Hoërskool Strand is an Afrikaans

Afrikaans

Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...

 high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 located in Strand, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. 1 097 students attend the school, mostly residents of Strand, although students from as far as Gordon's Bay

Gordon's Bay

Gordon's Bay is a harbour town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, close to Strand. It is situated on the northeastern corner of False Bay about 50 km from Cape Town to the south of the N2 national road and is named after Robert Jacob Gordon , the Dutch explorer of Scottish descent...

, Somerset West, and even Grabouw

Grabouw

Grabouw is a mid-sized town located in the Western Cape province of South Africa some 65 km south-east of Cape Town along the N2 highway. It is located over Sir Lowry's Pass from Somerset West in the Elgin Valley, which is sandwiched between the Hottentots-Holland, Kogelberg and Groenland...

 attend the school. The school is the major provider of secondary education in the area and is headmastered by Mrs Sanette Nowers.

With the post-war growth of the Hottentots Holland district, in 1963 a second High School (Afrikaans medium) was opened, which mainly served the Strand.

Hoërskool Strand has four quarters in a school year, stretching from January to December. The school provides classes from grade eight to grade twelve (the latter also known as matric).

Sport

Hoërskool Strand competes in inter-schools activities with neighbouring schools Parel Vallei High School

Parel Vallei High School

Parel Vallei High School is a dual-medium high school located in Parel Vallei, a suburb of Somerset West, which is in the Western Cape, South Africa. In summer it competes in inter schools sports activities with Hoërskool Strand and Hottentots Holland High School...

 and Hottentots Holland High School

Hottentots Holland High School

Hottentots Holland High School is an Afrikaans- and English-speaking school in the Western Cape in South Africa, situated between the towns of Somerset West and Strand. The parallel-medium, co-educational school, situated to the north of the N2 national road, was opened by Dr G. G. Cillie, Chairman...

, and it also competes against tour groups, such as the Bablake School

Bablake School

Bablake School is a co-educational Independent school located in Coventry, England and founded in 1344 by Queen Isabella, making it one of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom...

 from England, which last toured Strand in mid-2006. The sports in which it competes include rugby

Rugby football

Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...

, cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

, hockey, netball

Netball

Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...

, squash

Squash (sport)

Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...

, tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 and chess

Chess

Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...

. Sports activities which the school provides but which is not limited to inter-school competition includes swimming

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

 and surfing

Surfing

Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...

.

The school also has a strong academical focus, but it is considered by most to be concentrating on excelling in the sports-world. A school rule requiring students to take part in at least one winter- and one summer activity, introduced at the beginning of 2006, is evidence of the school's goal to become a sport power within the school circles in the area. They succeeded in winning the winter-interschools again in 2006 by beating Hottentots Holland in the main rugby match of the day.

On 14 October 2006, the school has sent a year 11 student, Corné Blaauw, to compete in the World Junior Chess Championship

World Junior Chess Championship

The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 chess tournament organized by the World Chess Federation ....

 which was held in Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

.

Academic

Academically the school also excels on national front.

The school provides a wide variety of subjects to its students, however the students are required to take the default list of subjects in grade 8 and 9, with the option to take English as a first language.

Here is a list of the subjects:

• Language, Literacy and Communication
  • Afrikaans First Language
  • English First Language
  • English Second Language
• Mathematical Literacy, Mathematics and Mathematical Sciences
  • Mathematics; or
  • Mathematical Literacy
  • Additional mathematics
• General Sciences
  • Physical Sciences
  • Biology
• Human and Social Sciences
  • History
  • Geography
• Economics
  • Accounting
  • Business Economics
  • Information Technology
  • Computer Literacy
  • Computer Sciences
• Technology
  • Engineering Graphics and Design
  • Home Economics
  • Technology
• Life Orientation
  • Life Skills and Psychology
  • Arts and Cultures
  • Visual art
  • Cultural Studies
• Art History
• Music
  • Practical and theory
• Other
  • Drama
  • German Second Additional Language
  • Tourism

Some of the subjects require minimum entry qualifications.

Exchange System

The school is very active in exchanging students with the Burgerschool in Roeselare

Roeselare

Roeselare is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Roeselare proper and the towns of Beveren, Oekene and Rumbeke....

 in Flanders

Flanders

Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

 (Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

), due to the language similarities between Afrikaans

Afrikaans

Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...

 and Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

 which makes communication much easier. Students can also visit schools in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 and Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

. Exchange students visiting the school come from Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Germany and Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. England and Italy however mainly provide sport tour groups. The exchange students from Germany go there through FSA Youth Exchange.