# Bridge House School

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bridge_House_School
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Bridge_House_School.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_House_School
> Source revision: 1347346799
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

**Bridge House School**, commonly referred to as Bridge House, is a school in [South Africa](/source/South_Africa). It is located in the [Cape Winelands](/source/Cape_Winelands) close to [Franschhoek](/source/Franschhoek), [Stellenbosch](/source/Stellenbosch) and [Paarl](/source/Paarl), and is an independent day and boarding school for over eight hundred girls and boys from Playschool to Grade 12. Bridge House is a member of the [Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa](/source/Independent_Schools_Association_of_Southern_Africa) (ISASA)[1] and the International [Round Square](/source/Round_Square) Organisation.[2] The School motto is "Learning for Life".

## History

### Founding

Bridge House was founded by a group of local families, namely the Huxter, Friedman and Rands families, as a non-profit company and opened its doors on 19 January 1995 with 54 pupils. The school was originally based in a state school building in [Simondium](/source/Simondium) until 1997. Rezoning applications were brought forth and approved for the school to occupy new premises in the [Berg River](/source/Berg_River) Valley on the Waterval Farm.

### Facilities development

- 1994: South African businessman [Graham Beck](/source/Graham_Beck)[3] donates a 10-hectare site, comprising an undeveloped corner of the farm Waterfall, near the Berg River Bridge, ten kilometres outside of [Franschhoek](/source/Franschhoek) on the way to Paarl and Stellenbosch.
- 1998: The school relocates to the new campus.
- 1999: Swimming pool, beginners' pool, tennis courts, indoor sports centre.
- 2003: The Barnyard Theatre,[4] a new College block with seven new classrooms, College Reception and Administrative Offices.
- 2004: A new boarding house called "Waterfall", for boys and girls in two separate wings.
- 2008: A second boarding house for boys, "Bellegam".
- 2012: An additional 18 hectares donated by Graham Beck, increasing the campus size to its current 28 hectares.
- 2013: The Renaissance Centre and another boarding house, "Huguenot", for junior boys and girls.
- 2015: Pre-Primary School building.
- 2016: Water-based [field hockey](/source/Field_hockey) [AstroTurf](/source/AstroTurf) facilities.[5]
- 2017: College Maths and Science Centre and a fourth boarding house, "Erica".
- 2019: "Tim Rands" [cricket](/source/Cricket) oval.[6]

### Heads of School

1. Lloyd Smuts (1995)
1. Allan Graham (1997)
1. [Anne van Zyl](/source/Anne_van_Zyl) (2002)
1. Mike Russell (2010)
1. David Clark (2020)

## References

1. ["Bridge House School"](https://www.isasaschoolfinder.co.za/listing/bridge-house-secondary/). *ISASA School Finder*. ISASA. Retrieved 5 April 2026.

1. ["Round Square: Bridge House School"](https://www.roundsquare.org/school/bridge-house-school/). *Round Square*. Round Square. Retrieved 5 April 2026.

1. ["The Beck Family Philanthropic Trusts Initiatives"](https://grahambeck.com/legacy/initiatives/philanthropy-trusts). *grahambeck.com*. Graham Beck Estate. Retrieved 5 April 2026.

1. ["Barnyard: About Us"](https://www.barnyardtheatre.co.za/about.aspx). *www.barnyardtheatre.co.za*. The Barnyard Theatres. Retrieved 5 April 2026.

1. ["Bridge House Astroturf is world-class"](https://www.netwerk24.com/bridge-house-astroturf-is-world-class-20160525-2). Netwerk24. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2026.

1. ["Bridge House: Our History"](https://www.bridgehouse.org.za/history/). *Bridge House*. Bridge House School. Retrieved 5 April 2026.

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bridge House School](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_House_School) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_House_School?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.