Sheldon College principal and founder Lyn Bishop to step down

A national search is on to fill the post of principal at one of the most prestigious colleges in the southeast after its founder announced plans to step down.

It is still unknown who will take the reins of one of the southeast’s most prestigious private schools, after Lyn Bishop steps down from the role at Sheldon College this year.

Dr Bishop started the school 25 years ago, naming it after the suburb and has been its principal ever since.

After facing down the challenges of COVID last year, Dr Bishop said she was happy to step down and hand over to a new leader, which she plans to do by year’s end.

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The college’s board has started a comprehensive recruitment process which will consider applications from abroad and nationally to find a replacement.

The school has 10 directors and Dr Bishop said she expected applications from a number of existing staff.

A recruitment agency is taking applications and working in conjunction with the board.

“I’m not ready to retire or take up bowls or knitting or bridge — I will hopefully return to lecturing at university or working in the area of leadership development,” she said.

“It’s time for a fresh vision and someone who can take the college forward.

“Leadership development is paramount these days and it can be a pretty rough path for those in key leadership positions in schools, where much of the social agenda is placed on schools.

“It’s also important to have a smooth transition and preserve the organisation’s culture.”

Over the years, Dr Bishop has watched the college grow from 110 students and six staff in 1997, to more than 1400 students and 300 staff, teaching kindergarten through to Year 12.

Sheldon has also cultivated a reputation for offering cutting-edge technology and infrastructure with its media department and state-of-the-art theatres and arts stages.

Dr Bishop said she had enjoyed watching the fruits of her labours blossom but pointed out there had been sacrifices made along the way, including mortgaging her own house to finance the venture.

Sheldon College principal Dr Lyn Bishop welcomes Australian Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove and Lady Lynne Cosgrove to the campus in 2016.

Her passion for education and teaching lifted her through the “dark days” of trials and tribulations when she was trying to set up her college in 1997.

She said she dreamt up the idea after her father walked out on her mother 55 years ago.

With no income, Dr Bishop’s mother moved the family of three to Tambo in southwest Queensland to live with her parents in a one-bedroom cottage with no fridge, no washing machine, and no mod cons.

It gave the young teacher the impetus to break through any glass ceiling and strive to be better.

It also helped her craft her philosophy of “Love, Laughter and Learning”, which will remain the motto at the school.

Even when she was young, growing up in Tambo with a serious illness, Dr Bishop said she knew she wanted to be a teacher.

Dr Lyn Bishop played a hands-on role at the College.

And although she believed some women were still thwarted by glass ceilings, technology was changing women’s role in society presenting more opportunities.

“Woman can be whatever they want to be in this world because it’s not what you are that holds you back, it’s what you think you are not,” Dr Bishop said.

“In today’s corporate world, I believe there are fewer barriers and more opportunities for women than in the past.

“Point to any successful woman, and you will note that none of them have allowed a patriarchal system to thwart them in the pursuits of their own goals.”

Dr Bishop said successful businesses were those that gave clients what they wanted and not what the business thought the client wanted.

She said it was expected there would be a transition period after the new principal was appointed.