Introducing Dr Justin Garrick... feature FEature
New Head of Canberra Grammar School
At 37 years of age, Dr Justin Garrick BA, MEd, PhD, MBA has been appointed to head-up Canberra Grammar, a school which has a long and proud history.
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s an accomplished educator, it’s expected that Dr Garrick will lead an educational renewal at Canberra Grammar School which will best prepare students to succeed in a rapidly-changing and increasingly international environment. Announcing the appointment, Canberra Grammar School Board Chairman, Mark Baker said the Board was excited about securing a candidate with such intellect, experience and energy. Currently, Dr Garrick is Deputy Head (Academic) at Wellington College in the United Kingdom where he has achieved impressive educational outcomes for the school over a seven year period. “Justin has led Wellington’s academic turnaround to become a first division school in the UK, an exceptional achievement for a non-selective school,” Mr Baker said. Born and bred in Sydney, Justin Garrick completed his HSC at Sydney Grammar School. After finishing his Arts Degree with First Class Honours in English Literature at the University of Sydney, he returned to Sydney Grammar for three years as an English teacher. During this time he completed a Master of Education at the University of New England. In 1998, Justin travelled to the UK where he taught at St Paul’s School, London, before taking a PhD scholarship to Cambridge. He then taught at Oundle School. Justin’s educational achievements also include a Masters in Business Administration from the University of London, where he focused on financial management and educational leadership. His dissertation was on achieving sustainable school improvement. The Canberra Grammar School Board led an extensive recruitment process to appoint the new Headmaster which included consultation with the Grammar School community in 2009, national and international advertising, and a rigorous round of candidate interviews. Commenting on Dr Garrick’s appointment, Mr Baker said, ”Justin’s outstanding qualities were evident at every stage of an exhaustive recruitment process, which culminated in observing him in his current role as Deputy Head (Academic) at Wellington College in the UK and meeting with colleagues, students and parents at the school.” “We were particularly impressed with the strong relationships we observed between Justin and the staff and students at Wellington. Everyone we met commented on his warmth and ability to consult, listen and be supportive, yet at the same time establish clearly defined directions,” he said. Mr Baker said of particular benefit to Canberra Grammar School would be Dr Garrick’s familiarity with international educational trends, in particular national curriculum and school benchmarking
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July 2010 | B2B in Canberra
(which have been established in the UK for more than a decade) as similar systems are introduced in Australia. “Importantly, Justin’s educational philosophy aligns perfectly with that of Canberra Grammar in being focused on each individual student’s progress. He believes strongly in the need for a holistic education and at Wellington regularly attends sporting matches, coaches tennis, is engaged in activities such as debating and is passionate about the importance of the school music program,” he said. Dr Garrick will take-up his appointment at the beginning of next year. Speaking from the UK, he said he looked forward to returning to Australia and to joining what was obviously a vibrant and committed school community. “The sense of aspiration that I have felt at Canberra Grammar is tremendous, whether that is expressed in sport, the arts or in its academic ambitions. It's obviously a School that values the potential of every student, and that's the most important thing to me as a teacher. “The School is ideally placed to play a major role in Australia's educational culture but, more important than that, its experienced staff and unique location mean that its students clearly have every opportunity to realise their potential as leaders of our future,” Dr Garrick said. Justin is married to Dharini, an independent IT and business consultant.