Business · CAT · Design
The pop-up shop
Learners design, cost, market and run a real shop. Business Studies, CAT and Design, all at once.
The High School · Grade 8 to 12
Turn talent into a future.
From Grade 8 to matric, learners go deeper, choose their subjects and leave with real projects, real skills and the confidence to walk into a world that is still being invented.
01 / GradesGrade 8 to 12Senior Phase, then the FET years to matric.
02 / Every subjectArt, Business, DesignHabits of mind built into every subject.
03 / Every learnerEntrepreneurshipTurning talent into income, for real.
04 / Every dayReal-life skillsThe things most learners leave school without.
Senior Phase · Grade 8 and 9
Go deeper. Try everything.
Two years to build strong foundations across every subject, take on bigger and more independent projects, and discover what lights them up before choosing their subjects.
English HLAfrikaans FALMathematicsNatural SciencesSocial SciencesTechnologyEMSCreative ArtsLife OrientationCoding and Robotics
- First real business projects in Economic and Management Sciences
- Leadership in houses, events and mentoring younger learners
- Guidance in Grade 9 to choose the right subject combination
FET · Grade 10 to 12
Choose your subjects. Keep every door open.
Art, Business and Design are not streams you get locked into. They are three habits of mind we build into every subject, whichever combination a learner chooses.
Art: make something new.
Art, to us, is not only the painting. It is the act of creation: making something that did not exist before. That instinct is worth as much in a laboratory or a start-up as it is in a studio, and it is the part machines cannot do for us.
In every subject
- Making, not reproducing
- Original work in every project
- Dramatic Arts and Design as electives
What it feels like
- Studio time every week
- Performances and exhibitions
- Marketing their own work
- Collaborating across disciplines
Business: nobody escapes this one.
Whatever learners become, they will need to understand money, clients, pricing and how an organisation runs. We teach commercial literacy to everyone, not only to learners taking Business Studies, because it is the difference between being good at something and making a living from it.
In every subject
- Pricing, budgets and clients
- Commercial literacy for everyone
- Business Studies and CAT as electives
What it feels like
- Pop-up shops and market days
- Real budgets and real customers
- Pitching ideas to an audience
- Learning from local businesses
Design: the process, not the poster.
Research it, prototype it, test it, watch it fail, improve it, ship it. The process is the same whether the finished thing is a logo, a business plan or a piece of machinery, which makes it one of the most transferable skills we teach.
In every subject
- Showing their working
- Defending their choices
- Design and EGD as electives
What it feels like
- Briefs from real clients
- Sketching, modelling and 3D design
- Testing and improving prototypes
- Presenting a finished product
01 / Every learner
Three core subjects
English Home LanguageAfrikaans FALLife Orientation
The subjects that make every other subject possible, from Grade 10 to matric.
02 / Choose one
The mathematics decision
MathematicsMathematical Literacy
Mathematics keeps the science, engineering and health routes open and is required for Physical Science. Mathematical Literacy serves art, design, the humanities, law and much of business well.
03 / Choose three
Electives
Physical ScienceLife ScienceComputer Application TechnologyEngineering Graphic DesignDesignBusiness StudiesDramatic Arts
Every elective is practical: learners build, test, present and improve.
Seven subjects in all. Some learners add an optional extra subject, which is self-managed and carries an additional cost.
See every subject and make your choicesWhatever they choose
Three things every Verve learner leaves with.
01
Entrepreneurship
With South Africa's high unemployment, we equip learners with the skills and knowledge to turn their talents into income, whatever they go on to do.
02
Real-life skills
How to change a tyre, interview well, improve a credit score or fill in a tax return. Plus relationships with community members and companies in the world they are about to enter.
03
Their own way of learning
Support, individual focus and uniqueness are celebrated. We prioritise learning and creation over testing and remembering, so they leave as lifelong learners.
Matric and beyond
Leave with more than a certificate.
Learning by doing
Real projects, real audiences.
Grade 10 and 11 · CAT
Plan a festival
A whole event, budgeted and designed on iPads, from ticket prices to the stage plan.
Whole school
The Verve Fashion Show
Design, styling, staging and marketing a show.
Community
School and career expo
Representing Verve at Waterfall Mall.
Every grade
Mental Health Week
Talking openly about how we feel.
Camps, tours and outings
Learning that leaves the building.
Camps in the bush, a tour to the coast, underground in a mine, university campuses and the train into the city. Some of the best lessons happen somewhere else.
Fashion Show 2025
One night, one runway, all of us.
Learners on the runway, dancers on the stage and families in the seats, right outside our own buildings.
Study smarter
Digital tools that actually help.
Revise
Past papers, instant feedback
Thousands of past-paper questions for Grade 7 to 12, with feedback their facilitators check and release.
Devices
Laptops and iPads
For research, writing, design and presenting, used as tools rather than distractions.
Code
Coding and CAT
Coding and robotics to Grade 9, then Computer Application Technology in FET.
AI
AI, used wisely
Learning when and how to use AI tools honestly, critically and ethically.
Come and see
Meet the people your teenager will learn with.
Visit a class, meet the facilitators and ask about subjects, combinations and life after matric.