Meet our Mentors

Stephen Rees is the former Headmaster at Japari School where he worked from 2002 – 2020. Japari is an independent school catering for learners who have not achieved true success in mainstream schools. Stephen introduced a very successful student leadership programme at Japari, entitled Mentors and Monitors. Stephen left Japari at the end of 2020 and currently lives in Johannesburg.

Before joining Japari, Stephen served as the Deputy Head of Bishop Bavin School, and was part of the founding team of this school, where he taught Mathematics in the Preparatory School and Accountancy in the College. He was Head of the Intermediate Phase at Wit Deep School.

In addition to his role as Head of School, Stephen served as Chairman of SAALED, Johannesburg, (Southern African Association for Learning and Educational Difficulties), from 2001- 2012. SAALED ran many informative and relevant workshops and conferences, for parents, teachers and therapists, utilising both local and international presenters.

He is a graduate of the University of South Africa, with a BA majoring in English and Communication. He completed a Further Diploma in Psychometry and Remedial Education at the University of Johannesburg. He also has awards from Dale Carnegie and Associates in Effective Speaking and Human Relations and from the Dale Carnegie Management Seminar. Stephen recently completed a three-hundred-hour TEFL Diploma course through the I-to-I Group. Stephen is currently serving as the Compliance Officer for one of our ISASA schools.