Curro Aurora

It is a privilege to welcome you to our Curro Aurora family. Ours is a compelling educational journey that strives at all times to harness and maximise your child’s potential.

Our core aim is to nurture tomorrow’s leaders today. We believe unequivocally in our capacity to empower the future of our country. Curro Aurora learners care not only about their own empowerment, but expect more for their peers and for those communities who are less fortunate than themselves.

We have a term at Curro Aurora: total education. Total education demands that we afford your children opportunities to develop entirely, hence our complete educational offering. This ranges from academic rigour and enrichment, sports, cultural pursuits, learner leadership initiatives, community-building projects to clubs and societies. Learners do not stand still at Curro Aurora – our motto clearly denotes a call to action: Carpe Diem.

Our school is smart and friendly. While we certainly subscribe to the ‘look smart, play smart' philosophy, we cherish the friendly and welcoming ethos that is present on our campus. Complementing that ethos is our commitment to embrace relevant technologies so that we empower our learners by celebrating a learning environment that reflects positively the realities of the 21st century. We are committed to being the school of choice in Randburg and will always strive to be exactly that.

In the foundation phase, we focus on teaching the foundational skills, concepts and knowledge which are required for further learning. We offer a vibrant, invitational atmosphere where the learners enjoy coming to school and where they acquire a love for learning, that will sustain them throughout their school years. We acknowledge the potential in each learner to reach optimum ability; therefore, there is less emphasis on competitiveness and more emphasis on individual achievement. We encourage opportunities for growth in independence and responsibility so that learners can take up the challenge of being personally responsible and accountable for their actions in the intermediate phase.

Home language (English) and first additional languages (Afrikaans and isiZulu). In the literacy subject, we have incorporated the latest global trend of matching learners to book levels and of teaching guided reading and writing. This develops conceptual understanding at the learners’ own pace. Literacy skills are also taught using structured text types.

The curriculum has been written with a learner-centric, problem-solving approach leading to an individualised, well-developed number concept in young learners. This facilitates the successful learning of Mathematics as an abstract subject from Grade 1 to Grade 3.

We have added Robotics and Science to this subject as it involves design and a deep level of cognition, which underpins the learners’ creativity in using software to program their Lego educational toys. Collaboration is encouraged by allowing learners to work in pairs.

In the intermediate phase, the emphasis is still growing basic foundations, but learners are led into more abstract thought and independent work through self-discovery and self-mastery. Applications of skills and concepts is also a focus area in this phase. This phase aims to prepare learners for the senior phase in the high school.

We embrace 21st century learning by incorporating the use of tablets into our classrooms with a blended approach using textbooks and devices. We currently raise children who are ‘digital natives’. By embracing innovative technology into out school, we are speaking the language our learners understand. Project based learning is yet another exciting initiative, where learners take ownership for their own learning by research, critical thinking, analyzing and collaboration.

Our ethos is governed by Christian values, where learners are encouraged to explore and express their individuality within acceptable boundaries, and ultimately take responsibility for their actions.

In the FET phase, learners make their subject choices. Curro offers learners a wide selection of subjects, enabling them to pursue these further for their chosen careers. Learners are thoroughly informed, enabling them to make wise choices, and are encouraged to include Mathematics and Science. In the FET phase emphasis is placed on thorough preparation for the IEB matric examination.

We are very aware that, at the end of their school careers, learners need to excel in their matric examination to ensure access to tertiary education institutions and selection for their areas of study. Although we take Grade 10 to Grade 12 very seriously, we realise that a purely examination-driven approach is not the answer. Curro has developed an additional inter-Curro subject-head system to ensure that we have quality assurance across schools. This system extends well beyond examinations and question banks, enabling educators to share resources, teaching ideas and material that can be used on tablets to enhance learning and the development of 21st century skills.