Cape Town’s Centre of Somatology in Stellenbosch
South Africans who were born and bred in this country, and those who have dabbled in a bit of genealogy, are amazed at how closely they’re related to others whose ancestry in South Africa also dates back by some 500 years – specifically the 1600s in the Cape.
Although the first Europeans, who discovered the area that Cape Town was to occupy eventually, were Portuguese seafarers, Jan van Riebeeck and the members of the Dutch VOC who accompanied him were the first permanent European settlers here.
Mother City
Whether one lives in modern-day Cape Town or elsewhere in this country, it remains the place where untold numbers of South Africans have their roots; it’s the Mother City, literally and figuratively, as well as being the oldest town in the Western Cape province.
Home of Isa Carstens Academy’s Somatology Courses
The second oldest provincial town in the Cape is the charming university town of Stellenbosch, which is where the esteemed Isa Carstens Academy was founded.
As such, it’s our original home too, and it is indeed a great town to call “home”, despite the fact that we now have a second highly successful academy in Pretoria, as befits an accredited and reputable institute of tertiary higher learning.
Understandably, we’re proud of our origins, recognising the importance of knowing from whence we came and the journey upon which our organisation and our founder embarked, since our academy’s inception in 1978.
Stellenbosch is the place where the late Mrs Isa Carstens first established a beauty treatment centre, subsequently followed by her academy, featuring iconic somatology, advanced aesthetics and professional, frontline spa reception courses.
Accommodation for Stellenbosch’s Somatology Students
Our somatology courses are intensive and comprehensive, including complex subjects like anatomy and physiology within the curriculum, and take three years to complete. Thus, it’s important that students have the opportunity to study in an environment that’s appropriate.
Stellenbosch developed and grew around the university, since its founding in 1918. By 2010, just fewer than 27 700 students were enrolled, swelling the town’s population enormously. Accommodation isn’t limitless, nor is vehicle parking.
Our independent student residence takes care of accommodation and is conveniently close (a 5-minute walk) to our campus and the town’s amenities. Limited secure underground parking is available, but most somatology students manage perfectly without a motor vehicle; our set-up is designed accordingly.
Our somatology courses are internationally accredited by CIDESCO, and also affiliated with the Department of Higher Education, SAAHSP and the South African Spa Association. If you live near Cape Town, and health, wellness and skin care are your passion, our somatology courses are your quintessential first career step.