Roz Mexted, Westlake Girls High School
After almost three decades of service, respected Westlake Girls High School principal Alison Gernhoefer retired at the end of 2011. After an extensive recruitment process (there were apparently 18 applicants), the impressive lady chosen to replace her is Roz Mexted, formerly the principal of Marton’s Nga Tawa Diocesan School. While these are both girls’ schools, the two appear to be poles apart. Nga Tawa is a boarding school of under 300 girls in a rural New Zealand setting. Westlake Girls, with a roll of 2200 (and 175 staff), is the country’s biggest school for girls. Channel Magazine’s Aidan Bennett interviewed Roz Mexted in her new office, just as she was making herself comfortable in mid-January.
A chat with Roz Mexted New Principal, Westlake Girls High School
When I was at school, I never liked going near the principal’s office. So, even though I have matured a little in the three decades-plus since leaving Waiuku College – gaining four School C subjects by the skin of my teeth – I still feel a bit nervous for some reason when I go near any office that has the titles ‘Principal’ or ‘Headmaster’ on the door. I had the same uneasy feeling when I went to meet Roz Mexted at Westlake Girls. There was a long slow stroll up the staircase to the top floor of the impressive new admin block, named after the retiring principal, and eventually I arrived at the big daunting door that has the principal’s name on it.
However, it only took a matter of minutes to warm to Westlake Girls’
Roz Mexted. Not only is she warm and friendly, but also very attractive.
Roz was born and raised in Wellington, attending Queen Margaret College and Wellington Girls, before moving on to Victoria University where she completed a Bachelor Degree in Linguistics. She then followed a calling to be a teacher, going on to teach at Upper Hutt College and her old school Queen Margaret.
The very interesting aspect about Roz is that she then left teaching for a commercial career in knitwear design after entering the 1986 Benson & Hedges Design Awards. She ran her own knitwear design business for a number of years and was also a Wool Board Ambassador.
In fact, if you Google Roz Mexted now, there are a good number of her designs for sale on Trade Me. What you will also discover is that she has written a book on Designer Knits, which is available from Amazon and through many other channels.
After getting married (now divorced) and having daughter Sophie in the late ‘80s – a time when she also lived in Auckland – and Takapuna for a bit – Roz decided to get back into teaching in the mid-90s. She discovered that she loved it more than ever, going on to complete a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration (Honours), extramurally from Massey University.
This was followed by a period teaching in Hawkes Bay and eventually being appointed Deputy Principal at Woodford House. She was appointed Principal of Nga Tawa in 2001 – a position she held for over a decade.
In 2008, Roz was also elected as the New Zealand Principals’ representative on the Australasian Alliance of Girls’ School Executive, an eight-member executive board.
“I enjoyed my time at Nga Tawa immensely,” said Roz Mexted, reflecting on her reasons for moving North. “But, after a decade running a country school, it was time for a change. While I was there, we had a great team and we worked hard to develop the school and make it more desirable. The development of the equestrian academy – modelled on North American schools that I visited – was a highlight. Nga Tawa had always had a strong reputation academically, but it needed to have wider appeal. The development of the school culturally, in sports and with the international exchange programme, helped to lift the popularity of the school considerably.” “But I must admit after seven years I started thinking about a change and, when 10 was on the horizon, I knew that I needed a new challenge. The options were Auckland or Australia – where my daughter lives – and I have been visiting four times a year, being on the Australasian Alliance of Girls’ School Executive. But when the challenge of Westlake Girls came up, it fitted perfectly. I had decided that after a decade, I needed a school without borders. I wanted a multicultural school and the bigger scale was appealing. I also really liked the thinking of the board who had been very thorough during the selection process. Even surveying parents, teachers and pupils about what they wanted in their new principal. So it was a thrill to be given the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of Alison (Gernhoefer).”
Roz Mexted actually started at Westlake Girls during term four last year, and has spent that time familiarising herself with the school. You get the feeling that she is not going to rush into making big changes in a hurry. Any changes will be well thought out.
