Who are we?
Lime Feather Learning® is run by a home educating family, with over 25 years experience. Originally from South Africa, Shirley and Riaan and their six children, now reside in New Zealand.
In 2016, after years of recommending the GED® diploma as an alternative to school-leaving examinations, Shirley launched Go Prep™ in South Africa to help candidates wishing to prepare for the GED® tests. In 2020, Lime Feather Learning® was established to offer the same opportunity in New Zealand and Australia.
Four of their children have ‘graduated’ from home education by completing the GED®, two have studied at university in New Zealand and one is a working university graduate, employed by Air New Zealand! The other will complete her degree at the end of 2024.
Shirley served on the Auckland Home Educators committee from 2020 – 2022 and regularly encourages and advises new home educators in a variety of online info sessions. She has been interviewed by the NZ media on RNZ radio and on 1News on television. (Click the links to the media items.)
In May 2018, Riaan and Shirley attended the 2018 Global Home Education Conference, held in Russia in St. Petersburg and Moscow. She was a speaker at the Global Home Education Conference in 2020 on a panel discussing Political Engagement in the African Context.
Shirley is a home education activist and consultant, who maintains close ties with home educators in her country of origin. She is a well-known a curriculum provider offering various learning materials to South African homeschoolers, including the Footprints On Our Land programmes. As the spokesperson for Liberty in Learning Coalition established in 2020 in South Africa, she participates frequently in consultative meetings with the Department of Basic Education, regarding the drafting of new home education legislation in South Africa. She is part of a team of home education ‘ambassadors’ who motivate the home education community to stand up for their right to freedom in education, at every opportunity in this ongoing process. On a global scale, governments are noticing the growth in home education and in many places, they are trying to impose restrictive legislation.
In 2014 and 2015 she authored two parent books on homeschooling, namely Homeschooling the Primary Years and Homeschooling High School. She offers various other online tools and resources to encourage parents on this educational journey.
Shirley is well-known in the homeschooling community as an expert and speaker at home education events.
Meet our team
Jonathan E. is our customer success manager. He handles enrolments and customer support for the online GED prep programme.
Jonathan is a homeschooled graduate who completed the GED® in 2017 with top marks in all subjects. He has an interest in robotics, electronics and programming. He is studying a degree in Computer Science via the online University of the People.
Kayleigh E is our part time designer and marketing assistant. She was homeschooled all the way and completed the GED® and SAT.
Kayleigh is completing a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Communication at Auckland University of Technology. She is in her third year (in 2024).
Kayleigh also promotes her digital art work online and does freelance portraiture and branding design work.
