From classroom pranks to a love of Shakespeare, we reflect on the contributions of Marjorie Cuddihy and Janet Strachan, two of our early female educators, who both share a strong passion for teaching and supporting students.  

Majorie Cuddihy taught at Haileybury Brighton in the fifties and sixties, while Janet Strachan shared her deep love for literature with Keysborough students for nearly three decades. 

Marjorie Cuddihy, Haileybury teacher: 1949–1970  

Marjorie (Marj) Cuddihy was born in Queensferry, a once important port town on the Bass Coast in Gippsland. Later, her family moved to Melbourne, and she attended Coburg High School.  

In her early teaching days she did not own a car. She had to take a tram, train and bus to get to Haileybury. She eventually obtained her driver licence on the day before she became a grandmother. 

Mrs Cuddihy joined the Sub Primary staff at Brighton in 1949 and was appointed the Sub Primary Directress in 1956. She was a caring and protective guardian of her students, and her aim was to bring out the best in everyone. She did not need to raise her voice in class as she would lower it instead. Mrs Cuddihy did not believe in corporal punishment and would give misbehaving students a ‘time-out’ instead. 

She was involved in arranging annual concerts and went on School trips to the snow every second year. Once some boys put a large spider on her desk. Mrs Cuddihy simply placed a glass over it and took the spider outside. This impressed the class, but she later reflected that “If I had shown I was scared, it was all over!” 

One of the Girls’ Houses at Keysborough is named in her honour and her son Ian attended Haileybury. 

After her retirement, Mrs Cuddihy continued to attend School functions and House athletics days where she always remembered boys’ names. 

Marjorie passed away on 29 August 2003. 

Janet Strachan, Haileybury teacher: 1986–2012 

When Janet started at Keysborough’s Senior School, she was one of the few women on a staff of around 100.  

In the classroom there was a strong academic atmosphere, but the teaching was largely by rote, meaning the students repeated what they were told or shown.  

The most fulfilling part of her teaching career was in the early 2000s when Dr Pargetter encouraged students who loved literature to take enrichment classes through from Year 9 to Year 12. She loved helping young people to value learning about life through literature. 

Janet’s own love of reading started as a young girl in Wales. There was no television or social media, and the weather was often bad, so reading was a great escape. She especially loved the Arthurian legends of her Welsh culture as well as Norse stories and Greek and Roman myths. She also loves the works of Shakespeare and Margaret Attwood.  

Poetry was always an important part of her life. As a child she was in awe of the local bards who composed complex verses for the Eisteddfod, a cultural competition held annually.  Now retired, she still takes a poetry class at the University of the Third Age. 

Janet feels blessed to have spent her life reading and discussing literature. 

Today Haileybury is proud of our talented team of men and women, who hold diverse roles and leadership positions across the School.