Welcome to the South African Girls’ Schools Association (SAGSA) website!
South African Girls’ Schools Association (SAGSA) is an association of girls’ schools, both public and private, across South Africa, all of whom have the common goal of educating young women to become strong leaders of the future. Membership of the association is open to all girls’ schools. Our current membership is 83 girls’ schools who represent diversity, history and quality girls’ school education across our country. Our aim is to be able to include all girls’ schools across South Africa.
A major focus of SAGSA is to grow, develop and empower the leadership of these schools and to provide networking opportunities for colleagues in the different schools to share best practice principles in order to grow and strengthen the schools in our membership. It is in growing the leadership that growth occurs within any organization. This growth benefits all members of the school community.
The aim of the website is to give access to information about our member schools while providing resources which can assist and grow our schools and the communities we serve.
The website will provide information such as details of conferences, resources and also a platform on which to advertise any vacancies available at the member schools.
We invite you to become a part of the SAGSA community through visiting our website, learning from the resources and becoming a member of the association.
Phillipa Erasmus
Mission & Values
We aim to promote discerning critical educators and productive educational discourse, sensitive to the needs of the society we serve so that best practice can be safeguarded and/or developed.
Why Girls' Schools?
Girls’ schools prepare girls for the complex and rapidly changing world they will face. Girls’ schools don’t just offer equal opportunities but every opportunity.
Choosing a school for your child is one of the most important decisions a parent will ever make. In this highly competitive world there are many options. So why choose a girls’ school?
Leadership and confidence
In a girls’ only school, girls have more leadership opportunities – they encounter role models of female leadership daily and are encouraged to take on leadership roles. They develop teamwork skills, public speaking skills and are encouraged to participate in, lead, and influence all facets of school life.
High academic performance
Girls in a girls’ only school are more likely to achieve academically. Rowe’s study shows that students from single sex schools far outperform those of comparative ability in co-ed schools.
A culture of achievement and ambition
Positive role models, strong support and mentoring, and an emphasis on developing individual potential creates a culture of achievement. Girls are challenged to achieve their full potential, and feel that they can do anything.
Countering gender stereotypes
Female graduates from girls’ only schools rate themselves as more confident and successful in areas that have traditionally been the domain of male students – mathematics, computers and engineering.
Best teaching practice
There is strong evidence to suggest that boys and girls learn differently. Girls’ only schools recognise the advantages of providing education specifically for girls and how they learn best.
Girls mature at their own pace
Co-ed schools are not best equipped to accommodate the different cognitive, social and developmental growth rates of girls and boys. Free from the distractions and stresses of co-ed environments, girls’ only schools provide a safe environment where girls can express themselves freely, develop their own interests, and take intellectual risks free of embarrassment.
