Headmaster

Prince Alfred College

Adelaide, Australia

2000 - 2004

I was appointed as Prince Alfred College’s 9th Headmaster in late 1998, commencing duties on the first day of 2000.  While at Prince Alfred College, one of Australia's most famous boys' schools (established in 1869), I oversaw a period of significant and rapid change.  Many people would say this change was long overdue, dragging a somewhat conservative, inward-looking but well-meaning board and its excessively enmeshed finance staff out of the 20th into the 21st century.  I was surprised by the poor state of many buildings (Library, Science Labs, Preparatory School) and educational shortcomings in the areas of limited languages program, anaemic support for the IB, no Gifted and Talented program, and sub-standard boarding facilities.  One of my first initiatives was to commission the Milennium Hanging, a massive quilted hanging for the Hall that symbolised unity by assembling the handprint and signature of every student and staff member in the school on 1st January 2000.  As soon as I arrived, I introduced a regular daily “Open Door” time for staff who were welcomed to come to my office unannounced to discuss any topic or question.  I worked to build a strong relationship with PAOCA (Prince Alfred Old Collegians Association), travelling to attend almost every country and interstate reunion during my tenure as well as every one of the multiple reunions held in Adelaide.  I oversaw three substantial building programs, upgraded classrooms (including introducing air conditioning), oversaw a complete re-fitting of the Hall with new seating, and played a pivotal role in developing the master plan which guided major campus redevelopment during the subsequent ten years.  I diversified the staffing profile by appointing more young staff, including more women, and oversaw a much-needed growth in student enrolments of about 15% (Annual Reports show there were 909 students when I arrived in early 2000, 934 in early 2001, 952 in early 2002 and 963 in early 2003; by the end of 2003 there were 996 students).  The strong growth of enrolments resulted from the appointment of an excellent new director in the Admissions Office who was supported by innovative marketing campaigns that controversially included television advertising and posters on bus shelters.  I worked tirelessly to promote the College’s ethos as a Uniting Church school, including creating the new position of Youth Minister, through his weekly Newsletter articles, my public addresses and my weekly speeches at school assemblies.  Always seeking to build new directions that authentically flowed from the College’s rich history and traditions, I actively ensured growth the School’s Archives facilities, developed a gallery called “Our Princes Men” in a high-traffic area of the school to celebrate the substantial achievements of alumni as role models to current students, initiated the Vintage Reds reunions to supplement the Old Old Boys annual assemblies, and commissioned historian and ex-student Ron Gibbs to update, expand and re-publish his 1984 “History of Prince Alfred College”.  I promoted the school internationally, establishing a sister school relationship with Datong High School in Shanghai (China), personally recruiting several tens of students from China, and (less successfully) promoting the College at recruitment fairs in Russia and Eastern Europe.  Throughout my time at Prince Alfred College, I chose to stay in touch with my students and with my teachers’ daily needs by teaching full regular classes of Geography.  I developed and implemented a new Strategic Plan following extensive consultation, I developed a highly effective incentive awards program that stimulated student effort and achievement in the classroom, I established the Einstein Program to meet the needs of Gifted and Talented students, guided the formation of the Noel Baker Centre for School Mathematics, I saw every student individually in my office on their birthday, introduced leadership training camps for prefects, co-ordinated a significant and overdue updating of the school uniform, and I developed and introduced the nationally-acclaimed, ground-breaking Eudemology program.  This last innovation was one of several that led to the school being named one of “Australia’s Top 10 Schools” by 'The Australian' newspaper during three years of the five years that I was there, something that has not been repeated by any school before or since.  Upon leaving Prince Alfred College to take up a new headship in Hong Kong, I donated a new trophy, the Wesley Cup, as a peak award for the restructured annual house competition, becoming the College’s first Headmaster since 1886 to leave in order to take up another position (as opposed to retiring).

A gallery of photos showing the school during my headship can be seen HERE.

A discussion of my portrait by Ron Hannaford on the College’s main stairway can be seen HERE.