Redhill School executive head Joseph Gerassi has returned from Dubai with one of the world’s top honours in education: The Outstanding Contribution in Education Award from the 2025 GESS International Education Awards.

The recognition highlights leaders who are redefining how schools think, teach, and support young people. Gerassi describes the award as a shared achievement. He believes South Africa is producing exceptional educational ideas and says the recognition affirms the work happening across the Redhill community, from teachers who experiment with new approaches to learners who embrace different ways of learning.

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Under his leadership, Redhill has redesigned its schooling model from the earliest years to matric. The early learning centre follows a Reggio Emilia philosophy, an educational approach that views children as curious, capable individuals who learn through exploration and self-guided discovery, the junior school has eliminated homework and formal testing, and the middle school is tailored to the developmental needs of early adolescence.

He added that, in the senior school, learners choose between the IEB and the IB syllabi, something he believes gives them real agency over their futures.

A major theme in Gerassi’s work is the idea of learning without fear. “By reducing early testing and limiting homework to meaningful tasks, I aim to remove anxiety and strengthen curiosity.”

He said children learn more deeply when they are not tying their self-worth to marks, or fearing mistakes. He points to Redhill’s consistent top results as evidence that wellbeing and achievement can go hand in hand.

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Teacher development is another cornerstone of his approach. “Redhill has built professional learning time into the school timetable, ensuring teachers have space to collaborate, engage with new research, and improve their craft.”

Gerassi pointed out that this has strengthened relationships, improved alignment across phases, and had a direct impact on student engagement.

He also founded the redefine education conference, which has grown into a major national platform for creative, research-based thinking in education. The event brings together experts in neuroscience, wellbeing, creativity, AI, and learning design, and opens those conversations to teachers, parents, and emerging educators.

Gerassi believes the skills learners need most are those AI cannot replace: Creativity, critical thinking, compassion, curiosity, and the ability to navigate uncertainty.

Although the award is an international milestone, he views it as an invitation to push further. His goal is to prepare young people who can think independently, approach the world with integrity, and leave every space better than they found it.

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