Dame Erica Christine Pienaar, DBE,

FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

(born 20 March 1952) is a South African-born British

schoolteacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

and

educationalist Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...

Executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

Head Teacher of the Leathersellers' Federation of Schools until September 2013, Dame Erica also served as a

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

James Allen's Girls' School James Allen's Girls' School, abbreviated JAGS, is an independent day school situated in Dulwich, South London, England. It is the second oldest girls’ independent school in Great Britain - Godolphin School in Salisbury being the oldest, founde ...

Early life and education

Pienaar arrived in Great Britain at the age of three with her parents and elder sister in 1955 when her family emigrated from South Africa. She was educated at Rockmount Primary School in

South Norwood South Norwood is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Wood ...

then attending Coloma Convent Grammar School for Girls, before going up to

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wo ...

where she graduated as BA. After further studies, she took an

MBA A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

(

LSBU London South Bank University (LSBU) is a public university in Elephant and Castle, London. It is based in the London Borough of Southwark, near the South Bank of the River Thames, from which it takes its name. Founded in 1892 as the Borough Po ...

Career

Pienaar began her teaching career in 1973 and taught for 40 years in South East London. She was Headmistress of Prendergast Hilly Fields College from 1998 to 2008. As of September 2009, Prendergast School became Prendergast Hilly Fields College, part of a Federation with the

Crofton School Crofton School is a coeducational foundation secondary school, located in Stubbington, Hampshire, England. The school has around 1200 students aged between 11 and 16 (years 7 to 11). The school accepts pupils from the areas of: Stubbington, Hill ...

, now known as Prendergast Ladywell Fields College; Prendergast Vale College joined the federation in 2011.

Honours and awards

* Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2014) ** Honorary Freeman of the Borough of Lewisham (2013) **

Freeman of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

(2011)

Appointments

* non-executive director of Wey Education Plc (23 February 2015–present) * Chair of Academic Advisory Board, Wey Education Plc (31 January 2017–present)www.weyeducation.com
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pienaar, Erica 1952 births Living people South African emigrants to the United Kingdom Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Alumni of London South Bank University Women heads of schools in the United Kingdom Heads of schools in London Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Early life and education

Career

Honours and awards

Appointments

See also

References