Meet Key Staff

Marcus joined St Peter’s, Cambridge in January 2023 from St Peter’s College in Adelaide, one of Australia’s leading independent schools, where he was Deputy Headmaster and Head of Senior School.

Marcus’ vision and priorities have consistently centred on delivering outstanding learning experiences for young people, strengthening the vital partnership between home and school, and nurturing an enduring and energizing sense of belonging within school communities.

Marcus has broad international leadership experience as an academic faculty leader, boarding housemaster, co-curricular leader and, away from the school setting, is a former international rugby sevens coach and published author in this field.

Marcus has a proven track record in optimising academic progress and outcomes, and a strong working knowledge of the complexity of large boarding schools. Marcus has a particular passion for the holistic education of every child through the integration of academic and co-curricular programs to achieve personal wellbeing and growth.

Marcus’ experience in some of the world’s leading schools – including King’s College School in Wimbledon, Raffles Institution in Singapore, The Scots College in Sydney and Bradfield College in the UK – positions him well to articulate and amplify the distinctive offer of St Peter’s School, Cambridge.

Julie has a strong record of educational leadership, with extensive experience in curriculum, pastoral design, building leadership capability, and is an accredited coach with Growth Coaching International. She has held leadership positions at a number of Waikato and Auckland secondary schools.

Julie is an advocate of learner-centred programmes and student leadership and is experienced in designing and implementing data-based initiatives to improve student learning outcomes.

Brenton is a long-serving St Peter’s staff member who remains passionate and excited about serving the needs of all students at St Peter’s.

His extensive background in pastoral systems, having previously worked as a School Counsellor, Dean, and Boarding House Director, have led him to a Deputy Principal role, and second in charge to the Campus Principal.

Currently, his focus is on leading the pastoral care framework through his involvement in supporting the Deans and School Prefects.

Gerard is a passionate teacher who enjoys encouraging students to develop a love of the beauty of mathematics. He is responsible for timetabling at St Peter’s as well as being the Head of Faculty of Mathematics. With over 15 years of teaching experience across a range of private and state schools in both New Zealand and the UK Gerard brings a wealth of experience to St Peter’s. He also has a law degree and over five years’ experience working in a large commercial firm as well as smaller firm.

Amy has been at St Peter's for nearly five years, joining initially as the Head of English. She has taught predominantly English for over 13 years, across all year levels in both NCEA and International Baccalaureate.  Prior to her time here, Amy taught in the state sector for 8 years in both Cambridge and Palmerston North.

She has a BA in French and English. A Grad Dip Teaching Secondary, Graduate Certificate of Arts, and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education.  She did attempt a stint at law school, but quickly realised that her childhood of playing ‘teachers’ with her sister and friends was actually where she was meant to be - a quick refocus of her degree to focus on literature and teaching occurred!

Amy has also recently become the House Director of Beaufort House, caring for 70 girls from Year 11-13.

She is passionate about teaching and learning, curriculum, and ensuring that all students have a pathway.  As she loves learning and is always looking for a challenge, each summer she writes a new version of a national textbook to support students across the country.

Sean joined St Peter’s in 2014 initially as a teacher in the Social Sciences faculty, however he has since held various roles including Year 9 Dean, Broadhurst Boarding House Director, and Head of Faculty Social Sciences. This broad leadership experience has given Sean an excellent understanding of school systems from a variety of perspectives and enabled him to establish and maintain positive collaborative relationships across multiple areas in the school.
 
A former professional rugby player, Sean coached the St Peter's 1st XV for a number of years and was responsible for the initiation and implementation of the school’s Rugby Academy programme. Sean’s philosophy on sport and education, in general, is that young men and women thrive under high expectations and being coached to new levels of skill, effort, and commitment.
 
Sean is currently a part of the Aspiring National Leadership Programme, designed to develop the personal leadership capabilities of leaders within the education sector.

With more than 20 years experience of working in the St Peter's community, Sara has a reputation for dedication, loyalty, kindness and service of the highest quality. She has worked in the (fantastic) Science Faculty since 2001, where she has been involved in the implementation of both NCEA and International Baccalaureate Biology courses. Sara has held a variety of leadership roles in both pastoral and curriculum-related lead teams.

In 2018 she was the recipient of the Kudos Secondary Science Educator award in recognition of the quality of her teaching and service to the Science teaching community in the Waikato region. She loves her day job and thinks that unpacking Science ideas with a class of keen students is a genuine treat.
 
Sara is a great believer in the St Peter’s ethos of "Growing great people in body, mind, and spirit."

Kurt has an extensive background in education, coaching and leadership in both in New Zealand and overseas. Previously he was acting headmaster at Medbury School in Christchurch. Prior to this, he worked in a range of international schools in Hong Kong, China, and the United Kingdom. In all of these roles he has held different leadership positions.

Kurt has a passion for unlocking the potential of all students. This can be done through differentiated learning in the classroom. With Kurt’s extensive independent and international school experience, he is able to combine the best parts of their curriculum structures to help meet the needs of our students. He has started working on his Masters in Education through Monash University in Australia, to complement the leadership positions he has held. Kurt has also been the director of PE and EOTC (Education Outside the Classroom) at Scot’s College. He has also coached rugby and cricket at both primary and secondary level.

Greg returns to St Peter's as the Director of Boarding, following a time at St Paul's Collegiate as Director of Teaching and Learning.

He has previously held leadership positions at St Kentigern College in Auckland including boarding Duty Master for 3 years, as well as 6 years of boarding experience in the United Kingdom.

Greg is well known for placing a strong emphasis on promoting a supportive environment for staff and students, and this is well aligned with the school’s family spirit.