High School Alternative for Autistic Students
We support students working toward a Matric Certificate, with/without university exemption.
A one-of-a-kind learning space for autistic teens in the Helderberg region.
At Growth & Grit Educentre, we’re not just supervising students - we’re teaching them. We are qualified UK (and SA) high school teachers with post-graduate Autism training from Birmingham University, bringing over two decades of experience to our small, focused learning centre. We offer a calm, nurturing, and structured environment where autistic students can thrive - academically and emotionally. Combining the internationally recognised British curriculum with our individualised and flexible approach, we provide direct, personalised teaching that plays to each student’s strengths while supporting areas of challenge. Our teens work hard, achieve excellent results, and grow into confident, independent learners - far beyond what’s possible in many mainstream or purely online settings.
Here is what we do well:
Our environment is
Calm and Structured
At Growth & Grit, we have set up the environment to be ideal for autistic teens, enabling them to achieve their academic goals. The environment is calm, open and organised. Students have individual work desks which they are able to set up in a way that works for them.
We Include all the
Resources, Stationery, Textbooks and iPads
Our fees include all the basic stationery a student might need, e.g. notebooks, pens, glue, erasers, rulers, etc. We also include all the workbooks and textbooks prescribed by Cambridge. Our school iPads are set up with all the resources and apps students use as they work through the curriculums.
We offer a
Variety of subject choices and individualised plans
Students work to their strengths and at their own pace to achieve their academic goals. The British curriculum, along with our systems and individualised plans, provide students with a flexible approach to their work. Please ask for our prospectus to see our available subjects.
We offer a great deal of
Flexibility
Students are encouraged to do their work in a way that suits them best, whether that’s wearing headphones, sitting on an exercise ball, typing work or completing work on the couch. Each student has their own timeline and subjects can be written when students are ready and confident, meaning strong subjects can be written earlier, and therefore go further, while weaker subjects can be given more support and written later.
Our environment is
Comfortable with Break-out Spaces
The environment is comfortable and includes spaces where students can work quietly. Work desks are personalised to suit the students and their interests. Comfortable couches are our biggest currency here! Our two Schnauzers add to the homey feeling and bring a calming influence.
Meet the Growth & Grit Team
Neels
Eloise
Amelia
Siwoneni
Chewie & Leia
More about Neels & Eloise
The centre is run by Neels and Eloise Grobbelaar, a husband and wife team. We are qualified teachers (both in SA and the UK), each with nearly 25 years of teaching behind us and we have two children. We recently returned from the UK after teaching and supporting autistic teens in Bristol, England for 18 years.
During our time in the UK, we received extensive training in various autism approaches, along with Post Graduate Certificates in Autism, which we obtained from Birmingham University. We are confident in using the British syllabus and have supported many teens to achieve academically. We are however most proud of how our students gained confidence in their own abilities. The mental health of our students is very important to us.
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We are a one-of-a-kind setting here in South Africa and love showing visitors around! If you have any questions or would like to come and see our centre in person, just let us know!
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Comfortable with Break-out Spaces
