'Iron Lady' rules Boys' High
2011-06-09
Lise Beyers
SHE may be pint-sized, a Pommie and on top of that blonde, but Paarl Boys’ High’s new operations manager, Sue Davis, rules the roost with an iron fist. Davies was appointed to this position recently, taking over the reins from Andrew Bretherton who has moved on to KwaZulu-Natal. And a mammoth task she has taken on. Her job description entails that she is at the helm of the maintenance of all of BHS buildings, hostels, grounds and sports fields, as well as overseeing the kitchens. On top of that, she is also responsible for running school functions. Basically, says Sue, she is responsible for everything at the school that is not academic, which means she is on call 24/7. But this appointment has not gone unnoticed by a handful of staunch members of a previously male dominated society, whose eye-brows have been raised by a woman taking on this difficult job. “I have already proved them wrong, as it is a well-known fact that women are far better multi-taskers than men.” Davies fell into this position purely by being a Boys’ High mom, through and through. She and her family immigrated to South Africa in 1996 from England, making Paarl their home. When her eldest, Richard, started school, the obvious choice was Paarl Boys’ Primary School. Being relatively new in town, she offered her services to the school wherever she could help. And so Davies almost became part of the furniture, moving her legacy later on to BHS, when Richard entered high school. “I arrived as a complete outsider, but due to my involvement and commitment, I built a life for myself around the school.” Davies said that her ability to manage the huge tasks which her job entails, is due to the fact that she grew up on a farm and is used to hard work. She also has a degree in hotel management. Currently Sue is laying a new computer cable running from the main building of the school, underneath Auret Street to the hostels. Then there is a new irrigation system which has to be put in place and this is over and above the general day to day running of the school premises. Her telephones do not stop ringing, the name Sue is called out several times a minute, and when in her office, an influx of people move in and out. Her life has now truly become like Piccadilly Circus as she whizzes between Auret and Brug Streets in her characteristic Mini Cooper painted with the Union Jack and boasting the registration number POMMIE-WP. But, says Sue, she enjoys every minute of it: “When I eventually get home at night to my husband, often to sit and mend a broken school banner, I am pleasantly exhausted.” And Sue is best described by the men who work directly with her. One of them, labourer George Williams, praises her, saying that they walk hand in hand with her: “She gives us all her support and we support her in everything she does. She is like Margaret Thatcher, a true Iron Lady.”
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