School Whisperer

Allan Shaw is a true School Whisperer, a man who, after more than 40 years as a Teacher, Principal and Mentor to fellow Principals, believes that leading a school is the best job in the world.

Allan began his career in education as an art teacher in an outer suburban Melbourne school 43 years ago. He retired in mid-2021, after seven years as Principal of The Knox School in Melbourne.

Allan worked in all three school sectors, across two state Departments of Education, a Catholic systemic high school and an independent  boys’ boarding school prior to his first principalship.  In 1999, Allan became the Foundation Principal of Peter Moyes Anglican Community School in Perth and managed the school growth from the ground up, beginning with the earth works. After six years he had built a successful K-12 school of nearly 1,000 boys and girls. He went from there in 2005 to become Chief Executive of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia, when he supported and mentored Principals and worked with Federal Education Ministers and education peak bodies on national education policy.

During his leadership tenure at Knox, he relied on the Education Geographics Maps and App for strategic marketing, spatial targeting, bus route design and setting demographic parameters for future growth and affordability.