St. Andrew's International School in Blantyre, Malawi was founded 1938 by the Church of Scotland Mission in Blantyre. The high school in its present form was established in 1958. SAIntS is a British International School offering GCSE, A Level and BTEC qualifications and a wealth of extra-curricular opportunities.
History
It was founded as a series of mission schools in Limbe, Blantyre and Zomba in Nyasaland in the 1920s just after the First World War. The purpose of the school was to make education available to European students and consisted of children of colonial official, traders, and planters. In an agreement signed in 1937 between the Church of Scotland Mission and the Nyasaland Government in 1938, it officially became St. Andrew's Preparatory School and enrolled 14 students.
Three distinct schools
With the need to further education, the school split into three parts creating a distinct kindergarten, primary school and a high school in three locations in 1957.
The high school came to be known as Saint Andrews High School in 1958. In 1965, a year after Malawian Independence, the school changed its name to "St. Andrew's Secondary School". In 1994, it later changed its name to Saint Andrews International High School as it is known now to reflect the international and diverse nature of its student body. The demographics of the school include students of Asian, African, American, and European descent.
Today, Saints is an exclusive school located in the Nyambadwe suburb of Blantyre, Malawi, and has 520 students from more than 30 nationalities as part of its day and boarding school. The school offers IGCSE, BTEC and A-level qualifications in line with the standard British curriculum. There is a strong emphasis on extra-curricular activities, including sports and a variety of clubs and societies. Most notable amongst these are Football, Rugby, Cricket, Hockey, Swimming, Athletics, Water Polo, Tennis, Squash and the Duke of Edinburgh Award. The school boasts impressive looking grounds, with the school buildings set on a ridge overlooking the sports facilities and adjacent grounds.
Students study British style curriculum including GCSE/IGCSE, BTECs and A levels. The school has an excellent reputation in both academic and sporting regards — with the rivalry between the four houses culminating in the end of year House Cup. St. Andrews focuses its efforts on trying to prepare its students for further studies at international universities including Oxford and Cambridge in England and the Ivy League Universities in the U.S.A.
Houses and clubs
The school consists of various houses and clubs; such as Chiradzulu, Michiru, Ndirande and Soche, named after the mountains surrounding Blantyre. The Chiradzulu house holds the colour of Yellow, The Michiru house holds the colour of Blue, Ndirande holds the colour of Red and Soche holds the colour of green. These Houses provide a family structure inside the school, in which the students can compete against fellow students in a variety of activities for all age groups and skill levels.
Boarding
Approximately 80 students are boarders. There are separate boys' and girls' hostels and a dedicated team of boarding supervisors.
Accomplishments
On 1 May 2001, SAIntS set a Guinness World Record set for the Longest non-stop Lesson when students were taught 25 hours of PE and History
In 2003, the school was noted in the African Almanac as one of the top 100 schools in Africa.
Its swimming program trained Malawian Olympic swimmer, Joyce Tafatatha.
In the 2016 Olympics, student Amarra Pinto represented Malawi in swimming.
In 2015 and 2016 Saints students gained the highest BTEC scores in the whole of Africa in a number of subjects.
Saints has an active alumni chapter in Malawi, Australia, and South Africa. A publication by former students of the federation era, The Federal Saints Journal, is distributed to Saints alumni in over 40 countries world wide.
