Ms Kath Barnard joins the Riebeek staff as a high school English teacher.  Here she tells us a bit about herself: “Having spent most of my life in Grahamstown, I attended St Andrews Prepartory School followed by the Diocesan School for Girls, where I matriculated from. 
 
From school I followed in the footsteps of my paternal grandparents and parents, and attended Rhodes University. There I read for a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Political and International Studies, and Anthropology. During my undergraduate years, I minored in English Language and Linguistics, isiXhosa Non-Mother Tongue, and English.
 
Following my BA, I completed an Honours degree in Anthropology at Rhodes University. The focus of my research and thesis in this degree was in the manner in which kinship is negotiated in relation to social security. 
 
Once I had completed my Honours, I knew it was time to pursue a key passion of mine, teaching! I enrolled for  PGCE at Rhodes University, and joined both my paternal grandparents and my parents in having attained teaching qualifications from Rhodes University.
 
I grew up surrounded by teaching, schools and social development. The values instilled in me by my family and by my education mean that for the most part, my greatest aspirations for my teaching is that it is meaningful! 
 
I have a huge love for reading and writing, and am frequently found with a book in my hand (or bag). I am a runner, though very slow! I very proudly ran my first half marathon in 2017. I am passionate about social justice, so have spend much of my time volunteering, particularly with literacy projects. I love cooking, laughing and afternoon naps!
 
My favourite words are those from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, “Do not raise your voice, improve your argument”. It is a mantra I keep close to my heart.”