Cowan House Preparatory School Primary School is located in Hilton. When asked why he had started his own school in 1948, David Black (founder of Cowan House) answered, ‘I am going to open my own school and make it interesting, make it fun. I am going to make them (the pupils) want to learn so you can’t stop them. I want them to get so excited about learning that they don’t want to stop. I know that once they know something, it leads to wanting something else. They must learn to express themselves and find out things for themselves. They must know that living is the most exciting thing around.’

In a world where the status quo is constantly challenged, Thinking Skills are central to learning at Cowan House; we do not focus on teaching our pupils what to learn, rather on HOW to learn. A meaningful academic curriculum cannot be static and as an Independent School we enjoy the freedom of choice in our curriculum.

It is designed to evolve and adapt in order to develop our pupils’ ability to think individually, collectively, analytically and creatively. To be successful in the future, in a world that we do not yet fully grasp, we encourage our pupils to come out of their comfort zone … to not be afraid, to be curious, express their ideas, try new ways of doings things and, allow for mistakes … How else would the light bulb have been invented if Thomas Eddison hadn’t found 10 000 ways that didn’t work!