SHE Oaks local, Stephen Higgs has received a Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to education over 45 years.<\/p>\n
Appointed in 1995, Mr Higgs was the Headmaster of Ballarat Grammar School for 21 years and is \u201cdelighted\u201d by his Queen\u2019s Birthday Honour.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had no hint of anything like this coming along and wasn\u2019t expecting it. It\u2019s a really uplifting surprise,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s marvellous because it must be, in many respects, a recognition of what we achieved at Ballarat Grammar, and looking back on that, we were reaching out to the community in different ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Mr Higgs\u2019s time leading Ballarat Grammar, boarding enrolments doubled, a campus in Melbourne\u2019s CBD was established, now used by 31 schools, and a farm campus at Mount Rowan became reality.<\/p>\n
A cutting-edge sustainability centre was built, and relationships with Ballarat\u2019s refugee population, and broader communities in East Timor, Thailand, The Kimberley, Northern Territory and beyond were formed.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of that broadening of our reach into the community was terrific, but it wasn\u2019t something that I did, it was something that we as a school did together with a fantastic group of staff,\u201d Mr Higgs said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt became a very lively place at Grammar. The staff were very keen to take up these opportunities, so the award is very much an acknowledgement of that and a great accolade for many.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Higgs began his career at Melbourne Grammar before spending time teaching in the United Kingdom and Zimbabwe. Currently he\u2019s the Executive General Manager of the Victorian Ecumenical System of Schools.<\/p>\n
His past awards include the John Laing Professional Development Award from the Association of Heads of Independent Schools, Victorian Branch in 2013, a National Excellence in Teaching Award in 2012, and a Senior Educator Award from the Australian College of Educators (Ballarat) in 2014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SHE Oaks local, Stephen Higgs has received a Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to education over 45 years. Appointed in 1995, Mr Higgs was the Headmaster of Ballarat Grammar School for 21 years and is \u201cdelighted\u201d by his Queen\u2019s Birthday Honour. \u201cI had no hint of anything like this coming along […]<\/p>\n