Chris Nielsen, our Head of Faculty - Health and Physical Education, was awarded the Woolf Fisher Fellowship late last year. He has recently returned from his travels and tells us of his findings...

I was humbled to be awarded a Woolf Fisher scholarship to enable me to travel and study abroad. 

I chose to go schools in Australia that were very similar to Riccarton and investigate why they continually excel in sport, specifically in my area of interest, volleyball. 

I visited Craigslea State High School, Holland Park State High School and Shailer Park State High School in Brisbane, spending time with the teachers and coaches. 

I then visited two of the powerhouses of volleyball in Adelaide, Brighton State High School and Heathfield State High School. 

I looked at coaching structures and what contributed to their excellence, the barriers that got in the way and the enablers that contributed to their continual success.

These schools have great facilities and this is one of the enablers to success. 

After seeing what is happening at this level in these schools, and also investigating what is happening in other schools, Australia’s success at the Commonwealth Games came as no surprise to me.