John Paul College has announced Craig Merrit as its sixth principal, replacing Karen Spiller, who has led the College since 2018.
As the Principal of St Luke's Anglican School in Bundaberg, where he commenced in 2017, Merritt leads talented educators in an Early Learning Centre to Year Twelve co-educational day school of over 1,000 students.
Under his leadership, St Luke's has become one of Queensland's leading regional schools, with an impressive record of NAPLAN and ATAR performance.
Before St Luke's, Merrit was Deputy Principal at Hillbrook Anglican School (2010-2016) and Head of Senior School at Whitsunday Anglican School (2007-2009).
JPC’s Board said it warmly congratulated Merritt on his appointment.
“The Board has every confidence that he, alongside the John Paul College Executive Leadership Team and staff, will continue to build on Mrs Spiller's wonderful legacy, continuing to enhance our reputation as a national leader in education, providing a breadth and depth of academic and co-curricular opportunities for our students,” John Paul College Board Chair, Dominic Taylor, said.
“The John Paul College Board appreciates that the College has benefited from the leadership of Mrs Spiller, an outstanding educator whose credentials and commitment to John Paul College are absolute.”
Spiller announced her retirement in March, saying she was looking forward to spending more time with her family while also continuing to contribute to the education sector through her membership on the QUT Council.
"It's an honour and a privilege to lead John Paul College, and I am pleased with what we have achieved, including our great ATAR success in 2021 that continues to build on our strong NAPLAN results since 2018," she said.
"I love being a principal and have been blessed to lead two outstanding schools, and work with and learn from staff and students in these, however after 23 years as a principal, and even more in senior leadership roles in schools, I believe the time has come for me to give back to my family, including my three children and their children. I want to be present for my three beautiful grandchildren, who are all under the age of three and to have the flexibility to visit my son who lives abroad.”
A highly regarded leader in the education sector, Spiller’s achievements include a Medal of the Order of Australia for her service to women and education as part of the Queen's Birthday 2017 Honours List. In 2019, Karen was also awarded the prestigious national Nganakarrawa award presented by ACEL for Excellence in Educational Administration. She is also one of The Educator’s 2019 Hot List winners and a finalist for School Principal of the Year - Non-government at the 2020 Australian Education Awards.
Spiller will continue to lead the school until her retirement in December, undertaking a thorough transition and handover process with Merritt.
Merritt will commence as Principal in early January 2023