Term One of 2010 sees the appointment of a new Headmaster, Mr Grant Lander, to lead St Paul’s.
New Headmaster’s educational background
Educated at Kelston Boys’ High School, and has a Bachelor of Arts at Auckland University. He has also completed a Post-Graduate Diploma in Educational Management at Unitec in Auckland. Mr Lander comes to St Paul’s Collegiate School from Lindisfarne College in Hastings.
Mr Lander has made a very significant impact on Lindisfarne, during his nine year tenure as Rector. He has played a key role in raising the profile and stature of the College nationally and internationally. This has had a significant impact both on the school roll (which has increased from 369 students) and the boarding roll (which has increased from 111 boys).
Mr Lander has had previous teaching experience at Mahurangi College, Warkworth (1,100 students), where he was Deputy Principal from 1994–2000; Mount Roskill Grammar School (1,600 students) as Deputy Principal (1990–1993); Matamata College (900 students) as Head of Economics and Accounting (1986–1990); and Westlake Boys’ High School (1,100 students) as an Assistant Teacher and Head of Department (1981–1985).
An educational leader
While Mr Lander has spent 20 years of his educational career in a co-educational environment, he has more recently developed a passion and interest in maximising the potential and areas of best practice for boys. In 2006, Mr Lander became the first New Zealand Headmaster to be elected onto the Board of the International Boys’ Schools Coalition. The IBSC Board consists of Headmasters from some of the world’s most prestigious schools including Eton and Dulwich (England), Belmont Hill, Woodberry Forest, Roxbury Latin, St Mark's (USA), Upper Canada, St John's, St Benedict’s (South Africa), Brisbane Grammar, Melbourne Grammar, Shore (Australia) and Diocesan Boys’ (Hong Kong). At Lindisfarne, Mr Lander has promoted and encouraged the use of best pedagogical practice for boys, particularly the use of Thinking Maps, thinking literacy strategies, Habits of Mind and the active use of ICT in teaching and learning. Lindisfarne has coordinated the visits of internationally respected experts on gender learning, such as Dr Michael Thompson, Dr Abigail James and Dr Leonard Sax – all of whom have addressed his College's staff in recent years.
In each of Mr Lander’s three previous schools he has been involved in the strategic development of extensive use of ICT resources. As a result he was selected as a recipient of a Woolf Fisher Fellowship to Australia. Between 1994 and 1998 he was a member of the advisory group to the Technology ‘Lighthouse Schools’ set up by the New Zealand Government. In 1995 and 1996 he was appointed to the national advisory group delegated with the task of developing guidelines for the implementation of the new technology curriculum.
Mr Lander has had significant involvement in co-curricular activities in each of the schools he has taught at. He has coached rugby, soccer and hockey in the winter and assisted with softball and cricket teams in the summer. He has taken First XV rugby teams at both Matamata College and Mt Roskill Grammar, and also organised overseas tours to Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Mr Lander was the inaugural chairman of the North Harbour Secondary Schools’ Rugby Union and previously had an administrative role in the secondary school game in the Waikato.
He strongly believes that the involvement in co-curricular activities by teachers is crucial to the development of close relationships and understanding of the needs of the students under their care. Through co-curricular activities students have the opportunity to enjoy success outside the classroom and personally challenge themselves.
Initial impressions of St Paul’s
The position of Headmaster of St Paul’s Collegiate School appealed to Mr Lander for a number of reasons. The size of the School, he believes, provides greater opportunity for a personalised education for its students than many of the other comparable quality educational options in the northern region; single-sex education for adolescent boys is something in which he strongly believes – there is a genuine need to provide what is best ‘for boys’ in their crucial formative years, that is Years 9 and 10; the co-educational nature of St Paul’s Senior School allows the natural integration of boys and girls, given the importance of the two genders being able to work effectively together once they leave school; Tihoi is a unique opportunity available to very few students in New Zealand – challenging and developing the personal and social skills of impressionable young people in an outdoor education setting is something that is very special and potentially life changing; the academic standing of St Paul’s is impressive – St Paul’s consistent high performance in NCEA and Scholarship shows that its students are challenged to strive for their personal best at all times.
In conclusion
The Board of Trustees recognises that Mr Lander has a stated commitment to the core values of St Paul’s Collegiate School. He has very high standards and educational expectations, which he in turn models. Innovative and progressive in his thinking, we feel that students, staff, parents and our wider community will find Mr Lander a positive, enthusiastic and approachable person to work with. He possesses excellent communication and people skills and we look forward to the opportunity of working with him as St Paul’s goes through a very exciting stage in its development. The Board of Trustees warmly welcomes Mr Lander and his family into the St Paul’s Collegiate School community. We know that he is looking forward to working with us all and believe that he will find his time at St Paul's challenging but immensely rewarding.
