Peter’s Prep Intern Programme is a transformative 4-year teacher training initiative designed to develop passionate, skilled and highly capable teachers for South Africa. Combining university studies, classroom experience, mentorship and life skills, it bridges the gap between theory and practice. Since its inception in 1996, 71 interns have graduated from the programme, going on to work in both the private and public education sectors.
What Makes our Intern Programme Different?
International research shows that teacher interns perform best when placed in collaborative schools with strong management and leadership. We prepare skilled, purpose-driven teachers to meet South Africa’s educational needs:
- Interns are in the classroom from day one, learning by doing.
- They receive mentorship, support and professional development that prepares them to be effective, confident teachers.
- They are supported to reach their full potential and are therefore more likely to stay in the profession, helping to address South Africa’s teacher shortage in the long term.
- Our interns work with St Peter’s children and are exposed to a range of partner schools to broaden their experience, including Sefikeng Primary (our community school), Bellavista and Vuleka.
- Their growth through the programme gives their families and communities renewed hope for the future.
- Teacher interns provide an extra pair of hands in our classrooms, benefiting St Peter’s children too – a win-win situation for all.
Becoming the Teacher I Needed
When Sithembile stepped into St Peter’s, she was carrying more than just a clipboard – she brought grit, grief and a dream. With the support of the Foundation, she did not just qualify – she healed, she grew, and she became the teacher her younger self needed. Today, she is teaching at Mondeor Primary, uplifting a new generation of learners with compassion and courage.
SITHEMBILE MAYEKISO
intern alumni
Bursary Programme: Providing Opportunity & Supporting Equity
This programme provides financial, emotional and social support to children who do not have the means to afford the full cost of a St Peter’s education. This support ensures that deserving children from lower-income families have access to quality education and opportunities for personal and academic development.
Since its inception in the 1990s, over 30 children have had the life-changing opportunity to be educated at St Peter’s Prep through our Bursary Programme.
We support four distinct bursary funds:
Community Service Programme
We teach and nurture social justice in our children and staff. The founding principle of our Social Responsibility programmes is to create a meaningful impact on society and our children through education.
Our Community Service Programme focuses on two main areas:
Promoting Lifelong Learning
Operating at Sefikeng Primary School, our Literacy Programme focuses on improving reading and writing skills at the foundation level. Each week, our volunteers, staff and children visit Sefikeng Primary to teach reading and promote literacy for lifelong learning, empowerment and social development. Sefikeng is a non-fee paying, under-resourced school located within the Leeuwkop Prison grounds.
While 78% of Grade 4 learners in South Africa cannot read for meaning in any language, our programme helps children from Grade 0 to Grade 3 significantly improve their reading age. Annual monitoring of reading ages demonstrates dramatic progress and sustained success.
Inspiring St Peter’s children to give back by engaging with charities that make a difference
Each child at our school, engages with charities on a termly basis, to ‘give from the heart’ to a chosen community. Regular reflective discussions take place to enhance the children’s experience of their work.
Our aim is to encourage social justice in our children, showing the importance of kindness and a giving heart through our values and actions.