Courtney House International celebrates Cambridge top achievers 2025
Rooted in excellence, Ready for the world
A Pretoria school rooted in three decades of academic tradition delivers another exceptional year of Cambridge results, reaffirming its place among South Africa's premier international education institutions.
At the heart of Courtney House International is a symbol: The oak leaf and acorn. Not a crest forged in tradition for tradition's sake, but small, quietly powerful, and carrying within it the blueprint of something far greater. It is a fitting emblem for a school that, since opening its doors in 1995 with a small group of children in Reception Year, has grown into one of Pretoria's most distinguished Cambridge International pathway institutions.
The 2025 Cambridge IGCSE, AS- and A-Level results, announced earlier this year, are the latest proof of that growth – not just in numbers, but in what those numbers represent: young people, many from the world's diplomatic community, stepping confidently onto the global stage.
AS/A-Level: standards that speak globally
The Cambridge AS/A-Level is more than a qualification. It is a passport. Recognised by leading universities on every continent, it demands deep subject mastery, independent thinking, and sustained academic commitment. This year, Courtney House International's 2025 cohort rose to that challenge with distinction.
Leading this year's AS/A-Level top achievers is Andreas Aravositas, whose four distinctions (three at A-Level and one at AS-Level) came with an impressive 88.0% average, the highest in the cohort. Close behind is Erin Feldtmann, who earned six distinctions (three at A-Level and three at AS-Level) with an average of 86.6%. Alvin Mwenda rounds out the top three with four distinctions and an 81.6% average, demonstrating the breadth of academic strength within this year's class.
Camilla Moeletsi and Jacobus Reyneke both achieved two AS-Level distinctions, while Giovanni Balletti, Mark Kyalo, and Chloé Windell each secured distinctions that reflect the school's commitment to recognising individual academic excellence, not just collective performance. Across the cohort, learners recorded 2 A*s, 20 A grades, 14 Bs, and 19 Cs – a results profile reflecting both rigour and breadth, across the Sciences, Humanities and Languages.
IGCSE: a foundation built for the world
If the A-Level results tell a story of mastery, the IGCSE results tell a story of promise. The Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education is the springboard to advanced study, and the 2025 IGCSE class at Courtney House International has left little doubt about the heights they are capable of reaching.
Leone Asiimwe Mwebe led the cohort with ten distinctions (six A*s and four As), placing her among the highest performers in the country. Alvin Munanda and Nusha De Oliveira each claimed eight distinctions, with Munanda achieving a remarkable eight A*s and De Oliviera six A*s and two As. Lemuel Doe and Leseho Sello each earned six distinctions, while Nathan Simiyu, Phetole Neo Malapane, and Sophia Pecheva also distinguished themselves across the grade bands.
The collective IGCSE grade breakdown (32 A*s, 21 As, 25 Bs, and 22 Cs) reflects a cohort performing consistently at the highest international benchmarks. Cambridge grading places the A* at 90–100% and the A band at 80–89%, and Courtney House learners are clustered at the top of that distribution.
The school behind the results
These results are particularly meaningful given the context in which they are achieved. Located in Bailey's Muckleneuk, Pretoria, Courtney House International is the institution of choice for children of diplomats, embassy staff, high commission officials, and international organisation personnel based in South Africa's administrative capital. It is, in every sense, a school for the world.
It is also the only school in Pretoria offering the full Cambridge curriculum from Reception (age four) through to A-Level. Deliberately small class sizes ensure every learner receives personalised attention, while the curriculum focuses on deep mastery rather than surface breadth. Its three A-Level faculties – Mathematics, Sciences (Biology, Physics, Chemistry), Humanities and Languages; and Commercials (Accounts, Business, Economics) – are chosen to develop the critical thinking, analytical capacity, and entrepreneurial intelligence that modern universities and employers demand.
What Cambridge results really mean
In an era of competing curricula – CAPS, IEB, IB, and Cambridge – parents and learners face meaningful choices. Cambridge International stands apart as a genuinely standalone, globally benchmarked qualification, monitored by Cambridge Assessment International Education and backed by the teaching authority of the University of Cambridge. It is designed not to produce compliant exam-takers, but curious, capable thinkers ready for the world's best universities.
For Courtney House International learners, the 2025 results are not merely a milestone in their academic journey – they are evidence of what becomes possible when a school builds with patience, precision, and genuine global ambition, tending, year after year, to each unique and individual learner.
Executive head Dimitra Bailanis, who has guided the school through its most formative years of growth, frames the philosophy in terms of the acorn. ‘A single acorn possesses the power to become a mighty oak,’ she notes – a metaphor that resonates in diplomatic circles, where patience, strategic vision, and resilient growth define success. Since its 2003 affiliation with Cambridge International Education and its 2023 acquisition as a Curro Select institution, Courtney House International has not just grown – it has strengthened its roots.
‘May the next 30 years be as exciting, rewarding, and fulfilling as we continue to nurture young hearts and enrich young minds,’ concludes Bailanis.