Community

In April, Haileybury Tianjin proudly hosted its third annual Micro Film Festival. This vibrant celebration brought together students, parents and teachers to explore and share stories of school life from Haileybury Tianjin through film and visual storytelling. 

 The festival served as a creative platform for students to gain fresh perspectives on their world. Open to all members of the School community, it invited teams of students, parents and teachers to embark on a month-long collaboration to produce films that were capped at five minutes.  

This year’s theme of ‘Show U in Haileybury’ encouraged students to create micro-dramas that authentically portrayed stories of school life, showcasing unique stories from Haileybury Tianjin. 

To foster learning and creativity, all project teams were provided with expert guidance from a teacher mentor and industry professionals, including representatives from the Tianjin Film Association and China Central Television.  

The festival judging format promotes community involvement and professional recognition of excellence by combining public online voting (60%) and professional jury evaluation (40%). 

 The coveted Best Picture Award, attracting the highest votes from both the professional and public votes, was Pencil Eraser Man by Year 4 student Joseph. “I was showing my friend a ruler that looked like a saw. My friend tried to cut my eraser with it, and that gave me a great idea. I drew a face on the eraser and stuck four pencils into it. That’s how Pencil Eraser Man was born,” says Joseph. 

The Most Influential Award, securing the highest online votes, went to Gold House, Year 11, Keys — You are Special You. It was a compelling and original story about the formation of a senior school band. 

Haileybury Rendall School has solidified its status as a leading Northern Territory school by ranking as the number one primary school in two recent independent measures of academic performance. 

The School has maintained its leading position in the 2024 National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) primary school rankings in the Territory for the fourth consecutive year. Australian students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 sit the NAPLAN annually, which assesses their abilities in literacy, reading, writing and language conventions.  

Better Education, a national school comparison website, has also awarded the School a ranking of 100, its highest possible rating. The independent school indexing website has ranked schools within states/territories based on English, Maths and overall academic performance in 2024.  

“Haileybury Rendall School is proud to have received a perfect Better Education ranking of 100 in 2024 and for each of the last four years. We are also proud to again be the top NAPLAN ranked primary school in the NT in 2024, an honour we have held since 2021,” said Principal Andrew McGregor. 

Further, he stated that “these outstanding academic results affirm the effectiveness of our teaching model and recognise the wonderful Haileybury community who support it. This includes our brilliant teachers, students and their families who have all worked together to achieve such remarkable outcomes.”  

Haileybury Rendall School uses an evidence-based approach to ensure it uses best teaching practice to build strong foundations in students’ literacy and numeracy.  

This approach has led to the development of the research-based explicit teaching model, an evidence-backed, highly effective method for assisting students to learn, retain and build foundational skills in the primary years.   

Haileybury Rendall School’s brilliant teachers use explicit teaching to develop literacy and numeracy through a three-stage process where students learn through the teacher initially providing explicit instruction and demonstrations, guided practice and feedback and reinforcement through the independent application of learning and activities.   

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. 

Jacinta and Anika, 2025 Pangea School Captains, are tasked with leading and inspiring their online school community.  

Jacinta joined Haileybury Pangea in the middle of 2024 and was inspired to apply to be a School Captain by the impact of the inaugural captains, Sean and Maddy.  

“Their compassion extended through the computer screen and helped me and so many others to find a place in the Haileybury Pangea community. They provided a blueprint of how to connect with your peers online,” says Jacinta. 

Jacinta and Anika are tasked with a leadership role, alongside year-level representatives, to act as bridges between the voices of students, teachers, Head of House and Head of Campus.  

School leaders, like Jacinta and Anika, are role models who work closely with Natasha Eshuis, Head of House, to identify areas where improvements can be made to enhance each student’s learning journey. 

“We know our Captains at Haileybury Pangea will gain confidence and develop strong leadership skills. They will also help shape the School’s culture while improving their own communication and teamwork abilities,” says Natasha. 

Earlier this year students met in Melbourne for a Leadership Day that helped build unity among 2025 School student leaders. 

“The day reinforced that leadership is about collaboration and that every student has a valuable role to play in shaping the school community. They were able to practice their public speaking skills and gain confidence in representing Haileybury Pangea beyond the school,” says Natasha.  

Both Anika and Jacinta are keen to celebrate the unique sense of community and to support other students when they join Haileybury Pangea. 

Anika is hoping to “continue that feeling of community across the online sphere. As a Year 12 student, I also want to make sure that we all enjoy the Year 12 experience, alongside working towards academic excellence.” 

When Ryan received a Haileybury Foundation Scholarship in 2018, he was just 12 years old — full of potential, but with little idea of how profoundly this opportunity would shape his future. Today, Ryan is preparing to walk through the gates of Harvard University, ready to begin a new chapter. 

At the time of his scholarship award, Ryan admits he did not fully grasp the scale of what had just happened. “I remember feeling very relieved,” he recalls. “My parents were not in a position to afford a school like Haileybury, so it meant a lot that they wouldn’t need to worry about paying for my education.” 

Ryan entered Year 7 at Haileybury’s unique City campus — a vertical school unlike any he had seen before. The shift from his previous school was dramatic. “I’d come from a junior school that was incredibly spacious, so going to school in a ten-storey building was a huge change,” he says. “But I was surprised and impressed by how many academic and co-curricular opportunities were offered, even though the campus was still developing.” 

While Ryan excelled academically, it was the small, personal moments that left the deepest impression. Being elected Vice-Captain of Swimming in Year 12, despite not being one of the strongest athletes, was one such memory. “It meant a lot to know that the other swimmers and the coaches thought I was a good enough leader, regardless of performance,” he says. 

Another was the support he received from his English teacher in the lead-up to final exams. “We worked through the content, of course, but more importantly, we examined the mindset I needed going into the exam. That kind of dedication from a teacher is something I’ll never forget.” 

Now, Ryan looks ahead to his time studying abroad. “I’m excited to explore the real world — even if that real world starts on a college campus.” 

To those who support the Haileybury Foundation, Ryan offers a heartfelt message: “Your gifts can manifest in unimaginable ways. No one — least of all my parents — would have predicted Harvard University when I started in 2018. The thoughts and ideas I developed at Haileybury were more powerful than any grade. That is the true power of your gift.” 

Haileybury Foundation is changing lives forever. Over 50 students have benefited from these life changing scholarships since 2010. Students who otherwise would never have dreamt of a Haileybury education are succeeding because of the generosity of our community.  

Please contact Russell Davidson at russell.davidson@haileybury.com.au.If you would like to support the Haileybury Foundation through a donation, please visit  Haileybury – Online Payments