Mr Vernon Wood, ex-headmaster of Bergvliet High School, joined Bishops as the new headmaster of the College with effect from 1 January 2009. He has taken on the responsibility of running the College in the same way that Mr Greg Brown has responsibility for running the Preparatory School. Both Mr Brown and Mr Wood will report to the Principal, Grant Nupen, who continues to have overall responsibility for the whole school.

Mr Wood was educated at Wynberg Boys’ High School, and holds a BA, a B.Ed and Higher Diploma in Education from the University of Cape Town. His first teaching position in 1985 was at Queens College, Queenstown, where he taught Geography and was a Hostel master.

In 1990, Mr Wood was appointed Head of Department at Muizenberg High School where, at various times, he served as Subject Head of Geography, Matric Sub- Examiner, Head of Sport and coached rugby and athletics.

Mr Wood was appointed Deputy Principal of Bergvliet High School in July 1997, where he was responsible for the portfolios of Pastoral Care, Property, Sport, Information Technology and a co-opted member of the Governing Body. During this time he spent a year, with his family, on a teacher exchange at Portchester School in the United Kingdom.

In 2005 Mr Wood was appointed Principal of Bergvliet High School, a position which he filled with great distinction, while managing significant change at the school. Under his strong leadership, Bergvliet made bold changes with regard to curriculum through the introduction of inter-active whiteboards to enhance teaching and learning, improvements to the sporting programme and the development of partnerships with the community. He is married to Betty-Ann, and has 3 children – Belinda, Heather and Nicholas. Vernon and his family are strong Christians, worshipping at Meadowridge Baptist Church. Betty-Ann runs her own Play School in Tokai.

Mr Wood and his family will reside on the campus as soon as suitable accommodation can be built. The Bishops Family warmly welcomes Vernon and his family. We wish him success in this fresh chapter of his career and at Bishops. We trust that it will prove fulfilling for both him and his family.

Grant Nupen