Simon Herd, Principal at Medowie Christian School, has been included as one of 40 outstanding educators in the 2016 Hot List published by The Educator magazine.

This annual award recognises outstanding leaders in the field of education across Australia.

A wide array of education leaders whose work is enriching the educational experiences of K-12 students around the country are included on the list.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the response that we received,” said Editor of The Educator Tim Garratt.

“It truly attests to the outstanding efforts of those working in a broad range of educational institutions across Australia.”

Mr Simon Herd, Principal of Medowie Christian School, was named in the Hot List for the work he led following the March 2015 Cyclone Pam which struck the Vanuatu islands.

The Cyclone was the most powerful to hit the Pacific, killing 15 people and leaving 75, 000 homeless.

Mr Herd led development and aid teams to reinvigorate education in Vanuatu.

This involved working alongside international aid agencies, government authorities and local indigenous staff and students.

Mr Herd continues to dedicate substantial time to supporting education in developing nations.

Recently, he led an initiative aimed at giving young people from impoverished regions the chance to break the poverty cycle.

Additionally, Mr Herd has provided opportunities for Australian high school students to have other experiences by visiting and supporting education in Vanuatu.

Mr Herd’s school, Medowie Christian School, is also well known in the local community for supporting causes closer to home.

Their support to the Medowie Fire Brigade during the recent Lone Pine/Medowie gained national coverage, including in this newspaper.

The full report is in The Educator, available online at: http://www.educatoronline.com.au/rankings/hot-list-2016/ and https://issuu.com/keymedia/docs/te_2.4/3.