She had acted in the role of principal several times.
"Whenever a staff member of Mrs Whyman's calibre leaves a school they take a vast amount of experience and knowledge with them," he said. Mrs Whyman, who is "in her 60s", has been deputy principal at the school for 18 years.
Both the school and Order of St John have benefitted from her administrative skills.
She has been the regional director of community Services for St John and is chairwoman of the Dunedin area committee.
She was appointed a Dame of the Order of St John in 2004.
She liked seeing the school run smoothly.
Good staff relations were important and she had enjoyed the administrative organisation.
It had been particularly satisfying to set up a timetable which allowed pupils to take subject choices they might not get at larger schools, she said.
The national certificate in educational achievement (NCEA) had fragmented some of the traditional subjects.
Chemistry and biology students found it harder to get a "total overview" of their subjects, she said.
The paperwork attached to NCEA was "horrendous".
Field trips were now subject to strict health and safety checks and outdoor education was likely to be closely watched, following the recent North Island tragedy, she said.
The controls "shouldn't take the fun out of what you are doing", she said. Teaching was great when pupils "caught on" to what they were being taught, and delivered "beyond expectations", she said.
Mrs Whyman's knowledge of the operation of East Otago High School has been extensive to the point where staff would say "ask Joyce", when a difficult administrative problem arose.
The school had been a very good place to work, and she was particularly proud of the way in which the whole staff worked together while she was acting principal in term one this year, to prepare the way for the new principal.
Mrs Whyman's advice to new pupils was "have a go".
"Try new subjects. You will be in small classes with teachers who support you."
Despite the bad press secondary school teaching often received, Mrs Whyman recommended it as "a great career" if a teacher put in the work and set standards to gain the respect of pupils.
The new "star" and "gateway' programmes for senior pupils, which provided opportunities that led towards employment, including apprenticeships while continuing with high school and tertiary level education, were "a good leap" she said.
Mrs Whyman, who was brought up in Croydon, near London, worked as a medical researcher for two years after attending university.
Teaching had always appealed to her and her university degree allowed her to move straight into secondary teaching at Clapham County Grammar School in London.
She had taught at several convent schools in London and St Hildas and St Pauls High Schools, Moreau College and Kavanagh College in Dunedin before coming to East Otago High School.
