11 post-matriculants are the first in South Africa to successfully complete a bridging programme called the International Foundation Year (IFY) launched in January 2021 by Inspired Education’s Reddam House Schools, guaranteeing the students’ enrolment in a leading university within the Northern Consortium of UK Universities (NCUK)*.
The well-established IFY programme has been run by NCUK since 1987 and has been available in Africa through the Brookhouse School in Kenya, an Inspired sister school. Reddam House is the first South African educational institution to offer the programme through a partnership with NCUK. Completing the IFY programme is effectively the equivalent of completing A-Levels saving a year in the life of a student’s pathway to an overseas university.
The 11 students in the inaugural ‘IFY Class of 2021’ attended the programme at two Reddam House schools’ ‘home campuses’ – Reddam House Constantia in Cape Town and Reddam House Waterfall in Johannesburg – and achieved an impressive total of 10 A* results and eight A results between them.
The NCUK IFY post-matric qualification, which runs from January to July, is meticulously designed to prepare students for first year entry to a range of thousands of undergraduate degree courses, with all curricula, exams, coursework, and moderation, provided by NCUK and taught through the accredited Reddam House schools.
The IFY academic pathways on offer include Medicine, Engineering, Business, and Humanities. Each course includes three academic subjects plus English for Academic Purposes for Proficient Users (EAPPU).
Andy Straughan, NCUK Associate Director for Africa, Middle East, Europe and Americas, congratulated both “our wonderful pioneering students on successfully completing the NCUK International Foundation Year, despite many challenges, as well as all academic and centre staff on providing excellence in teaching, guidance and support through Reddam House’s first IFY”. He adds that NCUK is looking forward to welcoming students from South Africa onto NCUK University campuses for their first undergraduate year. “We believe they will continue to thrive and succeed in their academic careers.”
Sheena Crawford-Kempster, MD for Education and Ethos at Reddam House schools in South Africa, says the new international educational offering that has a globally established track record is adding a whole new world of opportunity to South African post-matriculants. “Choosing to study abroad is a momentous decision and NCUK provides guidance, advice and support to assist our IFY students in their pursuit of an interesting and diverse range of studies, with the perfect pathway to gain access to prestigious universities around the world.”
Graham Keats, IFY Academic Manager South Africa (Reddam House) and coordinator of the programme and students in South Africa, says it was an honour to experience the first IFY in South Africa with both the students and lecturing team, all of whom embraced the programme and all it provided.
Keats encourages South African matriculants who are keen to study abroad to consider enrolling for the NCUK IFY, which will take them through the IFY in 2022 and into a leading UK university in September 2022. “This programme has the potential to change lives, to be a gateway that helps our students realise their ambitions to study internationally and pursue successful careers around the world. We have come through our first year of IFY at Reddam House – and we are proud of every participant and every stakeholder – including staff and parents.”
For more information about the Reddam House IFY programme, or to apply for registration for the 2022 course, visit http://reddamhouse.com, http://inspirededu.com, and https://www.ncuk.ac.uk
*For terms of the NCUK Guarantee, click here
