Anrieke Olivier, new headmaster of The Mountain Cambridge Primary School.

The Mountain Cambridge School’s new primary school headmaster, Anrieke Olivier, sees her job as a calling to raise a real-world-ready generation.
“I think I was born a teacher. I grew up in a teaching family. My dad has a Doctorate in education, and my mother was a speech therapist at Meerhof School and in private practice for 35 years. Since I was little I had one dream and that was to teach,” says this energetic educator, well-known for her passionate teaching methods.
Anrieke was born and raised in Hartbeespoort and after school, she received a full scholarship to study teaching. During her studies, she worked as an intern teacher from the age of 19. After completing her Bachelor’s degree, she was awarded an additional scholarship to complete her Honours degree in Education. Anrieke holds an Honours Degree in Early Childhood Development and Foundation Phase Education and postgraduate studies in Barriers to Learning and Learning Difficulties. Recognised for her dedication, she earned a full scholarship and internship at Africa’s largest private education provider.
“I specialised in learning difficulties in my post-graduate studies because I have a passion to identify and solve problems. It was important to me to know how to spot a potential problem and what to do about it. I believe in early intervention and have seen many success stories in my teaching career. Having a mother as a speech therapist also inspired me to support learners who have the potential to excel with the correct action plan,” she says.
Her early career focused on developing assessment instruments and conducting teacher training workshops across South Africa. Since joining Mountain Cambridge School in 2011 as a Grade 2 educator, she has completed numerous specialised certifications and played a key role in obtaining accreditation and establishing MCS as a Thinking School with the University of Exeter, in the UK.
She teaches mathematics and her focus is to remove the “stress” from mathematics. “A learner’s emotional well-being and mathematical skills are closely linked. If a child is stressed or anxious, he or she can’t make plans and solve a problem. One has to look at a child’s well-being and then concentrate on mathematics. I focus on eliminating anxiety from mathematics as it negatively affects learners’ problem-solving skills. I cultivate a growth mindset in the learners to embrace the process and to learn from their mistakes. I teach Grade 2 and 3 mathematics and I believe you have to hold maths in your hand before you can hold it in your head. Math lessons in my class is filled with manipulatives, play dough, counters and even pizza when we do fractions!”
Anrieke Olivier was appointed as deputy principal foundation Phase in 2020 and now as headmaster.
She recently co-authored with her Pre-Primary and Foundation Phase teachers, two children’s books, to encourage critical thinking.
Other passions besides teaching? “I live and breathe teaching, however, my family is everything and spending time going on holiday is most precious as I get to catch up on their lives and just “be” with them in the moment. Especially since my husband and I work long hours, family time is treasured. I have so much energy and use family to recharge!”
And she loves walking. I go for a long walk every morning to clear my head, recharge and visualise my day ahead. My job is a calling and my superpower is to transform dreams into action plans to make it attainable.”