About Us

Established in 1940, Herzlia is a Jewish community school aimed at providing a Jewish and secular education to the Jewish youth of Cape Town, regardless of religious affiliation. We are aligned to Orthodox Judaism and recognize the centrality of Israel as the natural home of the Jewish People.

Our educational foundation, supplemented by core Jewish values, rests on five pillars:
Academics, Jewish Life & Learning (JLL), Sport, Arts & Culture, and Menschlichkeit.

Herzlia has more than 2000 pupils, from pre-school through to Grade 12.
Over the decades, we have become a leader in education in the Western Cape. Having consistently attained a 100% pass rate, we have successfully become one of the top feeder schools to UCT.

Welcome to Herzlia

THE VISION
The aim of United Herzlia Schools is to provide the best possible Judaic, secular and cultural education, to produce pupils who are actively engaged, confident, courageous and resilient global citizens. Based on core Jewish values, we aim to enhance their potential for participation in both Jewish and wider society.

OUR PURPOSE
Is to provide a warm and nurturing environment where individuals are empowered with Jewish and secular knowledge, skills and curiosity, enabling them to flourish at school and beyond to become active citizens in their community.

Welcome from our Executive Team
2020, marks the 80th anniversary of our unique and incredible school. Our matric results, a barometer used by many educational institutions as a sign of excellence, is a small part of the overall picture that is United Herzlia Schools. Jewish Life and Learning is a core pillar and we focus on the values of Menschlichkeit in all aspects of teaching and learning. Our 10 key middot (values) Respect, Fairness, Humility, Gratitude, Kindness, Integrity, Compassion, Responsibility, Leadership, and Community are integrated and inculcated into every facet of school life. This enables us to create mensches who will be future leaders and successful business and professional people, well equipped to deal with the challenges of the 21st Century.

The Herzlia Triangle is a partnership between the pupils, staff and parents that creates a shared involvement in the success of our school. Our job as teachers is to ensure that our system works for all our children. This is summed up in the words of our sage King Solomon “Educate a Child according to his way”. Herzlia does not have an entrance exam, we are a fully inclusive school enrolling pupils with significant barriers to learning which enables them to reach their personal potential and have a sense of belonging in our wonderful community school.

We take pupils from Chai to Chai – 18 months to 18 years of age in our Pre-primary, Primary, Middle and High Schools. Our campuses are located in Sea Point (Alon Ashel and Weizmann Primary), Constantia (Kerem and Constantia Primary) and in the City Bowl – Gan Aviv Pre-Primary, Highlands Primary, Middle and High School.

Herzlia offers a wide variety of subjects, sporting and extramural programmes. All our campuses have extensive learning support centers. We are constantly reviewing our education offering to ensure that we produce pupils who will take their place in the world as active global citizens.

Herzlia is considered to be the Jewel in the Crown of the Cape Town Jewish Community. More than 7500 alumni have passed through our doors. Over the past eight decades, we have invested in building Jewish Continuity, la dor Va’dor (from generation to generation) through a world class Jewish and secular education.

You are welcome to visit any of our schools and see for yourself the warm, caring and nurturing environment that is United Herzlia Schools.

“´”

Geoff Cohen, Andries van Renssen and David Ginsberg

UHS Executive

History

In 1940, when the world was at war, at this darkest time in our history, a group of brave pioneers came together in Cape Town and said;

“Our people will survive; and not only will we survive, we will flourish and ensure that our young children will be proud, knowledgeable Jews. We will provide them with an anchor, with a safe harbour, where they will thrive and continue to learn what it means to be Jewish, in both good and turbulent times’’

And so, Herzlia was born.

Our first class opened its doors in 1940. In 1956 Herzlia offered Grade 12 for the first time and in that same year moved to the present High School campus. The school continued to expand and the modern structure of UHS came into being with the building of Constantia and Milnerton campus in 1973 and the incorporation of Weizmann in 1976. In 1982, the Middle School was born and in 2000 the Hebrew Pre-Primary Schools were incorporated.

“Im tirtzu”, they said, and it was no dream. No wonder then that these words were chosen to be our school’s motto.

Herzlia stands as a testament to the early visionaries and benefactors who understood the importance of establishing a Jewish Day School in Cape Town.

Today the Herzlia candles burn brightly, lit by the dreams, the vision and the tireless brave actions of so many, who provided us with a stepping stone towards a bright future.

Our school badge tells a story

“An oil lamp, an anchor and a six-pointed star and a banner saying Im Tirtzu.”

The lamp reminds us that to be Jewish means to learn, and to teach, as it says in the Shema, “Veshinantum levanecha”- You will teach your children;

The anchor reminds us how fortunate we are to live in a beautiful city and how our school and Jewish traditions provide us with an anchor to hold our community steady;

The Magen David reminds us that we are not alone and we belong to a people with a long and proud history;

And finally, our motto is taken from Theodor Herzl, “Im tirtzu, ein zo aggadah”- which translates to ‘If you will it, it will be no dream’ This motto reminds us on a personal level that we should always dream and strive for more, that we are among the most privileged of generations to live in an age when the ancient dream “to be a free people in the Land of Zion and Jerusalem” has become a reality.

We know who we are. We’re proud of who we are.

Employment opportunities

Matric Invigilators

United Herzlia Schools (UHS) is one of Cape Town’s most prominent academic institutions and a forerunner in Jewish education. Just like we want the best for our pupils, we also believe in providing our staff a safe and supportive environment and opportunities for growth.

Our professional and friendly environment is structured to be open and encouraging. Each member of our valued team is an expert within their own field but opportunities for development never end.

There are many reasons why educators and support staff should join the Herzlia family:

We’re Proud of our Values –

We are an independent, financially secure school
We are a well-known and highly respected brand
We have had a 100% matric pass rate
We keep our class sizes small
We are consistently one of the top performing schools in the Western Cape
We have an innovative and values-driven way of approaching education
We maintain our policy of openness and respect

Along with integrity and value on performance, we also keep up with the times and maintain a focus on technology developments.

We Ensure Educators have Access to –

Smart-board technology
Wireless connectivity
On-line capability
Training on integrating technology into teaching practice

Furthermore, each of our staff members are compensated for their time, efforts and passion. Aside from the gorgeous grounds and phenomenal colleagues, we also have benefits.

We Provide Employees with –