High School Südafrika - Partner für Privatschulen You2Africa

Hi, I'm Michelle and I run YOU2AFRICA's exchange student program based in Cape Town, South Africa.
We receive high school students (aged 15 - 18) from Europe and South America, and offer them the experience of a lifetime while they are in South Africa.

Students can choose to come for 3 months, 6 months or 11/12 months, and they can either start mid-January or mid-July each year. I take special care in finding warm South African host families who will take students in as one of their own children. South Africa has a rich diversity of cultures so the host families come from many backgrounds - black African (usually home language is Xhosa, although will also speak English), Cape Malay (referred to in South Africa as "coloured"), Muslim, Christian, White South African (home language is English) or Indian. Students will be immersed in an English speaking environment and their English skills will develop fast.

The schools where we place students all differ, according to which area the school is in. YOU2AFRICA's support begins the moment the student steps off the plane: we are there to meet you at the airport, we offer a thorough 3-day Orientation equipping you for your stay, and you will have a support worker who will check up on you regularly, assist you while you are adapting to a new culture and be a friend to you if you experience being homesick. Your support worker will also arrange for you to volunteer with animals or at a children's home, if you'd like to give something back to the community.

Once a month, our exchange students get together for a local day-tour around Cape Town and some of the highlights of these trips include: Table Mountain, the Waterfront, Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, Cape Point and the penguins at Boulders Beach, a township visit, sand-boarding, a surf experience at Muizenberg beach, hiking in Silvermine mountains and a summer music concert at Kirstenbosch Gardens.

YOU2AFRICA also offers an optional 6 day Garden Route Adventure during the school holidays, which is packed with all kinds of wild experiences like bungy jumping and game drives. High school exchange in Cape Town is an adventure of a life-time, but be warned: you may never want to go back home again!