It was a year of highs and lows for the college on Church St, seeing the success of a brand-new learning program that is paying dividends, while also tackling the grief brought on by the shocking loss of members of their community.

It’s been another big year for St Augustine’s College on the pages of the Free Press, so journalist Jemma Jones sat down with principal Tim Campbell to chat about it.

With 691 students enrolled across Prep to Year 12, St Augustine’s continues to thrive as one of Kyabram’s two schools.

It was Mr Campbell’s first year taking on the role of principal, replacing the outgoing Jay Sutton, who left at the end of 2024.

“It's been amazing, but it has been really challenging at the same time,” Mr Campbell said.

Mr Campbell has overseen everything from new capital works projects to working towards contributing feedback for a new Catholic Education enterprise agreement.

The school’s biggest transformation involved implementing the Magnify Sandhurst teaching program, designed to create more organised classrooms and enhance student learning through streamlined lesson delivery.

Mr Campbell said, while there are certain aspects of the program, the school has been doing for years, there was an adjustment period when it came into effect at the beginning of the year

“Our kids were pretty familiar with some of those programs and routines that were in play, but it's now becoming embedded practice,” he said.

“Just a few little tweaks here and there have enabled massive growth in our students and their learning, which is fantastic, and that's ultimately what our goal is.”

Ongoing growth includes strategic infrastructure projects that secure the school’s future, with a new senior school building under construction throughout 2026, ready to welcome the 2027 Year 11 and 12 students.

St Augustine's College has built its reputation on strong community bonds through regular events, fundraising initiatives, and genuine family connections — values that became absolutely essential this year during difficult times.

Mr Campbell said the families leaned on each other through the shocking loss of multiple members of their school community throughout the year.

“I think we’re starting to get back to the real connection with our community,” he said.

“There’s been a heap of tragedy, so we’ve been trying to manage how we can navigate that and how we can support everyone so that they can just continue on in the best way they can.”

Connecting their community is something Mr Campbell said would be one of the focuses for 2026, as well as continuing to implement Magnify Sandhurst into the curriculum.

“We’re thinking about how we can make sure our kids have the best learning opportunities so that they can continue to grow,” he said.

Top Free Press headlines for St Augustine’s College

St Aug’s welcomes new changes for 2025 school year

Every student, every teacher, every school, every day. That is the motto of the Magnify Sandhurst teaching program, which launched at St Augustine’s College’s teachers day on Tuesday, January 28.

At 11.15am, teachers joined staff from 50 other schools for the Magnify Sandhurst launch livestream.

The new program, which has been implemented in classrooms from the first day of this school year, aims to have students learning and behaving the same as other students in Sandhurst schools.

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College ‘Bridges Now to Next’ at Reconciliation Mass

St Augustine’s College held its annual Reconciliation Mass on Thursday, May 29 during National Reconciliation Week.

The mass commenced with hundreds of students walking through the cleansing smoke of a traditional smoking ceremony led by Uncle Rick Ronnan and supported by Aboriginal liaison officer Kasey Cooper.

This year, the week carried the theme ‘Bridging Now to Next’, with all guest speakers featuring this theme heavily.

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Far Far Away feels closer than ever with school musical coming

None of the 70-strong cast and crew of St Augustine’s College musical production were born when Shrek came out in cinemas worldwide on June 21, 2001.

Now 24 years later, the crew are well under way with rehearsals for the film’s (kid-friendly) musical counterpart, Shrek Jr, which is set to take over the Kyabram Plaza Theatre from September 11 to 12.

Director Chloe Grant explained that Shrek Jr was the perfect choice for this year, offering diverse roles for students of all ages and celebrating a story that resonates across generations.

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Students rally funding for social justice projects

While many students crawled to the end of the term two, three St Augustine’s students were laser-focused on their social justice missions.

From men’s mental health to waste services, Year 10 students, Neve Pethybridge and Lily-May Sharpe, and Year 11 student Charlie Isaac, have each begun social justice projects that are close to their hearts.

Each received $500 through the Joseph Grech Scholarship from Sandhurst Education: an exclusive scholarship where only 10 students from a pool of hundreds are selected.

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Unlocking career secrets for students

Year 8 and 10 students from St Augustine’s College Kyabram got a glimpse of possible future careers on Thursday, July 17.

Eleven panellists were invited to share insights into their professional lives, the pathways into their careers, the highlights of their roles and common challenges faced.

A variety of jobs were represented among the panellists, including in psychology, tennis coaching, aged care, carpentry, education, policing and mechanics.

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Wednesday, 2nd September 2026

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