Our Team
Rachel Bowyer
Co-founder, Principal and Educator
South African Council for Educators Registration No. 12535835
As you’d expect, for a Principal, Rachel has many leadership qualities, including regular observation and feedback sessions with her team. She is also our ‘documentation’ champion; as she records, displays and reflects the thoughts, observations and wonderings of children.
Rachel has a Masters with Distinction in Education, a Postgraduate Certificate to teach Specific Learning Difficulties and a BEd Honours in Mathematics and Music – Piano and Clarinet.
In the 11 years prior to launching our quality, diverse and affordable school, Rachel experienced Quintile 1-3 schools, where she worked with Senior Managers and trained / mentored Grade R-4 educators to teach English and isiZulu.
Philip Bowyer
Co-founder, Intermediates and Religious Studies
South African Council for Educators Registration No. 12781422
With a Master’s in Leadership in Education from Liverpool John Moores University — an institution with a 200-year history as a catalyst for educational transformation in its city (LJMU, 2024) — Philip is passionate about reversing the trend of a South African schooling system that separates children along economic lines, and instead nurturing a generation who learn to live together.
An accredited Minister of Religion with a Bachelor of Theology Honours, Philip is able to draw on his experiences as a youth worker, holding a Diploma in Theology and Youth Ministry. These foundations in theology and relational leadership shape his commitment to holistic, values-based education.
In addition, Philip’s Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Product Design, lends itself to a Reggio-inspired progettazione (design-based thinking) approach to education. Combined with his curricular knowledge, this involves listening deeply, discerning thoughtfully, and encouraging students to hypothesize, research, and imagine new possibilities. His facilitation builds on the school’s diversity of thought, background, and disciplines (Peng, 2018).
Nolwazi Msane
isiZulu Educator and Teaching Assistant (Foundation Phase)
South African Council for Educators Registered
Nolwazi joined Soul Action’s educational journey over ten years ago, as a member of Rachel’s team of local community members facilitating the teaching of English to learners in one of Durban’s largest lower economic communities. Since then, Nolwazi has trained as a Child Care Practitioner, and, in May 2021, joined the staff team as our first isiZulu-speaking educator.
Zac Bowyer
Foundation Phase Educator
South African Council for Educators Registration No. 12797307
Zac joined the team in August 2023, after training as a Primary School Mathematics Specialist in the UK, followed by a year teaching Grade 3s in Abu Dhabi. Zac describes our school as “…a safe, joy-filled space, where all children are valued and all children can develop a deep love for learning.”
As well as a gift for Mathematics, Zac has a First-Class Honours Degree in Philosophy and Politics.
He is well read, loves writing and has developed a real passion for English, which is especially valuable for those children in our Foundation Phase, for whom English is not their Home Language. In his spare time Zac maintains a healthy lifestyle, including regular sessions at the gym. He brings this passion to the teaching of PE.
