Meet the new CEO at Tanglin Trust

Meet Craig Considine, father of five, former professional football player and athlete, and the new CEO of Tanglin Trust School.

Your life has been split between Australia and the UK. Where do you consider home?

Home is a little place in Victoria called Barwon Heads. I worked at Geelong Grammar School, Australia, prior to taking up the Headmaster post at Wanganui Collegiate School, an independent boarding and day school in New Zealand. Friends encouraged me to consider the UK, as there are many boarding schools there. Millfield was a fit through its international and co-curricular focus. I was Headmaster at Millfield for 10 years. We have two married daughters in the UK and three young adults – aged 25, 21 and 21 – in Melbourne.

Five kids – that’s impressive! How has being a parent affected your work as an educator?

Being a parent helps one understand “grey!” It’s critical to support and nurture the nuances in individual people. Schools create culture, expectations and aspirations – just as families do – and we create a synergy between these to support positive outcomes for children. This is developed through good dialogue between home and school, ensuring consistency in the messages given to each young person.

Before moving here, had you spent much time on the Little Red Dot?

I have been a regular visitor here in my previous role as Headmaster of Millfield. There are families in Singapore that have children at Tanglin and Millfield. My visits have been centred around recruitment, so mainly work-related, but I have friends here as well. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed visiting Singapore on these occasions and am delighted to now have an opportunity to live and work here, and to further get to know the country and culture.

Millfield has an impressive list of former students that are now politicians, musicians, Olympic athletes – even the current King of Thailand. What is your view on balancing academics with endeavours like music and sport?

Balance is critical in life. Schools like businesses can be double-edged, talking a good game about balance and wellbeing while driving unrealistic expectations around academics, sport, personal development and family. Inevitably, something has to give. Pre-smartphones, we all had “space” to de- clutter and switch off. Parents have to be realistic in “balancing” programmes and setting expectations.

You competed at the Commonwealth Games in the decathlon and played professional AFL football. Are you still a competitor at heart?

My sport was very important to me, however I was diagnosed with an arthritic hip when I was 19, and I retired from serious sport soon after that. Since then, I have played a range of semi-serious sport – basketball, tennis and some recreational golf – though currently my competitive edge involves staying half a step ahead of my wife Penny on our evening walk.

Can you tell us one change that Tanglin Trust students can expect in the coming year?

The only definite change is a slightly altered visage, voice and character. I admire my predecessor’s achievements greatly – he handed over a school in excellent heart. I will be looking and listening a lot over the coming months. Tanglin is currently planning a significant new build on the Portsdown Road campus to expand and complement existing facilities, and I look forward to working with new colleagues to create something that will meet the needs of current and future students.