Wilderness School names Belinda Arnfield as new principal

Prestigious Adelaide girl’s college Wilderness School has appointed a new principal, who first joined the institution nearly 20 years ago.

Wilderness School has appointed Belinda Arnfield as its new principal.

Mrs Arnfield joined the college 17 years ago as a teacher, and was in-charge of various school departments including numeracy, gifted education and curriculum development.

Since 2009 she had been head of middle school and late last year stepped up to the role of interim principal.

She will be the 10th principal in the school’s 138-year history.

Wilderness School’s new Principal Belinda Arnfield with SRC vice president Harriet Craig, president Amolika Bhatia and secretary Eliza Corbin. Picture: Wilderness School

A spokeswoman for Wilderness said in a statement that the school’s governing council decided Mrs Arnfield was a “clear choice”.

“Belinda has a rare depth of classroom and leadership experience from Early Learning through to Year 12,” the spokeswoman said.

“The Council is confident that, with Belinda as principal, Wilderness will continue to thoughtfully adapt to prepare girls for the challenges they will face and the choices they will make as women and global citizens of the future.”

The school statement also said that Mrs Arnfield’s commitment to the college “means that she is ideally placed to ensure that the values which are at the heart of the school continue to guide us”.

Mrs Arnfield’s appointment follows the departure of Jane Danvers, who led the school for 16 years.

Ms Danvers – who was also the presiding head of the SACE Board and chair of the Jam Factory – moved to Sydney to take up a position at Kambala, an all-girls’ school in Rose Bay.