The 40-year-old will be the recipient of an all expenses paid trip worth about $30,000 to visit schools in the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States for 10 weeks in May and June next year, where he hopes to examine different teaching practices.
''I will be looking at developing leadership and character education and, in general, initiatives that raise academic achievement.
''It will be great to bring back some learnings and apply them here.''
As part of his fellowship, he will also attend a leadership programme at Harvard University, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Mr Reddiex is this year one of 15 leading and outstanding New Zealand teachers, principals and polytechnic senior managers selected for the award, for displaying integrity, leadership, boldness of vision and exceptional zeal, keenness and capacity for work. Not all 15 have yet been named.
For Mr Reddiex, the fellowship came out of the blue. No applications are accepted for the award. Instead, the fellowships are conferred by the Woolf Fisher trustees in accord with Sir Woolf's wishes that a ''magic of surprise'' always be associated with the announcement of the awards and that no deserving teachers be rejected because of a limited number of awards.
The trustees use a system of nomination which seeks to ensure the awards are made to worthy principals and teachers across a representative range of schools and subjects.
Mr Reddiex said he first learned of the fellowship two weeks ago when he received a phone call from the trust.
The element of surprise was carried over to staff and pupils at King's High School who were unaware he had won the fellowship until it was announced at the school's prizegiving at the Regent Theatre this week that he was the only secondary school principal in New Zealand to secure a fellowship this year.
Mr Reddiex was humble about the fellowship, and said it was recognition of many people's hard work.
Mr Reddiex has been principal at King's High School for the past five years.
Before that, he was assistant principal at Otago Boys' High School, and an economics teacher and football coach at King's and Palmerston North Boys' High School.
Recipients continue to receive their salary during the term of the fellowship and relief teaching costs in the recipient's school are provided by the Ministry of Education.