She says that the strategic planning work the board has done over the past 12 months has isolated some key areas that need to be addressed and she is looking forward to implementing the initiatives required. She also has some thoughts on tweaking the structure of the school.
“The school culture and spirit is very important. We need to articulate our values and visions,” says Roz. “I am very keen on assemblies and structure but, with a hall that holds 500 and a school roll of over 2000, it is difficult at present to hold a full school assembly. But with the completion of our fabulous new covered courts facility, getting the whole school together will hopefully become a reality. From what I have observed over the past few months, we have fabulous girls, and fabulous staff, but structurally we are five different schools, years nine through to 13. There may be a better structure that will provide better leadership. I believe that role models are important. From that perspective, our year 13 girls play an important part. I am not keen on mufti for them and I also have a desire to look at the school uniform.”
I put it to Roz Mexted that running a school of this size is like running a business. It was a comment that she totally agreed with. And part of the role she enjoys.
“It is no different than running a business. The people are very important. My role is to manage the people. The board provides the governance and then it is up to me, with assistance from senior management, to implement things. Our business is education, but there are also some opportunities commercially around our facilities that have resulted from the building and facility development programme of the past few years. We have the hockey and soccer turfs and the covered courts that will provide revenue for the school. Hand in hand with facilities of this standard comes significant repair and maintenance costs, so revenue will be important. I am not losing sight, however, of the need for me to be in classrooms. This will be an emphasis, particularly over the first six to 12 months.”
So what sort of leadership style does Roz Mexted have? I put that question directly to her.
“First and foremost I am a creative person. Always with lots of ideas. I believe I am good at working out how to implement things and make things happen. A doer. I am inclusive, so like to involve people and I don’t ask people to do things that I wouldn’t do myself. At the same time I am firm, but fair. Very comfortable having the hard conversations. While I believe I am open and transparent, I can say ‘no’ very easily. At the same time, if I make a mistake I will admit it and this is something I ask my staff to do as well. I would also describe myself as anti-dramatic and very matter of fact. Pragmatic, focused on results. I also get a real kick out of working with people and seeing them grow in what they are doing.”
A key part of the new role for Roz will be connecting with the local community and the business sector.
“I really value the healthy relationship we have with Westlake Boys,” says Roz. “I am looking forward to working closely with David Ferguson (Westlake Boys Principal) and his team. Getting out into the community and meeting key stakeholders as well as business and community groups is part of my term one plan as well.”
My conclusion, after spending an hour with Roz Mexted, is that the Westlake Girls High School board can take a bow. They have chosen an excellent new leader for their school.
I finished the interview with a few questions about her ‘favourites’ to help paint the full picture of Roz Mexted.
Interests: Fitness – biking, walking; Snow skiing; Art – collecting contemporary New Zealand art; Good design and architecture; Cooking – my partner Gavin (Yortt) owns Squawking Magpie Winery (Hawkes Bay), so he supplies the wine and I love exploring the food.
Reading: I am into philosophical books, recent books have been... ‘The Monk who sold his Ferrari’ (Robert Kharma), ‘Good to Great’ (by Jim Collins), ‘Ageless Body, Timeless Mind’ (Deepak Chopra).
Favourite Drink: I am not a big drinker but I better say I enjoy a Squawking Magpie Chardonnay!
Favourite Food: A big seafood fan. I loved New Orleans for its food. Crab cakes in New York are special.
Movies: Recent movies I have enjoyed were ‘The King’s Speech’ and ‘The Iron Lady’. I am also susceptible to chick flicks and movies that make you laugh.
Favourite Holiday spot in New Zealand: Torrent Bay, Abel Tasman National Park (Nelson).
Favourite Holiday spot overseas: Lake Como, Italy.
If Roz Mexted wasn’t in education what would you be doing? I have always liked the thought of being a court lawyer. Ensuring fairness and justice.
Doing what I love doing
