Canada beckons for TAS principal
AFTER a transformational seven years as head of Toowoomba Anglican School, Simon Lees will leave the city at the end of the second term.
Having successfully overseen the growth of the school from a primary-only preparatory school into a full kindergarten to Grade 12 offering, Mr Lees is taking a new position as the founding principal of Gordonstoun Nova Scotia.
To be built on the site of an old theme park in the remote eastern reaches of Canada, the school will be a twin school of the world renowned Gordonstoun School in Scotland.
“The Toowoomba community has made me feel welcome from day one, and I know it’s going to be a community I’m going to miss,” Mr Lees said.
Looking back on his time at TAS, Mr Lees said being able to introduce full K-12 schooling was a huge milestone in the history of the school.
The first Grade 12 cohort graduated in 2018, with just 12 students.
It’s undoubtedly a risk for a parent, sending their children to a school that’s never offered senior schooling in its century of operation.
But both students and parents “bought into the journey”, something for which Mr Lees will always be thankful.
“I think there was a great sense of achievement, not only for myself but also for the whole school,” he said.
“And I’m confident that … not just the first, but the first two or three graduating classes, they were the pioneers, and I think that their connection to the school will remain strong throughout their lives.”
This year, numbers in most year groups at TAS are hovering around the 50 per year mark.
Mr Lees said he was excited for his new role – especially the opportunity to start a school from scratch.
And he said it was a great honour for a school in Australia to be recognised as having the same characteristics as Gordonstoun’s world-leading model.
Opening in September 2022, the 101ha Gordonstoun Nova Scotia school will be located in the Municipality of the County of Annapolis, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Mr Lees’ teaching career has taken him around the world and across Australia.
But he can trace his decision to become a teacher back to his time in Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, when he was 20.
He’d just completed a cycling tour of Ireland with his brother and took a summer job at the Shankill Leisure Centre.
“It was genuinely one of the world’s tougher streets. I was probably the only person who applied for the job,” he said.
“I worked with some disadvantaged children … and whilst it was tough, I think there was a moment there when I thought – this is something.
“There was a real connection in terms of wanting to have an involvement with and making a difference in young people’s lives.
“And I’ve never regretted that decision.”
A search by the school council for Mr Lees’ replacement is under way.