Fully-funded, year-long support for regional and metropolitan teachers
We are thrilled to announce the recipients of the 2025 National Teacher Mentorship, supported by the Australian Government and Teachers Mutual Bank.
Thank you to all teachers who applied from across Australia, who shared with us their unique challenges and ambitions. We are, as always, in awe of the work you do.
The following teachers will be joining us for specialist training at Bell Shakespeare HQ, Pier 2/3 Walsh Bay, in February 2025. On return to their school they will receive support and mentoring from the Company for one year. Congratulations from all of us at Bell Shakespeare - we can't wait to work with you.
2025 National Teacher Mentorship recipients:
Nicole Allen, Young High School NSW
Jenny Blow, Sunshine College, Melbourne VIC
Joanne Corlett, Champion Bay Senior High School, Geraldton WA
Sam Crook, Gulgong High School NSW
Andrew Dabner, Brunswick East Primary School VIC
Sian Edeson, Woodroffe Primary School NT
Blythe Ellis, Collingwood English Language School VIC
Daynah Elford, Rooty Hill High School NSW
William Fitzgerald, Kingston High School TAS
Rebecca Graham, Wingham High School NSW
Kelly Green, Allegra School, Coffs Harbour NSW
Felicity Harley, Melville High School NSW
Sian Harrington, Hawker College ACT
Lucy Harris, Thuringowa State High School, Condon QLD
Amy Johnson, Kingston State College QLD
Ahrain Kidman-Schier, Goroke P-12 College VIC
Stephanus Krynauw, Bunbury Senior High School WA
Ewan Macdonald, Baimbridge College, Hamilton VIC
Whitney McCarthy-Cole, Downlands College, Toowoomba QLD
Rachel Vonk, Newman Senior School WA
Kenneth Nixon, Cairns State High School QLD
Meghan Pfeiffer, St Philips College, Alice Springs NT
Ellen Rees, Hobart College TAS
Alexandria Rix, Cranebrook High School NSW
Jo Scales, Montrose Bay High School TAS
Joanne Severino-Risso, Broken Hill High School NSW
Karen Sutherland, Chaffey Secondary College, Mildura VIC
Natalie Webb, William Carey Christian School, Prestons NSW
Louise Willson, Centenary Heights State High School QLD
Keer Zhang, St John's College, Dubbo NSW
Proudly supported by Teachers Mutual Bank and the Australian government.
Every year we welcome 30 teachers from across the country to Bell Shakespeare HQ in Sydney. We train them over four intensive days in innovative Shakespeare strategies, active learning principles, and teaching techniques to engage all learners across all year levels. Then, on return to their schools, we mentor teachers for the remainder of the year, providing support, guidance and resources as and when they need it.
It’s designed to strengthen your Shakespeare teaching arsenal, but teachers tell us the value of the mentorship program extends far beyond that.
It’s a program that allows teachers to engage deeply with their own learning and reflect on their practice; to be looked after so that for a few days, they can be a student again. It’s a program that reignites passion for teaching. It creates networks of support in a profession that can wear you down. The strategies we teach can be applied to any text, far beyond Shakespeare’s plays.
100% of alumni teachers reported that the mentorship program has had a positive impact on their teaching practice. Each year our mentorship recipients range from early career teachers to those with decades of experience, and all have found the experience valuable and transformative in different ways.
We’re looking for the next 30 teachers who are ready to take up this opportunity to level up in their teaching. If this sounds like the program you need, and you can demonstrate the unique needs of your school and community, we encourage you to apply.
Please note, these dates are not inclusive of travel to and from Sydney.
To be eligible candidates must:
Teachers from regional and remote schools, and schools with diverse student populations, are strongly encouraged to apply.
See full terms and conditions here.
All travel, accommodation and Professional Learning expenses are provided. Breakfasts, lunches and one dinner are provided for the week of training. The only cost to the school is one week of relief teaching while the participating teacher is in Sydney for training.
Applications for the 2025 National Teacher Mentorship have now closed. To register your interest in attending the 2026 National Teacher Mentorship, fill out this form and we will be in touch once applications open.
This professional development changed my life. The mentorship has impacted my teaching practice in the most positive way imaginable
The National Teacher Mentorship was the most valuable professional training I have ever participated in as a teacher, and I dare say, it may always be.
Marcia Bell is Secondary Mathematics Teacher and Wellbeing Coordinator at Bowraville Central School on the mid-north coast of NSW. Marcia was a Regional Teacher Mentorship recipient in 2021 and shares how she uses what she learned from the mentorship to teach her students build their confidence and believe in themselves.
Joan Fraser, Head Teacher of Secondary Studies at Binnaway Central School completed the Regional Teacher Mentorship in 2016. Joan's passion for regional teaching, her lifelong love of Shakespeare, and the support of the Mentorship has combined into innovative lessons in the classroom, embodying the language through movement and expression.
Melanie is the English Co-ordinator at Murrayville Community College, three hours east of Adelaide on the Victorian side of the border. After completing the Mentorship in 2016, Melanie brought what she'd learned back to the classroom, encouraging her students to have a positive mindset and have a go with whatever they’re faced with.
Emma Grant is Principal of Koorda Primary School, located three hours north-east of Perth. Since completing the Mentorship in 2018, Emma has seen firsthand how much her students now respond to learning Shakespeare and the impact these kids will have on her community in the future.
