I am excited to be joining the staff here at Toowoomba Grammar School in the role of Head of Curriculum. I grew up in a small coastal town in NSW and attended the University of Sydney to complete my undergraduate degree. Please don’t hold my NSW origin against me (Go Blues!). Teaching, and education, has always been a passion of mine and ever since I was in high school, the plan was to be a teacher. I graduated from the University of Sydney with a double degree in Education and Arts, majoring in both English and History. Since then, I have also completed a Master of Education at the University of New South Wales. I started my career in a comprehensive state high school in Sydney and I have worked in a variety of contexts across my teaching career. In addition, I have fulfilled a variety of roles, focusing on both wellbeing and pastoral care, as well as classroom and curriculum leadership. As a result of these different roles, I have developed a holistic approach to education, believing that educators should develop the whole person. In 2020, I moved from Sydney to Toowoomba with my wife, Stephanie, and we fell in love with the region. We now live on five acres on the outskirts of town with our horses, cats and dogs.
I am incredibly excited to be at Queensland’s leading regional day and boarding school for boys from Prep to Year 12. For generations, TGS has been educating boys and this sense of history and tradition was something that drew me to the School. A boys’ only education allows for not only a focus on academic success, but also to facilitate the growth of boys into young men of strong character and integrity. This is a core focus of TGS that I am keen to contribute to. A holistic approach to education, focusing on academic rigour, as well as character development and wellbeing, is central to educating boys to allow them to flourish individually and contribute to society.
My role as the Head of Curriculum is to facilitate the smooth functioning of our education program in the Senior School. Central to this is ensuring that our curriculum maintains the highest standards of academic rigour, building upon our excellent academic results in previous years, while also ensuring that strong character and wellbeing development is embedded into all facets of our curriculum. In addition, my role is to be a point of contact for all boys and their families as they move through their QCE years, so I look forward to establishing quality connections and working with families to ensure success. One of the focuses here at TGS is explicit instruction. This approach to teaching and learning involves expert teachers modelling to students the learning being delivered and allowing boys the opportunity to consolidate their understanding through practice and high-quality feedback. I am excited to develop and embed this approach to learning in all our teaching programs and continue to build upon the excellent academic results for our boys.
TGS is committed to building deep connections and offering extensive opportunities for our students, and this is something that I am eager be involved with and contribute to. I hope to be able to ensure a rigorous curriculum that focuses on the whole person, while also building upon the incredible opportunities for our boys to access. As the school year begins, I look forward to meeting all our families and working together to ensure the success of all students.
Latest Blog
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We understand that, as parents, we aspire to provide our children with the best education and opportunities for growth. Within the Junior School at Toowoomba Grammar School, we believe in fostering a love for learning while enabling your son to reach his full potential. In this article, we would like to emphasise the significance of automaticity and basic skill practice in extending your child's learning journey, while emphasising the importance of respecting their individual pace. Automaticity…
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Overwhelming pride in wearing the Blue and Gold is a familiar emotion for Toowoomba Grammar School students, as is abundantly evident in all our boys, from Prep to Year 12. This emotion and passion for the School is the essence of our TGS culture and defines what it means to be a TGS student. The launch of the 2022 - 2026 Strategic Plan creates an exciting opportunity for our co-curricular program, which links perfectly into the "character and wellbeing" pillar. The development of good…
Why Study Drama?
As an educator with over 30 years’ experience in the Arts, I specialise in the analytical, creative and practical spheres that quantify and qualify success in drama. I have been a Drama teacher and Arts Project Officer in the Independent, Catholic, state, and private sectors in primary and secondary, single sex and co-educational environments. This longevity of knowledge, gained through firsthand experience, affirms that students who study drama through until at least Year 10 acquire…
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Jeremy Peacock is ranked third in the world in the PTS4 Para category and his sights are set on selection for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. During Jeremy’s time at TGS he represented the School in numerous endeavours but was particularly known for his contributions to the Arts, particularly Music. On the sports field, Jeremy represented TGS in GPS Athletics, Cross Country, Cricket and Football. After returning from a gap year in the UK teaching music at Port Regis School, Dorset, Jeremy…
That Life-Changing Moment
His teacher, Mrs Rosemary Bishop saw his potential. She believed this young indigenous boy from Murgon had something special to offer the world and she fought to put him on the path to greatness. Mrs Bishop contacted the then Headmaster of Toowoomba Grammar School, Mr William Dent and asked if Waverley could be accepted into Toowoomba Grammar School on a scholarship. Mr Dent agreed and so changed the course of Waverley’s life. “I don’t like to think about where I would be now if that hadn’t…
Senioritis - The way we think affects the way we feel and behave
As high school students approach their final year, they may experience a phenomenon known as "Senioritis". As described by educators, Senioritis is a decrease in motivation and productivity, often accompanied by procrastination, complacency, and negative risk-taking behaviours. While not a medical term, Senioritis is a widely recognized term used to describe a common set of observed behaviours. As Jessica Lahey notes, "Senioritis is a real phenomenon. It can be defined as a decline in…
A Space for Learning
A core pillar of the Toowoomba Grammar School Strategic Plan is to provide an inspiring and broad curriculum for all boys, adopting technology and innovative pedagogy to transform learning outcomes. Over the last couple of years, the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted teachers to explore new frontiers of pedagogy, adapting to the difficult circumstances by launching interactive software, digitising trusty, tried and true resources, recording our lessons, flipping our classrooms, and cultivating an…
When it comes to Music, Variety is the Spice of Life
In the Queensland Curriculum, the content of the music syllabus includes the study of the people, places and cultures involved in musical creation and performance. As our country becomes increasingly diverse, it is important for students in every school setting to study a wide variety of musical styles, cultures and genres. The Toowoomba Grammar School Music program of 2022 embraces this holistic approach to the study of music, encouraging teachers and students to explore a variety of musical…
A Trailblazer for Multicultural Australia
Wellington Lee has been described as a trailblazer for multicultural Australia. He was born in 1925 and attended TGS from 1940-42 before serving with the RAAF during WWII from 1943-46 and the Active Reserve of Officers from 1953-83. Mr Lee was a remarkable man of good character who lived in an exciting time of growth and change during Australia’s, and particularly Victoria’s history; the early days in Melbourne when 10% of their population was a thriving Asian community. It was also a…
