Theodor Herzl Badge Logo

schools with heart

Creating your Children’s Future

theodor herzl

Our Schools

pre-primary school

Pre-Primary is a safe, friendly and inspiring environment providing opportunities for children between three and six years.

primary school

primary school

Theodor Herzl Primary offers learning support through our in-house remedial specialists at no additional cost.

High school

High school

Theodor Herzl High School is renowned for academic excellence. Our overall results are frequently amongst the country’s top ten.

Welcome to Theodor Herzl Schools

This may well be your first visit to our website, or one you have visited before, but I trust that the message provided is a “timeless” one.
Theodor Herzl Schools occupies a unique and special space both in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and in the broader educational context – both locally and nationally.
We are significantly proud of our Jewish heritage (with our School founded in 1959 as a Jewish day-school), whose original values and ethos form an integral part of who we are and what we do on a daily basis. Jewish Festivals have not been lost nor forgotten. They are acknowledged intentionally. Our on-site Shul, Rabbi and Judaica Department are part of our authentic history AND daily reality.
Interwoven, is the notion that our South African context embraces and encourages “change, acceptance and adaptation”…
it forms part of who we are too. We are a proudly South African school!
The landscape that makes up Theodor Herzl School is one which embraces all faiths. There is a universality in our message. This is important for us. We all have a voice. Ours is a school that has evolved and continues to do so – the sign of a school that is willing and able to adapt to the ebb and flow of time.
Yes, our core business is (and should be) creating a love of continuous learning and academic studies. We offer the rigorous I.E.B. curriculum. Our aim is also holistic education. Being a well-rounded and kind human-being is equally important to us. Being excited about and potentially excelling in what we offer in the sport and cultural arena is also part of being a Theodorian.
Theodor Herzl School’s heart is one which is pure and life-giving. Although we are “three schools”, we are one. We beat to the rhythm of one heart, one school. The journey begins in Grade 000. Diverse but “the same”, unique but united, traditional yet modern. We embrace “otherness ” in the broadest sense of the word, intentionally and sincerely.
Our wish is that Theodor Herzl Schools is the school of choice for anyone looking for holistic, authentic, relevant and rigorous education for their child/children. Ours IS a school with heart.
I am proud to be part of the rich tapestry that makes up Theodor Herzl Schools. Embracing all that is truly South African, Theodor Herzl Schools has straddled the exciting changes over the years. We continue to do so.

Mr Viktor Kurz

Executive Principal Theodor Herzl Schools

Mr. Viktor Kurz

School terms

Second Term 2024

3 apr - 11 JUNE

Third Term 2024

9 JULY - 20 SEP

Fourth Term 2024

1 OCT - 5 DEC

Get in Touch

Pre-Primary

Primary School

High School

Apply Now

Pre-Primary

Primary School

High School

School terms

First Term

19 JAN - 31 Mar

Second Term

17 APR - 23 JUNE

Third Term

18 JULY - 29 SEP

Fourth Term

10 OCT - 6 DEC

Get in Touch

Pre-Primary

Primary School

High School

Apply Now

Pre-Primary

Primary School

High School

how we nurture

As an independent, co-educational, English medium school in Port Elizabeth, providing excellent all-round education from pre-primary to matric.

HERE HEARTS GROW

Committed to Teaching and Learning

Theodor Herzl Schools are independent, co-educational English schools with a difference. Our pre-primary, primary and high are schools that care. Schools with human emotions. Where wonder, curiosity, acceptance, imagination, joy and empathy develop. Nurturing unique attributes in young people and encouraging individual successes. Infusing excellence in all we do - with care. Where we don’t just all know your name; we know your potential. Here you can stand out and become outstanding in what you are good at. Being the best that you can be. Where ethics and work ethics go hand in hand, linking the head with the heart. These are not just schools, but
schools with heart.

Mr Viktor Kurz, as Executive Principal, leads the three schools and is also academic head of the High School. The Primary School is headed by Mrs Hilary Goldberg and the Pre-Primary by Ms Megan Oosthuizen. These Heads are members of SAHISA (South African Heads of Independent Schools) and of ISASA (Independent Schools’ Association of South Africa and their active involvement in these bodies ensures that Theodor Herzl plays a valuable role in independent education in South Africa.

Theodor Herzl’s development and well-being as a centre of educational excellence is governed by the United Hebrew Institutions (UHI) of Port Elizabeth, in partnership with the teaching staff and...

general parent body. The UHI is managed by a Board of Trustees, of which the Chairman of the Theodor Herzl School Board is an ex-officio member. The School Board comprises a maximum five members of the UHI (including the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Treasurer), members of the teaching staff and members elected from the parent body. The three Heads, Directors of Education and other senior staff members are ex-officio members, with no voting rights. The Board is closely involved with most aspects of the school’s welfare and meets at least twice a term.

READ MORE

The moral development of our pupils is a priority that weaves its way through everything we do at Theodor Herzl. Our warm & caring environment emphasizes universal values rooted in Judaic tradition, where our childrens’ potential is nurtured on a spiritual, physical, emotional and cognitive level. Founded in 1959 by the Jewish Community of Port Elizabeth, Theodor Herzl serves as the centre for Jewish education in the Eastern Cape. The demographics of the school now includes both Jewish and non-Jewish learners and reflects an incredible balance of educational and cultural values representative of our rainbow melting pot of modern South Africa.

View jewish life

contact

We’d love to hear from you.

Three bodies, one heart – Theodor Herzl Pre-Primary, Primary and High, together form one of South Africa’s top independent, co-educational schools.