About - Gaia Waldorf School

About Us

our Vision

Our dedication is to educate the whole child towards creative responsibility and freedom in an environment based on loving guidance and respect for the whole individual. And, to further the principles of education as expounded by Rudolf Steiner.

OUr Mission

To awaken in the child a loving and responsible connection with the world, through an artistically enlivened curriculum, festivals and through working with an understanding of the principles of creation.
To engage the parent body by providing opportunities for the parents to learn about Waldorf pedagogy through their interaction with the school.
To provide a Waldorf Curriculum which is richly reflective of the unique and diverse aspects of our South African culture.
To strive to welcome and respect all cultures, family backgrounds and groups, into our school community. However, our school is unable to facilitate the needs of children with specialized physical and mental challenges at present.
To develop long co-operative relationships with other schools and organisations in order to encourage participation with the wider community.

The History of Gaia Waldorf School

The 90’s was the dawning of an upswing in private education, government alternatives as parents became increasing dissatisfied with state education. Parents were losing faith in the state education system and they wanted a creative, child-centered schooling system where the children would be in smaller classes and have a love for learning. Gaia started at the Centre for Creative Education in 1998.

Back then, the school consisted of a kindergarten with a handful of children taught by 2 teachers. The school then moved shortly afterwards to a church hall in Observatory and in September 2000, we moved to the Oude Molen Eco Village, where we are now.

Our two-hundred-year-old building, part of an original farmhouse building, was built in the late 1700s was in a derelict state, but being a heritage site, could not be demolished. It needed serious renovations. Yet our community of parents and teachers showed tremendous pioneering spirit and got to work creating play spaces and classroom areas.

Our growth was also fuelled by our prime urban-suburban-metropolis location, we are the closest Waldorf school to the CBD, on the railway line and yet surrounded by a village of horses, chickens, peacocks, fields, trees, rivers, mountain views and more. Our competitive school fees allow for a broad and vibrant cultural blend of children.