Our Accreditation: Independent, and consistently recommended...
A modern world requires modern solutions to acknowledging student achievements.

Partners assosiated with IGFSAThe Irene School of Garden Design is committed to giving our students the best possible form of training that is informed by international trends in education. We have been presenting comprehensive courses since 2006, and students who study through Irene School of Garden Design join us in our rich history of excellence.

Our students come highly recommended locally and internationally. Irene School of Garden Design lectured to numerous students referred to us by both local Industry leaders, as well as international horticultural societies and Universities. We have enriched students referred to us from countries like Canada, Nigeria, Australia, Zambia and the United Kingdom and successfully helped numerous students set up some of the countries’ leading residential garden design firms.

Irene School of Garden Design is an Independent Private institution that offers a variety of courses, amongst others, the class leading comprehensive credential in residential landscape design that consists of various shorter lecture series that focus on key aspects of designing outdoor spaces. Upon completion of all the subject fields, combined, they form our credential in landscape design which better equip students to be respected and verified residential landscape designers. This also allows students who have completed certain courses at other institutions that relates to our course content to get recognition for what they have studied and add the missing courses subjects through Irene School of Garden Design to complete their journey.

The International tertiary educational tendence is to do away with accrediting an institution, and to focus on accrediting the achievements of the student. This aids prospective employers and clients to look at the skills of the person and not the place of study.

Therefore Irene School of Garden Design has opted to affiliate ourselves with the Guild of Landscape Designers for Southern Africa. Our comprehensive courses allow students to continue their journey into residential landscape design after studies by means of registration as candidates to accrediting bodies. Our students who have successfully completed all of the subject courses in our Comprehensive course and maintained a 60% or higher average throughout, will be eligible to register with the guild as silver members, and work their way up to gold and platinum members. Students can also register as candidates with other bodies such as the South African Landscaper Institute SALI if they want to venture into installations. Many international universities and colleges have granted students form our school credit for further studies in their respective countries, and some international institutions have also recommended us to their students.

In line with the current world view on education we have done away with the traditional written examination system and adopted the assessment of our students through an applicational assignment approach. This helps us to address certain areas on an individual basis with each student and gives a better overall perspective of how our students not only understand our course content, but also how to apply it in their new profession.

There is currently no niche Residential and Light commercial garden or landscape design with the Sector Education and Training Authority nor with the National Qualifications Board due to the lack of industry standards. When choosing to study in the fields of Garden Design it is therefore paramount that your chosen institution can rely on reputation, quality, course material, heritage and being well-known in the industry. Many other institutions grab parts of other accredited keys in the department of Education’s framework to claim credits and that their courses are accredited. Here at Irene School we feel it’s best to be open and honest, and we would rather offer our course with a new initiative of accrediting the student’s achievements in the industry as it is now being done world- wide. Our courses are independent and private and therefore not registered with the NQF and will remain for reasons associated with difficulties in higher education for South Africa unregistered to continue our education with quality and our longstanding industry reputation. Our courses may for this reason due to legislation not be called a diploma, degree or higher education in South Africa. Our courses receive attention from abroad and is deemed by international comparison of an exceptional standard with remarkable outcomes.

Our 3-day workshops are designed to be fun, exciting and for the garden enthusiast. They are not designed to register students as landscape designers, and we therefore do not issue certificates for the 3-day short course.

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