Retired twice but loved endlessly, Mev Liande Engelbrecht proved that no matter how hard Redhill tries to let her go, her students will always find a reason to celebrate her all over again.
Sandton, South Africa (10 November 2026) – After serving more than 20 years at Redhill, Mev Liande Engelbrecht had finally retired… or so she thought.
The school held a farewell, shed tears, and wished her a wonderful, well-deserved retirement. However, only a few months passed before the school found itself in a bit of a predicament, needing Mev Engelbrecht to return to her teaching post to help them out.
“And, being Liande, she came back,” Redhill School shared in a post.
But last week, something happened that none of the teachers or staff could have planned. The Senior School students asked if they could organise a farewell of their own. Not because it was on the calendar. Not because anyone told them to. Simply because they wanted her to know what she meant to them.
There are farewells that schools organise. And then there are farewells that students insist on organising. The second kind tells you something extraordinary about a teacher. Mev Liande Engelbrecht was the kind of teacher who didn’t just deliver a lesson; she made a lasting impact on the youngsters who entered her classroom.
With strength, integrity, extraordinary care, and the kind of quiet influence that stays with people long after they leave her classroom, she has helped shape generations of Redhill students. She has held them to high standards, believed in them, stood by them and, perhaps most importantly, left them better than she found them.
And last week, they made sure she knew it.
The youngsters saw it as only fitting to organise a send-off that reflected the phenomenal teacher she is; one who gladly returned from retirement to ensure no child at Redhill was deprived of the education they deserved.
“In the middle of what happened to be Halloween celebrations (hence the rather extraordinary outfits in the images), the students gathered to thank her.”
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“Mevrou, thank you,” the school said.
“For the years, the lessons, the unwavering commitment, and the countless lives you’ve touched. For coming back when we needed you. And for reminding us that the true measure of a teacher’s impact isn’t found in the years they serve, but in the people who never forget them.”
Redhill wished the dedicated teacher well on her retirement, teasing that she should probably put her phone on silent this time, as they have a rather poor track record of letting her go!
Sources: Redhill School
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