Travel

Travelling with St Andrew’s

St Andrew’s College runs a Travel Office for all pupils at St Andrew’s College, St Andrew’s Prep and the Diocesan School for Girls. Sibongile Sithole is the Travel Co-ordinator and should be the first contact for all travel information (including appropriate flight times) beyond the actual booking and payment for flights.

Sibongile’s most important function is to ensure all pupils needing flights at the beginning and end of each term have their air tickets and necessary
ID documents and are on a road transfer bus/taxi list to and from Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport (Gqeberha) or King Phalo Airport (East London in line with their flight bookings.
Sibongile also books all taxis and coaches for this travel as required.

Contact details:

Travel Coordinator: Sibongile Sithole

Direct line  046 603 2317 | Switchboard 046 603 2300  Ext 384

Cellphone  0832752218  (including whatsapp)

Email  travel@sacschool.com

Go Travel  046 622 2235    standrews@gotravel.co.za

Passports and travel documents should be handed in to the housemasters/housemistresses on return to school.  The matrons/housemothers get all travel documents to the travel office for checking and safekeeping until the next travel day.

Flight bookings can be done by our local agent, through the Travel office.  Credit card details are required for us to issue tickets, or alternatively, an EFT into the agents account.  No tickets will be issued or credit cards used without parents’ consent beforehand.

If you prefer to do your own flight bookings, please send the issued tickets through to the travel office (travel@sacschool.com) so that we can coordinate the bus transport to/from Gqeberha or East London Airports.  Parents are requested to observe the flight deadline date in the calendar and to get the tickets/bus requests to the Travel Office by this deadline.  Anything received after this date, will incur a late booking fee.

Buses/shuttles are booked with Blunden Tours based in Gqeberha. For travel days, these buses need to be booked at least a week in advance of the date.  We also use smaller operators, ie JC Shuttle, when smaller vehicles are required.  The cost of buses/shuttles goes onto the school account monthly.

Pupils flying on the airlines will be required to have a valid passport, ID document or certified copy of their birth certificate.  Please make sure that the Travel Office has a certified copy of the birth certificate for travel.

Shuttles can also be booked for weekend travel or locally for other outings.  Costs of the shuttle range from approximately R400 – R900 per person to and from Gqeberha, and R600 – R1200 to and from East London, depending on the number of passengers travelling and the type of vehicle needed.

Local parents from Gqeberha and East London are welcome to use the bus transport on travel days, but need to get their requests in by the deadline date as well.

Pupils who are not South African citizens or permanent residents are required to get a study visa before they arrive at St Andrew’s College/Prep or DSG. These are applied for online and an appointment made in your country of residence.  The school will provide the necessary letters of confirmation and advice on which medical aid is suitable.

Since 2015, new immigration laws in South Africa require that children under 18 years of age carry certain documents with them when leaving or entering South Africa.  Parents are requested to send their children with the following documents if they are travelling over boarder –

1. Certified copy of Unabridged birth certificate, showing both parents
2. Certified affidavit/letter of permission from both parents, showing residential and contact information
3. Certified copies of both parents passports / ID documents
4. Any other relevant documents, i.e. marriage certificate, death certificate, adoption certificate
5. Guardian letter from the school (we provide these updated every 3 months)

If parents update the documents during each holiday, they will be valid for the next travel date. This is preferable rather than leaving it for the last minute before a travel date and then having to scan or courier documents.  The schools are not able to certify documents without the originals or parents present, so this needs to be done by a commissioner of oaths in your place of residence.

Sibongile Sithole

Travel Co-ordinator