A whole entry on background
Some background and terminology on the school and university system in South Africa for my American (and in some cases other) friends:
Apartheid
First some related comments about Apartheid, because all of this was before and during the Apartheid era. Prior to the National Party coming to power in 1948, South African society was probably about as segregated as the US was at that time. The National Party formalized segregation as Apartheid, which can be translated as "separateness". Apartheid involved "aparte ontwikkeling" - separate development, with separate and supposedly equal facilities for all race groups. The "separate" was attained in many areas, the "equal" not so much. After 1948 the National Party enshrined more and more segregation into law. While the US was struggling with breaking down various racial barriers in the 1960s and 1970s, South Africa was moving in the opposite direction.
Race in South Africa was not just divided into black and white. There were so-called Coloureds (mixed race), Cape Malays (originating from Southeast Asia and usually legally regarded as being Coloureds https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Malays), Indians (from India, not the African equivalent of American Indian), plus very small numbers of Chinese. Although many of the Indians were brought to South Africa as laborers, to work in the sugar cane fields, there have also long been many doctors and other professionals. The Coloureds faced discrimination from whites during Apartheid, but at least some of them were also concerned about discrimination from blacks and were worried about being just as much of a minority under a black government. During the later years of Apartheid the Coloureds and Indians were given their own political systems and some control over their own affairs. Blacks, on the other hand, were all supposed to belong to "independent" self-governing countries (usually referred to in English as "homelands"). The only countries that recognized the independence of these homelands were South Africa and each other. How much of a sham this was is illustrated by the fact that as soon as Apartheid ended they all became part of South Africa again.
Schools were segregated on racial lines, though the segregation was probably more strict in terms of white versus other than between the others. Different race groups were also confined to living in different areas. A wealthy Indian doctor, for instance, could not buy a house in a white area. What caused a great amount of bitterness was that in cities such as Cape Town and Port Elizabeth there had been Coloured/Cape Malay/Indian communities quite close to the city centers but during Apartheid they were relocated to much more remote and less convenient areas. District Six in Cape Town is probably the best known example of such forced removal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_Six As noted in Wikipedia "Over 60,000 of its inhabitants were forcibly removed during the 1970s by the apartheid regime. … By 1982, more than 60,000 people had been relocated to the sandy, bleak Cape Flats township complex some 25 kilometres away. The old houses were bulldozed. The only buildings left standing were places of worship. International and local pressure made redevelopment difficult for the government, however." What had been a vibrant and cohesive community was destroyed. The area remained essentially undeveloped until the end of Apartheid.
At university level there was a little more mixing (at least by the '70s when I was a student). There were some Coloured and Indian students at "white" universities, though they were not allowed to live in "white" residence halls. Black students could study at a white university only if they could prove that there wasn't a reasonably equivalent option at any black university.
The small Chinese community lived in a rather strange twilight zone. For some purposes they were accepted as whites. They had their own residential areas and schools. On the other hand, they could not only study at white universities but even live in white residence halls at these universities. I met a bunch of Chinese undergraduates on the long train journey when I went off to college for the first time. The Chinese students were allowed to reserve a sleeping compartment in a white carriage on the train, but were not allowed to eat meals in the white dining car!
South Africa was not only divided alone race lines, it was divided along language lines too. There was probably less animosity between whites and blacks than there was between some English- and Afrikaans-speaking whites. The two language groups went to (mostly) separate schools, with each group being taught in its own language (apart from also having to study the other language). Rugby, which is stylized war even at the best of times, provided a wonderful opportunity for the two groups to get stuck into one another. One of my college friends, who used to play rugby at an advanced level, used to come back from matches against the police (predominantly Afrikaners at that stage) with bite marks on his back and elsewhere.
Schools
In South Africa there are two levels of school - primary (or junior) school encompasses grades 1 through 7 (back in my day called sub A and sub B followed by standards 1 through 5) and high (or senior) school, encompassing grades 8 through 12 (back then called standards 6 through 10). One could earn a school-leaving certificate at the end of grade 10 ("junior certificate") or at the end of grade 12 ("senior certificate" or "matric certificate"; with grade 12 also being referred to as "matric") by passing national or provincial exams (depending on one's school).
