St Margaret’s has been recognised as a national leader in education, named an Excellence Awardee in four categories in the 2025 Australian Education Awards.
The annual Australian Education Awards is the leading independent awards event in the K-12 education sector, showcasing the nation’s top-performing schools, principals and teachers for their outstanding achievements and transformative work in teaching and learning.
Excellence awards represent the finalists in each award category and the overall winners will be announced on Friday 8 August.
Principal Ms Ros Curtis AM is recognised in the School Principal of the Year Non Government category for her deep commitment to extraordinary teaching, creative excellence, and curriculum innovation, which has dramatically changed St Margaret’s throughout her 14-year principalship.
Since 2011, St Margaret’s enrolments have experienced incredible growth, increasing from just under 800 to over 1460 in 2025, indicating the strength of the school’s reputation under Ros’ leadership with vast improvements in academic outcomes, teaching quality, and campus facilities.
Ros has led significant campus redevelopment including three significant green spaces, the $20M sports precinct, a state-of-the-art lecture theatre, expansion and refurbishment of the central staff room, the refurbishment and transformation of Community House into a new student wellbeing centre, a Senior Studies Centre, new Circular Drive classrooms, a new cafeteria – the Canopy Café and adjoining greenspace, the Forest, – with plans for a new performing arts precinct in the works.
In 2024, Ms Curtis received a Member of the Order of Australia General Division in the King’s Birthday Honours for her significant service to education and professional associations and was recognised by the Queensland College of Teachers for Teaching and Leading Excellence with a TEACHX award.
Head of Primary Mrs Angela Drysdale is recognised in the Primary School Principal of the Year Non Government category for her dedication to advancing teaching and learning opportunities and outcomes in St Margaret’s primary school, and for her work in fostering a highly engaged school community of students, staff and parents.
St Margaret’s is also recognised in the Primary School of the Year Non Government category for its commitment to enabling students to engage in quality learning in a culture of high expectation, exceptional academic results and innovative learning programs.
For the fourth time, St Margaret’s was also named in the Boarding School of the Year category (an award the school won in both 2019 and 2020) for its ongoing commitment to providing an outstanding, holistic boarding education for rural and regional Australian families.