Sharonlea Primary School welcomed their new principal Judy Ayres at the beginning of June. Ayres has been in education for 23 years and was previously the principal of Blair Atholl Primary Farm School for seven years before she took on this role.
Ayres has taken on the challenge of the position in her stride, with a clear goal to ensure the school runs as ‘a hub of excellence’ in her time as principal of the school. In a turbulent time for South African learners, Ayres was aware that there is a need to take the different contexts and backgrounds of learners in the education system into account. The recent call for transformed environments at schools has ushered in a need for an informed team of education professionals to lead the country into a brighter future.
The principal expressed her desire to ensure that no learner gets left behind. Sharonlea Primary School has taken measures to make sure that learners from all socio-economic backgrounds have access to the material needed to complete the school year, in the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic.
As a family person, the principal spoke about the positive impact her parents played in her life, as well as how that has informed the kind of mother and principal she has been. Ayres has been a firm believer in individuals being given the opportunity to play to her strengths, which is how she endeavours to run the primary school. Although Covid-19 has served as a unique challenge, Ayres was confident in the school’s ability to succeed, well into the future.
