BTeach, BEd, GradCertGiftedEd, MEDL
At 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s 1986-1992
Vanessa Browning (nee Meek) is the Principal of Seymour College, an independent day and boarding school located in Adelaide, South Australia.
With more than 25 years’ experience as an educator, Vanessa extensive career includes working in primary education and leadership across a range of leading R-12 independent schools in Australia and overseas. She has worked in a variety of educational settings including single sex, co-ed, private, public and boarding environments at institutions including Matthew Flinders Anglican College, Geelong Grammar School, Herne Hill Prep School, London, The Scots College, Sydney, and St Catherine’s School, Sydney.
Vanessa has always been motivated to initiate change in education, guided by the latest research and a drive towards maximum results for the students, staff and extended community. She says that each of the schools she has worked at has influenced her teaching, educational and leadership thinking today.
Of her 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s experience, Vanessa says: “I look back on my own memories of attending 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s with absolute delight. I immersed myself into everything on offer – sport, music, drama, debating and my schoolwork. Even back then in the 80s and early 90s the opportunities seemed endless and there was never a question for me on whether girls could do anything. This is what inspired me to lead a single sex school. It sets girls free – free to dream, think, do, tinker and experiment in any activity with no gender bias. 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s instilled in me a strong belief that all girls can reach their full potential and should never underestimate their full self-worth. My sister Rachael also attended 168¿ª½±¹ÙÍø’s.”
Vanessa was named in The Educator’s Hot List in 2020 which recognises professionals at the cutting edge of Australian education.
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