My name is Vernon Dickason, and I have the privilege of serving as Vice Rector at Paul Roos Gimnasium in Stellenbosch, where I help shape institutional life and learning. My professional journey spans more than 15 years in education, institutional leadership and systems design.

​

My academic journey began with studies in computer and network engineering; a field that sparked a curiosity still guiding how I engage with new challenges, especially in education. I went on to complete two years of LLB studies, followed by a Bachelor's degree in Theology and a Master's with an interdisciplinary focus on hermeneutics, ecclesiology and law. Thereafter I completed a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), formalising my commitment to teaching and learning.

My work brings together strategic planning, institutional development and digital innovation, with a strong focus on supporting holistic growth in schools and communities.

 

Personal Journey

My path has never been linear. It has been layered, lived and led by questions. From theological lecture halls to mapping and building computer networks, from policy tables to pastoral conversations, I have sought to understand how systems shape souls, and how stories shape institutions.

I have walked alongside learners, colleagues and communities; listening, supporting and co-creating. My journey has also taken me across borders: living and working in England, Israel and Thailand in various capacities, and spending two formative years teaching in South Korea. These global and academic encounters have shaped my understanding of institutional complexity and the universal longing for purposeful learning. Each step has strengthened my conviction: education is not merely transmission, but transformation.

 

During my earlier academic years, I taught Biblical Greek and Hebrew at Stellenbosch University. This experience deepened my engagement with language, meaning and interpretation, and invited me to explore how ancient texts shape modern understanding. In a country with eleven official languages, it also sharpened my awareness of cultural nuance, linguistic diversity and the power of words to build bridges.

​

I currently teach History as a subject, which allows me to engage learners in South Africa’s complex past. Through this work, I aim to foster a sense of restorative justice, helping young people understand the narratives that shaped our society, and empowering them to contribute to a more thoughtful and inclusive future.

 

 

Vision for Education
I believe education must be a sanctuary for agency; a place where young people learn not just what to think, but how to choose. It must honour complexity, cultivate courage and invite contribution. My vision is for schools that are not merely compliant, but covenantal; not merely efficient, but ethical. I seek to model leadership that is humble, strategic and service-oriented, where infrastructure meets imagination and curriculum meets care.

I believe South African education needs more voices that are principled, poetic and practical. Voices that can hold both vision and vulnerability, both critique and compassion.

I do not claim to have all the answers, nor do I present my work as such. My hope is to ask better questions; questions that open space for reflection, courage and co-creation.

​

​

​

​​

"Education is the great engine of personal development.

It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor,

that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine…

It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another."

-  Nelson Mandela