What are called private schools in the US and in South Africa are, strangely, called public schools (or independent schools) in Britain. What in the US are called public schools are sometimes called government schools in South Africa (because they are funded by either the central or the relevant provincial government). Unlike in the US, government schools can charge fees. The level of the fees varies, so high-quality government schools may charge fairly hefty fees whereas schools in deprived areas may be free. The better government schools can also be more selective about who they admit, rather than having strict zoning such as in the US.
Many of the better private and public schools in South Africa are partly boarding schools, attracting students from rural areas and smaller towns, as well as legacy students (that is, who parents went to those schools but now live in other cities). Most of the better schools have a "house" system, like in the Harry Potter books, with not just boarders but also each day student assigned to a specific house, with intra-mural competitions between the houses.
My old school even has an entry in Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_High_School. You may be shocked to see that I am NOT listed under the "Notable alumni". Also, how can something be a "tradition" if it dates to AFTER when I was there ("Quad Races")? 😃
This (very recent) article about a cricket player from a disadvantaged background ("His mother and father toiled in other people's grand homes, a legacy of the apartheid system that was officially dismantled in 1994 but affects people's lives to this very day.") touches on some of the background above.
http://www.espncricinfo.com/story/_/id/22151406/firdose-moonda-lungi-ngidi-journey-international-stage
Passing grades at high school level are A, B, C, etc., based on percentage scores, with A = 80-100, B = 70-79, C = 60-69, D = 50-59, E = 40-49. I think F = 33-39 and is still a pass, with below 33 being a fail. If I recall correctly, below 40 was a fail for English and Afrikaans. Back then when these were the (only) official languages, students had to take both through high school. I have no idea what the language requirements are now that there are 11 official languages. What Americans call a grade point average (GPA) was called an aggregate and was a (weighted) average of the scores of the individual subjects and was also a symbol using the same conversion from percentages as above. The weighting gave extra weight to one's first language.
Prefects (edited version of a Wikipedia entry): In some British and Commonwealth schools, prefects, usually students in their final year of that level of school (primary or high school), have considerable power; in some cases they effectively run the school outside the classroom. They were once allowed to administer school corporal punishment in some schools. They usually answer to a senior prefect known as the Head of School, Head Prefect, or Head Boy or Head Girl. In schools with boarding houses, there may be house prefects within each boarding house. House prefects typically have authority only over the students in their house rather than over students more generally.
Universities
At university level a standard bachelor of arts (BA) or bachelor of science (BSc) degree takes 3 years. One can spend an extra year after the BA or BSc to obtain an honours degree (a second degree) in a particular discipline, usually one in which one has majored. Unlike at American universities, there is no "general education" requirement forcing one to take classes in a wide variety of disciplines - I could have done my undergraduate degree taking only classes in mathematical fields. Most coursework is restricted to undergraduate level, with masters and doctoral degrees typically (though not always) requiring just a thesis rather than additional coursework. Medicine is (or was back then) a 6-year undergraduate degree, with the first-year classes being physics, chemistry and biology, second-year being anatomy and physiology and then 4 years of more clinical training.
Grades at university level are first class (75-100%), upper second class (70-74%), lower second class (60-69%), third class (50-59%) and fail (below 50%). There is no equivalent of a GPA at university level. The degree is awarded with distinction in one's major (or majors) if one gets a first class pass at the end of the major and the degree as a whole is awarded with distinction if one gets a distinction for each major (including if one has just one major).
Residence halls (res., or what in America are often called dorms) typically elect a House Committee for self-government, organization of social events, etc. A faculty member serves as the Warden of the res., often living in a house adjacent to the res. A few senior students may be appointed as sub-wardens, to act as advisors to other students. (Sub-wardens are generally appointed by the Warden whereas House Committee members are elected by the students in the res.)
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