College Principals
2008 - 2015: Carol Spittles
2016 - 2017: Joanne Jarvis
2018 - 2022: Leanne Larcombe
2023 (current): Anna Tsoutsa, Acting Principal
Carol Spittles Story
The role of Georges River College Principal is a challenging one. The three junior campuses and the very large senior campus have their own unique characteristics as well as each being part of an integrated college complex.
Carol Spittles was appointed as College Principal in 2008, some seven years after the College was established by the NSW Labor government in 2001. She was appointed by a large panel of Principal, teacher and parent representatives from each of the four schools, chaired by the 2008 School Education Director, Ms Diane Barry.
The appointment of College Principal was in addition to the role of principal in each of the four campuses. Before 2008, one of the four principals fulfilled the role of College Principal in rotation, in addition to the role of Principal of their own campus. The decision to appoint an additional College Principal created opportunities for more intensive planning and the coordination of cross campus initiatives which would improve learning and well being outcomes for at least 2500 students.
Before her appointment, Ms Spittles had been Principal for five years at Thomas Reddall High School, a co ed years 7-12 school in the Campbelltown area. In her first two years as College Principal, Ms Spittles maintained an office in each of the four campuses, enabling her to work closely with the senior leadership team to forge a consistent approach in teaching, learning and assessment across the College. Building consensus and relational trust was a high priority for Ms. Spittles early in her new appointment. She was able to draw on her knowledge of international research in these vital aspects of whole school/College leadership. Ms. Spittles was especially drawn to the Stephen Covey leadership models which centred around effective teamwork and collaboration.
The team, led by Ms Spittles, developed a common College logo and mission statement which reflected a strong focus on creating opportunities for the College students, in student leadership, all aspects of the curriculum years 7-12 (including Vocational Education and TAFE studies) and student wellbeing. A strong College focus on PBL, Positive Behaviours for Learning, centred around the common language of respectful, responsible behaviours which generate successful learning in a culture of high expectations. Teachers had the opportunity to engage in cross campus teaching in order to gain further junior or senior curriculum experience. Professional learning sessions were held regularly to allow for cross campus setting and marking of assessment tasks and exams.
Ms Spittles was impressed with the high quality of student leaders during her eight years at the College. The school captains and student leaders at the three junior campuses displayed outstanding maturity while in year 10. The very broad curriculum offered at the senior campus for years 11 and 12 was a distinct feature of GRC. The very large numbers ensured that every subject and courses within subjects could be offered on more than one timetabled line so it was quite rare for a senior student not to be able to study all of their first choices for the HSC.
Ms Spittles really appreciated the thinking, planning and discussion time which the additional College Principal role afforded her. Before 2008 when the position was rotated across the four campuses, it was much more difficult to dedicate sufficient time to effective planning for an integrated College model in order to drive common agendas with their own unique staffing and resourcing considerations.
Ms Spittles has fond memories of working closely with the campus Principals and Deputy Principals during her eight years. She appreciated the work of many fine teachers and Head teachers who worked to promote and maintain the GRC identity as a unique and vibrant, secondary public educational institution in the southern suburbs of Sydney.
In June 2016, after the retirement of Ms Spittles, Joanne Jarvis was appointed the role of College Principal.
Story by Judy King