All students and teachers enrol into one of five global zones anchored to Cape Town (Hour 0 · UTC+2). Each zone runs its own 08:00–16:00 teaching window. Zone 3 opens first; other zones activate as the school grows.
Summer (Apr–Oct, NH DST active): UK observes BST (UTC+1) — UK students start 07:00 local to align with Cape Town 08:00. Zone 2 Eastern UTC−4; Zone 1 Pacific/Canada UTC−7. Brazil does not observe DST. Cape Town UTC+2 always Hour 0.
January & September · two intake cycles per year
Aligned to the South African and southern hemisphere school calendar. Students from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand join the January cohort — January through November, with December as the year-end break.
Aligned to the UK, European and international school calendar. Students from the UK, Europe, USA and Canada join the September cohort — September through June, with July and August as the summer break.
36-week instructional timeline. Group A = January intake (southern hemisphere) shown first · Group B = September intake (northern hemisphere). Both groups share identical universal holiday weeks.
| Holiday | Timing | Strategic alignment |
|---|---|---|
| Year-end break | Last 2 weeks Dec – first 2 weeks Jan | 4-week mandatory closure for all staff and students globally |
| Passover break | Variable — March or April | Aligns with global Passover and US/UK spring breaks |
| Mid-year break | Late June – early July (3 weeks) | Northern summer peak and southern winter break — both hemispheres benefit |
| Seasonal break | Late October (1 week) | UK/Europe half-term and change of season transition |