Tessa was born on 13 June 1955, and christened Theresa Anne. Her primary and high school years was spent at Springfield Convent, she matriculated in 1972. Tessa has fond memories of her school years and was on the past pupils committee for many years.

After school unsure of what career path to take, she completed a secretarial course for 6 months, acquiring typing, office administration skills. Deciding to be a music teacher, she started at UCT in 1974 to begin her 4 year B Mus degree which she completed in 1977.

Tessa started her teaching career at Kirstenhof Primary where she taught recorder and piano. She headed the music department and was in charge of the choir. Tessa spent 5 years at Kirstenhof Primary and has only happy memories of her time there.

From Kirstenhof Primary, Tessa advanced to Wynberg Girls Primary where her mother had taught music for many years. The headmistress Vera Lawton and the head of music department , Yvonne Richter, were both close friends of Tessa’s family.