A Tribute to Guy Pearson
OISESA opened its doors two years ago on 1 May 2022 when Margot Long was appointed as the inaugural Executive Director. Developing a globally relevant set of Standards and Indicators was key, as was the need to secure the first group of mentors to work with the pilot schools who committed to undertake the first round of quality assurance with OISESA.
It took courage to sign up as a mentor for that first cohort, and to join a brand-new agency proposing a very different model for quality assurance in Southern African schools. A total of 15 mentors signed up in the first round – one of those courageous individuals was Guy Pearson.
Guy was born in Adelaide in 1955 and his parents were farmers in the Mankazana Valley. He was educated at Queen’s College. He attended Rhodes University where he graduated with a BCom degree, together with an HDE, and later completed a Post Graduate Degree in Education at Rhodes.
Guy taught Mathematics, Accounting and Economics at various schools, including Selborne College, St Peter’s Preparatory School, Graeme College, and York High School. In 1996 he was appointed Headmaster of Woodridge College, an independent co-ed school outside Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. In 2002 he was appointed Rector of Michaelhouse, in the Midlands of Kwazulu-Natal. After 11 years in this position, he took up the post as the 14th Principal of Bishops Diocesan College in Cape Town in 2013. He retired from Bishops in 2020, after more than 40 years in education, working for 24 of those years as an accomplished and widely respected head.
Guy brought this wealth of experience and wisdom to share with the OISESA team, fulfilling the role of mentor to some of the younger and less experienced heads on the team. His knowledge and insights were invaluable as we revised and strengthened our quality assurance model during the pilot programme in 2022 and throughout the full-scale implementation across 155 schools in 2023.
Guy’s warmth and his extraordinary ability to connect with people ensured that heads at the schools he visited felt valued and affirmed as he celebrated their strengths and were inspired by his thoughtful recommendations for improvement.
Guy stepped down as mentor during April this year, to honour his commitments to his community in St Francis Bay, and to spend more time with his children and grandchildren who live overseas.
It has been a privilege working with Guy – we are most certainly going to miss him on our team. We wish him every happiness in this next stage of his journey.
“Working with Guy on an OISESA school visit and mentor report is to see his vast experience as an ISASA head in action. He knows what it takes to run a school, and while never imposing his ideas on the receiving school, or head, his recommendations, thoughts, and suggestions carry weight and resonance. He communicates well with “school people” (his people, I would suggest) including the ground staff, the kitchen staff, the students of course, and the staff. Never one for verbosity, his reports are succinct and to the point. He also happens to be great company on a school visit, with his many stories about his time in various schools, and it
was always a pleasure to and a privilege to work with him. His presence at OISESA and in our online mentor meetings, and his sage advice will be sorely missed.
David Knowles
“Guy Pearson is a true gentleman, wise and humble. He is not afraid of difficult conversations and always addresses concerns honestly with the utmost sensitivity, motivating people to do the right thing and to make good choices without actually saying this!
A leader who is always true to character and authentic and who encouraged and appreciated the efforts and insights of his colleagues.”
Jane Edmunds