New Pittwater House Principal Dr Steven Middleton brings three decades of experience, a focus on character, and a vision for global, future-ready learning, as the school marks a major milestone.
When Dr Steven Middleton looks out through the gates of Pittwater House, he can glimpse the Pacific Ocean. The view captures something essential about the school he has joined as principal at the beginning of 2026 – a campus grounded in its local environment but conscious of the wider world beyond it.
Pittwater House on Sydney’s Northern Beaches is an independent, non-denominational school from pre-K through to Year 12, with around 1,000 students and 150 staff.
“We’ve got lovely sporting facilities at our campus, including a fantastic aquatic centre with an outdoor heated 8-lane, 25-metre pool, which fits in beautifully with the vibe of sun, sand and surf,” Dr Middleton says.
But beyond its location and facilities, Pittwater House is also known for a distinctive approach to teaching and learning. The school operates using a structure it calls the “diamond model”.
Students learn in co-educational classes in the early years before moving into single-gender classes through the middle years of schooling, then returning to co-educational classes for the senior years.
The model means boys and girls share the same campus and community while learning in different classroom settings during key developmental stages.
“Essentially, we have a co-ed campus but single-gender classes,” he says. “That gives us the opportunity to tailor our teaching and programs to the developmental phases of young people, particularly in the early to middle years of adolescence.”
Dr Middleton says the approach reflects what educators know about differences in development during those years.
“Girls tend to be stronger in their literacy and numeracy and perhaps more physically developed than boys, who have a lot of energy but need to really focus on their literacy development.”
Although relatively uncommon in Australia, the model allows the school to combine academic focus with social interaction.
“The emotional development in the classroom is supported by the social development in the playground,” he says. “It’s a dynamic, energetic, vibrant co-educational campus. Boys and girls are socialising together, studying together and mixing together as you would expect.”
The result, he believes, is the best of both worlds.
“In some areas we keep them apart to honour what we know about educational research and the way boys and girls can learn differently,” he says.“But we also provide an environment that offers the social connections that are really important through childhood and adolescence.”
Lifelong learning and leadership
Dr Middleton’s own journey in education spans more than three decades across independent schools in Australia.
He grew up in western Victoria, where education was strongly valued within his family.
“Part of our language as a family was an understanding that education and learning were powerfully transformative forces in life,” he says.
“My parents were strong advocates for us – one of three boys – to learn. Reading and conversation were a very big part of our background, and my grandmother was a particularly big influence.”
After completing his studies at the University of Melbourne while living at Queen’s College, Dr Middleton began teaching at several leading Victorian schools before moving to Sydney.
“Living in a learning community shaped my values and my friendships and relationships,” he says.
He later taught at schools including Haileybury, Carey Grammar and Brighton Grammar before taking on roles in Sydney at Knox Grammar and The King’s School.
More recently, he spent eight years in leadership at St Margaret’s and Berwick Grammar in Melbourne.
“I oversaw a school thriving with enrolments and academic results,” he says.
The opportunity to lead Pittwater House, however, was one he could not pass up.
“I was following an outstanding principal, Dr Nancy Hillier, who’d been here for 15 years,” he says.
“There were very strong foundations in terms of educating the whole child, but what I also found was a very strong sense of community and connection from our families and students.”
For Dr Middleton, education extends well beyond academic outcomes.
“I believe schools are human-developing organisations,” he says. “Schools have an opportunity to work closely with families to grow great human beings.”
That philosophy is reflected in the school’s emphasis on co-curricular programs such as cadets, drama and performing arts.
“They’re wonderful vehicles to develop values, character and leadership capacity,” he says.
At the same time, Dr Middleton’s own professional journey reflects a strong commitment to lifelong learning. He holds a Master of Education, a Master of Business in Sport Management and a Doctor of Education.
“Lifelong learner – always seeking the next opportunity for growth,” he says. “That background provides me with a deep insight into what excellence looks like in great schools.”
Preparing students for a changing world
Like many school leaders, Dr Middleton sees significant challenges emerging in education.
“One of the realities is the volatility and ambiguity of our external context,” he says. “The world is changing rapidly. It’s a period of conflict, and even though that’s occurring in other countries, we’re seeing elements of that in our own country.”
Helping students navigate difference respectfully, he says, is essential.
“Even if we don’t share the same ideas, we are the same people,” he says. “We have more in common than divides us.”
“The all-pervasive nature of social media can influence values and attitudes,” he says. “It can lead to young people being in a hurry to grow up and leave childhood behind, rather than embracing that time of their life.”
For Dr Middleton, schools have a responsibility to help students develop resilience.
“The quest for perfection that social media promotes can take us away from understanding that life has its ups and downs,” he says. “Resilience is really what we’re made for.”
Technology is also central to students’ futures, but Dr Middleton believes schools must balance digital learning with the opportunities around them.
“Every student here has a device,” he says. “But the Northern Beaches is a very dynamic place, and we want to tap into the natural creativity of young people and their entrepreneurial flair.”
Partnerships with local organisations and community groups are part of that approach.
“There’s a vibrant tourist industry, hospitality industry and surf fashion industry here,” he says.
“Young people are presented with a great deal of opportunity if we can partner with those organisations.”
The school’s cadet program and strong community connections also play a role in shaping students’ development.
“We’ve just appointed our first ever female commanding officer of the cadet unit,” he says.
“That’s a great opportunity for young people to work together and collaborate.”
Looking ahead
Having only recently arrived at Pittwater House, Dr Middleton says his immediate priority is to listen and learn.
“My job here is to listen and understand what makes our school what it is,” he says. “Then to establish a vision for the next chapter of our history.”
That vision will combine innovation with respect for tradition.
“We want to be increasingly innovative while honouring the legacy and traditions of the past,” he says.
It also includes strengthening connections beyond Australia.
“Increasingly our young people have opportunities on a global scale,” he says. “We want them to understand what it means to be a responsible citizen in the 21st century – a global citizen who understands that their future may take them far from where they are today.”
For Dr Middleton, however, the purpose of schooling remains clear.
“We’re very fortunate to stand on the shoulders and build on the legacy of those who have gone before,” he says. “And the foundations that matter most – good manners, relationships, self-discipline, routine and habits – help us not just in the journey toward exams, but in the journey toward life.”
“We work closely with families to grow good – even great – human beings. Schools are wonderful places for young people to pursue excellence in whatever their chosen field. As John F. Kennedy said, a rising tide raises all boats: when we strive to improve ourselves, we lift others up.
“That spirit creates a sense of service and belonging to something bigger than ourselves.Young people are hungry to connect and to be part of a larger story. At Pittwater House, now celebrating 65 years, when students put on the Pittwater House blazer, they join that story.”
