Glenda grew up and completed her schooling in Queenstown and went on to study teaching in Grahamstown, Stellenbosch and Pretoria. Her first teaching post took her back to her roots where she taught mathematics at Girls’ High School in Queenstown. With some experience under her belt, she became the first female in the then Cape Province’s education department to be placed in a senior management position at a co-educational school when she was appointed as the Deputy Principal at Alexander Road High School, the position she currently holds.

She teaches maths and life sciences/biology, has been involved in teacher development programmes for biology as a subject, has served on provincial structures for this subject and was the teachers’ union, NAPTOSA, representative in the development of the national life sciences curriculum.  She has facilitated numerous workshops including HIV/Aids conferences for both primary and high schools.

Ms Boyes believes in community.  She is an elder at the Newton Park Methodist Church and chairs the church council.  She is chairperson of a home for abandoned babies and is presently involved in setting up a voluntary HIV/Aids counselling and testing clinic and investigating the establishment of a home for abused women. 

On the union front, Glenda has held a variety of positions including serving as provincial Chairperson of the National Union of Educators (NUE) in the Eastern Cape and national Deputy President of the NUE. She has served as a NAPTOSA council member and is presently the Deputy President of the organisation.

She believes that ordinary is very powerful and has borrowed her life’s motto from Queen’s College – Esse Quam Videri – to be, rather than to seem to be.

For her tireless efforts in raising the level of education in our province, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University is honoured to present Glenda Boyes with the Council Prestige Award.