Leading with Faith, Hope and Love: Ms Annabel Roberts’ First Address as Executive Head
Dear St Peter’s College Community
Welcome back to Term 2 2025. Today is the first day of the rest of our lives and we have the opportunity to choose to make this chapter amazing.
We return from a holiday where we celebrated the inherent value of meaningful work as well as the anniversary of our country’s first democratic elections. Workers’ Day and Freedom Day importantly remind us of our privilege and responsibility as we live in a country that has overcome such adversity. We owe it to our children to educate them in such a way that they build on the promise of a phenomenal future.
This holiday also included the celebration of hope through Easter. I love the symbol of the cross, which connects us with God through the vertical beam and us to one another through the horizontal beam.
Matthew 22 vs 36-40
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’
These words from Matthew’s Gospel reinforce the importance of our connection and love of God and one another.
With the Easter message of new beginnings, I am delighted to be joining this wonderful school and all that it stands for. As a long-time resident of Sunninghill, St Peter’s has been a school close to my home and close to my heart. I am excited to be part of such a well-resourced and dynamic educational space, which is currently flourishing in all respects.
By way of introduction, I share that I started my career as a Physical Sciences teacher in government education and moved into independent schools twenty-five years ago. I have deeply valued working with the Independent Examination Board (IEB) since I place high store on academic excellence and integrity, and that is exactly what this examining body delivers.
My time has been evenly split between monastic and co-educational schools. To be honest, I hold no preference since working with young people, regardless of gender, fulfils me. The universal nature of the human experience, along with the unique attributes of every student, makes education fascinating and enjoyable for me.
The human rights, as stated in the South African Constitution, provide a guiding light for how we all ought to be living in harmony and appreciation for the diverse and wonderful nature of each person. I prioritise the inherent dignity of all and have an expectation that all in our community do the same.
I am in my ninth year as a Head of School. In that time, I have tried to establish the ‘secret sauce’ which develops whole, happy humans. The statistical correlation between children who have parents/caregivers who take an interest in their education and success in school, and beyond, is well documented. That said, developmentally, the adolescent child is negotiating establishing their autonomy. So parents/caregivers need to take an interest, while stepping back enough to allow their young person to manage their own lives.
Finding this sweet-spot is not always easy. As a general rule of thumb, teenagers enjoy having parents/caregivers positively involved in the audience of their education, but do not benefit from them stepping into every detail of what happens at school. School, for most adolescents, needs to be a space in which young peopl can develop their personal sense of self and unique identity without excessive interference from the adults in their lives.
The next strong correlation is between adult-success (an admittedly debatable concept) and children who feel that they were loved by their significant caregivers. Love is not license. We can show our children that they are valued while maintaining clear behavioural expectations. The habit of my leadership over the last approximate decade has been to remind parents to completely appreciate the essence of the child God has given you, and allow your face to light up with delight when they enter a room.
Love is the Golden Rule in all spiritual paradigms, and I have unapologetically led with love for many years. I encourage you to lead your homes with love, too. I hope that we can work together into a brave future where the dignity of all humans is enshrined as sacred. My prayer is that through respectful relationships, we can build resilience and responsibility in young people who are destined to take their places as ethical global citizens.
Yours in excellent education,
Ms Annabel Roberts