The School Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Mrs Anne Johnstone as Cranbrook’s new Head of School, commencing for the start of Term 3 2025. The appointment follows an extensive global search facilitated by Korn Ferry on behalf of the School Council.
Throughout the competitive recruitment process, the School Council was impressed by Anne’s energy, warmth, intellect, wisdom, deep educational experience and by her values. Her commitment to educational excellence, including co-curricular and the wellbeing of students, is aligned closely with Cranbrook’s vision and mission.
Anne is a multi-award winning school leader and currently the Principal of Ravenswood, a leading independent day and boarding school in Sydney. She was awarded the Australian School Principal of the Year in the 2024 Australian Education Awards and in 2022 was recipient of the Phyllis Evans Medal from The Teachers’ Guild of NSW who acknowledged her as a “distinguished educator of great standing”. Anne is also currently the Chair of the Excellence in Leadership and Teaching Council for the Association of Independent Schools of NSW. She is a visionary educational leader who is well placed to lead Cranbrook as we continue to expand the horizon of the School through the transition to coeducation from 2026.
Anne recently submitted her Doctor of Philosophy in Education through the University of Melbourne, Centre for Wellbeing Science, focused on helping young people to develop a mindset that promotes wellbeing. She holds a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Laws (Honours) from Macquarie University and a Graduate Diploma of Education from the University of New England.
Anne has enjoyed notable success across her career, both as an English and History teacher and accomplished school leader. Before her appointment to Ravenswood in 2016, Anne was Principal of Seymour College in Adelaide. Prior to this, she taught for a number of years at St Catherine’s School, Waverley, reaching the positions of Deputy Headmistress and Head of Senior School.
Since joining Ravenswood, Anne has led a significant period of innovation and development, with historically high demand for enrolments. She has implemented a positive education and wellbeing programme, and has helped support outstanding student academic achievements in the HSC and International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. Anne has also expanded the boarding programme and fostered a strong relationship with Ravenswood’s brother school, Knox. This has included a focus on co-curricular and the significant development of the Knox-Ravenswood Cadet Unit. During Anne’s time as Principal, Ravenswood has received awards for innovation in STEM, wellbeing, technology and boarding.
Anne is a global leader in the area of positive education and wellbeing, a founding board member of PESA (the Positive Education Schools Association) and the Global Chair of IPEN (the International Positive Education Network). She was recognised for her global leadership and impact in this field by the Eisenhower Fellowships and the Centre for Positive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania in 2019.
The School Council is confident that, in appointing Anne as our new Head of School, we have secured a leader who can fulfil the hopes and aspirations of the School community and guide Cranbrook to become the very best coeducational school it can be.
Anne is married to Andrew, and they have two teenage children, Jacob and Olivia. We look forward to warmly welcoming them into the Cranbrook community.
Cranbrook is grateful for the dedicated and collegial leadership of Mrs Michele Marquet as Acting Head of School and is delighted to share that Michele will continue in this role for Term 1 2025. We extend our sincere gratitude to Michele and her family for their unwavering and tireless contribution to Cranbrook.
Mr Stuart Meade will return to Cranbrook for Term 2 2025 as Acting Head of School, to enable Michele to return to her position as Head of Junior School. Stuart is very familiar with our School, having held the role of Acting Head of School this year while Michele was on long service leave. He was the Deputy Headmaster of Cranbrook 1997-2002, before being Headmaster at Hale School in Western Australia, and at Matthew Flinders Anglican College in Queensland.
Michele and Stuart will continue to work with Anne when she joins the School, to enable a smooth transition for our School community and, in particular, to ensure the successful implementation of coeducation.
We thank the School community for its valuable involvement in the recruitment process and continued support as Cranbrook moves into this exciting new era. Please do not hesitate to contact the Council via cranbrook@cranbrook.nsw.edu.au if you have any queries.
Yours sincerely
Geoff Lovell
President, Cranbrook School Council
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