8 Notable School Principals to Follow in Adelaide
- Jonno White
- Jul 7
- 5 min read
Last updated: July 2026
Adelaide school leadership is more visible when the evidence stays close to the school itself.
This list highlights eight school principals and school heads in Adelaide whose current roles could be tied to first-party school pages. It is not a ranking, and it is not a claim that these are the only strong leaders in the city. It is a conservative starting point for educators, boards, families and school communities who want to see how different schools present leadership, culture, wellbeing and learning.
A note on this list: I compiled it, and I am not on it. I work in leadership and Working Genius facilitation rather than school principalship, and I put this together because school leaders shape the conditions in which young people learn, belong and grow. The people below are listed for their own work, not their connection to me.
Why Adelaide School Leaders Matter
School leaders carry more than operational responsibility.
A principal's public message often tells families and staff what a school values before anyone steps into a classroom. Some leaders emphasise belonging. Some talk about academic stretch, student agency, faith, service, innovation or preparation for life beyond school. Taken together, these messages show how Adelaide's education sector explains trust, purpose and community.
Sarah Chambers writes that "every student is known, valued and supported to thrive". Trent Driver writes that "wellbeing is at the core of success and happiness". Those short phrases matter because they show the human side of school leadership without needing hype.
How This List Was Compiled
This list uses an honest eight-person scope.
I included leaders only where a first-party school page named the person and the role together. Where a school uses a title such as Headmaster or Acting Principal, I kept the school's own language. LinkedIn was not used to verify any role in the blog, although the companion LinkedIn post includes a separate manual tagging block at the user's request.
Featured Adelaide School Principals
1. Sarah Chambers
Adelaide Botanic High School
Sarah Chambers is Principal at Adelaide Botanic High School. The school's official Meet The Principal page names Chambers and presents a principal message about curiosity, belonging, and preparing students for life beyond school.
Known for: city-based public education and innovation-focused learning.
2. Kristian Mundy
Woodville Gardens School
Kristian Mundy is Principal at Woodville Gardens School. The school's official welcome page names Mundy as Principal and presents the school as a birth to Year 6 community with long day care, preschool, early years and primary learning.
Known for: birth to Year 6 community leadership in Adelaide's western suburbs.
3. Wendy Johnson AM
Glenunga International High School
Wendy Johnson AM is Principal at Glenunga International High School. The school's official Principal page names Johnson and describes Glenunga as South Australia's largest single-site public secondary school.
Known for: large public secondary school leadership and international education.
4. Greg Rolton
Unley High School
Greg Rolton is Principal at Unley High School. The school's official leadership team page names Rolton as Principal, and the school describes a comprehensive public high school with broad programs across academic, sport and performing arts pathways.
Known for: comprehensive public secondary leadership.
5. Greg Atterton
Pulteney Grammar School
Greg Atterton is Principal at Pulteney Grammar School. The school's official Principal's Welcome signs off with Atterton's name and title, and frames Pulteney around long history, belonging and contemporary learning.
Known for: city-based independent school leadership.
6. Andrew Whiteman
Westminster School
Andrew Whiteman is Acting Principal at Westminster School. The school's official Principal's Welcome names Whiteman with the acting title and describes Westminster as an ELC to Year 12 school on a 23-hectare campus.
Known for: ELC to Year 12 independent school leadership.
7. Mark Staker
Pembroke School
Mark Staker is Principal at Pembroke School. The school's official Principal's Welcome names Staker and presents Pembroke as an ELC to Year 12 SACE and IB school with boarding.
Known for: ELC to Year 12 independent school leadership.
8. Trent Driver
Scotch College Adelaide
Trent Driver is Principal at Scotch College Adelaide. The school's official welcome page lists Driver with the Principal title and describes a holistic education focused on preparation for life.
Known for: whole-school independent education leadership.
Notable Voices We Almost Included
Several Adelaide school leaders were held outside the featured list because this draft is intentionally narrow.
The companion LinkedIn post includes an extra manual block of leaders to consider for tagging and future research. That block is not part of the fact-checked blog list. It is useful for reach and discovery, but the blog itself stays with the eight people whose first-party evidence is captured here.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Do not treat a list like this as a ranking.
A useful school leadership list should not imply that one principal is better than another. It should help readers find credible people, notice leadership themes and explore school communities with curiosity.
Do not use LinkedIn as the sole truth source for a current school role. LinkedIn can be useful for manual tagging and professional updates, but a school-owned page is stronger evidence for a public role claim.
Do not blur titles. If a school says Headmaster, Acting Principal or Principal, the draft should keep that wording. Accuracy in title language is a small thing that protects trust.
Implementation Guide
Use this article as a starting map.
If you are a school board member, compare how the public leadership pages describe purpose, culture and learning. If you are an educator, look for leaders whose school context overlaps with your own. If you are a parent, use the links to understand how each school explains its leadership before you read broader marketing material.
For future versions, the strongest next step is to widen the roster harvest across government, Catholic and independent sectors. That would allow a larger list without loosening the evidence standard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a ranking of Adelaide principals?
No. This is a curated, non-ranked list of eight school leaders whose roles were tied to first-party school pages.
Why are there eight people instead of 50?
The original queue topic used 50 as a target, but this draft uses eight because those were the entries carried forward for the blog package.
Why does the LinkedIn post mention more leaders?
The extra LinkedIn names are a separate manual tagging block. They are not part of the fact-checked featured list in the blog.
Can a future version include more people?
Yes. A future version can include more Adelaide school leaders if each added entry clears the same first-party evidence standard.
Final Thoughts
Adelaide's school leadership field is wider than this draft.
That is exactly why the evidence standard matters. A short, accurate list is more useful than a padded one. The eight leaders here give readers a credible starting point, and the extra LinkedIn block gives Jonno a wider set of names to consider manually when promoting the post.
About the Author
About me: I am a Certified Working Genius Facilitator, certified through Patrick Lencioni's Table Group, and the author of Step Up or Step Out. I work with schools, corporates and nonprofits around the world on leadership, teamwork and strategic clarity. If that is useful for your team, you can reach me at jonno@consultclarity.org.
Sources
Adelaide Botanic High School: https://abhs.sa.edu.au/about/meet-the-principal/.
Woodville Gardens School: https://www.wgs.sa.edu.au/about-us/principals-welcome/.
Glenunga International High School: https://gihs.sa.edu.au/our-school/principal/.
Unley High School: https://uhs.sa.edu.au/leadership-team/.
Pulteney Grammar School: https://www.pulteney.sa.edu.au/principals-welcome/.
Westminster School: https://www.westminster.sa.edu.au/why-westminster/principals-welcome.
Pembroke School: https://www.pembroke.sa.edu.au/our-school/principals-welcome.
Scotch College Adelaide: https://www.scotch.sa.edu.au/about-us/welcome/.