Nayland College
Principal profile: Charles Newton
My first job was at Twizel High School right at the height of the Upper Waitaki Power Scheme in the early 80s. The school was led by an innovative principal, Malcolm Gunn. He was very keen to see whether or not there were advantages in getting our school involved with the new technologies.
When Malcolm retired I became a very young principal. I honed my leadership skills on several projects that taught me a lot about introducing innovation into a school.
Twizel High School was taking a lead in IT at this early stage. To dispel the perception that we didn't have a broad enough curriculum, and to make it possible for students to stay in their community and still meet their needs, we got together with the other Canterbury Area Schools. Led by Carol Moffatt, we developed the CantaTech Project which was the original distance learning project in New Zealand.
My time as Twizel's principal certainly shaped my philosophy about education and leadership. Five years later, in 1995, I took the reins at Nayland College.
