Launceston College Principal Vicki Mackrill trained as a kindergarten teacher before moving into a role as an education consultant. She then held leadership roles and worked in human resources. She has been appointed to principal roles in all sectors, including primary, secondary and now the senior secondary sector.
Principal Vicki Mackrill.
“Wellbeing is one of our drivers and even though our wellbeing data is quite strong, maintaining and supporting wellbeing is always a focus in our work.”
What is the history of the school?
Launceston College was founded in 1913 and was once a female prison. Initially a High School, then a Matriculation College and now Launceston College.
How does the school differ from other schools?
Our school is a senior secondary college with 1,500 Year 11 and 12 students. We have 120 teaching staff and about 50 non-teaching. We take up three city blocks and offer both Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification (TASC) and vocational courses. Our facilities are vast including an indoor pool, two basketball courts, a design and innovation centre, a Virtual Learning (online) centre, fully commercial kitchens and a restaurant.
We have a strong relationship with University of Tasmania and with our industry partners through pathways to work. It is great to see so many young people heading into apprenticeships and onto careers in and around Launceston.
In what ways has the school evolved since it was established?
Launceston College has always had high enrolments as its intake of students comes from both government and non-government schools in and around Launceston and surrounding rural centres.
Initially a school that had a focus on pre-tertiary education, Launceston College evolved to offer a broad range of subjects across vocational learning and other pathways to work. In 2020, legislation changed to require all students to complete Year 12 unless in fulltime employment via an apprenticeship. The focus of our work has changed to ensure that all students are supported regardless of the future pathway, through a collaborative and shared responsibility of our teachers.
What is the school’s philosophy and how does it guide you and your staff?
Our ‘Strategic Intent’ states that our purpose is to make a positive difference to every student who enters our gates. We do this by pursuing three drivers. We have agreed that our students are:
Well, safe and thriving in all environments
Known, heard and included
Learning more every day
These drivers each have a goal with corresponding explicit actions that inform all that we do to support our staff and students to thrive. This work also dove tails with our Department for Education, Children and Young People strategic plan.
These documents guide our whole staff and professional learning and are used to support both our operational and improvement foci and are used in whole staff, learning area and individual growth conversations with teachers.
How do you provide support and leadership to your staff?
Each Assistant Principal is responsible for the support and growth of three or four Advanced Skills Teachers who are generally Learning Area Leaders or those with other portfolios supporting student learning. Weekly meetings based on a growth coaching model are held along with specific professional learning sessions focusing on growing leadership capacity linked to our school improvement plan.
Launceston College offers senior students both Tasmanian Assessment, Standards and Certification (TASC) and vocational courses.
How do you encourage wellbeing among your staff and students?
Wellbeing is one of our drivers and even though our wellbeing data is quite strong, maintaining and supporting wellbeing is always a focus in our work. Regular ‘check ins’ with leaders to ensure that the wellbeing is monitored across the College enables adjustments to our meeting schedules or consideration given at key pressure points throughout each term.
What role do you play in the day-to-day activities of your students?
Being ‘present’ is the most important part of my work, ensuring that students can see me in and around the College, and ensuring that I am available for them should they require my support. Monitoring student attendance and engagement, talking with students in classrooms and around the College is the best part of my work.
Each year I am the leader of one of the Learning Areas and this keeps me connected more closely to the learning and wellbeing of the students in those classes. I also support many of the extra curricula activities and sponsor and support those where I can.
What are some of the challenges faced by teachers in the secondary sector?
Engaging students in learning is one of our biggest challenges, and although for the majority of our students we are able to provide an educational experience of the highest quality, there is an increasing number of students who find engaging in school very difficult. One of the barriers to engagement is certification and course requirements for completion, as these don’t always allow for flexibility of delivery or course selection often resulting in students disengaging.
What has been your most memorable moment either as a teacher or specifically in the role of principal?
There have been many memorable moments over my career, but possibly the one that stands out for me was participating in a Science and Technology trip to the US (Los Angeles and San Francisco) with a group of students in 2020. It was an amazing experience for all of us and really opened the eyes of the students to the possibility of a range of science and technology career pathways from marine biology to technology and the space industry.
Can you tell us more about that trip?
Launceston College has a culture of extending the experience of our students through a program of international trips and opportunities. Our Performing Arts classes have regularly travelled to New York to experience educational workshops on Broadway.
In 2020, a group of staff and students travelled to San Francisco, Anaheim and Los Angeles where we visited the California Academy of Sciences, The Marine Science Institute, Biocurious (a lab and technical library for entrepreneurs). In Los Angeles we participated in the Disney Youth Education Programme with a focus on physics. The highlight of the trip for me was when we went out to a floating lab through the Marine Institute and not only did some great experiments but had a pool of dolphins swim beside us as we sped across the waves. Visiting the Columbia Memorial Space Centre saw us role playing a lunar landing which was also fun.
Launceston College has recently invested in a library consultant, which has resulted in more students working and connecting socially in the library.
What are your feelings about NAPLAN and its effectiveness?
Unfortunately, I believe that NAPLAN has changed the landscape of education in Australia and has in some instances taken the ‘heart’ out of the experiences we are providing children and young people. The love of learning and the development of creativity and curiosity has been dampened down by a focus on testing.
My training as a kindergarten teacher many years ago ensured that a focus on student agency, curiosity and connection to both the human and physical world, was at the centre of my program. Supporting students with the skills to unlock their potential was at the forefront of my thinking and this must be the philosophy that we use across all sectors to ensure high levels of student participation and engagement going forward.
Gathering evidence of learning is vital for every teacher regardless of sector or subject, but tools such as NAPLAN merely drive a ‘teaching to the test’ paradigm which often takes the place of good formative assessment processes.
What traits make for an effective and successful leader in education today?
High levels of emotional intelligence, a strong moral imperative to ‘build better humans’ and a deep commitment to ensuring that all children and young people are provided with the best opportunity to be the best that they can be, makes for an effective and successful leader.
Are there any projects in the pipeline at Launceston College?
We are constantly looking at ways to improve our learning environment and recently invested in a library consultant who has transformed our library into an engagingly beautiful space for learning and connecting. Numbers of students working and connecting socially in the library are huge and our book circulation has also increased.
We are currently re-developing other social spaces and are about to embark on a large redevelopment of our Trades area – construction and metalwork. Our school improvement focus is on the Department for Education, Children and Young People lifting literacy priority and on engagement and attendance. Every student learning more every day.
