Academic Culture – Where Does It Come From?
The Culture of Learning
At St Augustine’s College, we often speak proudly about our academic excellence. How fortunate we are to have aspiring students, supportive families, and passionate and talented staff. It isn't by chance that we can celebrate this excellence – it is because excellence is a product of culture.
I was lucky enough in the holidays to visit our Lifeline Book Fair, and whilst rummaging through, I stumbled upon a copy of Ivan Cleary's book – Not Everything Counts, but Everything Matters. It is a reflective piece based on his experience in building high-performing, premiership-winning organisations. I'm not a huge NRL fan, but I am a lifelong learner – so it got a guernsey.
He suggests that culture can be understood through three simple questions: What does it look like? What does it sound like? What does it feel like?
What does academic culture look like at Saints? It looks like 56 teachers voluntarily giving up time during the school holidays to run HSC workshops, deliver lectures, mark practice papers, and provide individual feedback to students. It looks like classrooms where curiosity is encouraged, effort is recognised, and improvement is expected. It is visible in the thousands of small actions undertaken each day by students and staff committed to learning.
What does it sound like? It sounds like former College Captain Carter Smyth challenging students to remember that “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work.” It sounds like teachers asking probing questions, students discussing ideas, debating respectfully, and engaging deeply with complex concepts. It sounds like a community that values learning and celebrates intellectual growth.
And what does it feel like? It feels warm, supportive, and purposeful. It is present when students confidently engage in rich conversations, use sophisticated vocabulary, and express their ideas knowing they will be encouraged, challenged, and coached. It is the sense of belonging that allows boys to take intellectual risks and continue striving for improvement.
I have recently been fortunate to be involved in a national project exploring the place and importance of critical thinking in the Australian curriculum. Through this work with Nobel Prize-winning physicist Saul Perlmutter and the team at the University of California, Berkeley, the project has been navigating ways to explicitly teach critical thinking skills within existing curricula. In a world where information is abundant and opinions are plentiful, the ability to question, analyse evidence, and consider alternative perspectives has never been more important. Critical thinking is a crucial part of our academic culture.
Families can support this work at home through simple Socratic questioning. Rather than asking, “Did you finish your homework?”, we might ask, “What evidence do you have for that?”, “Could there be another way to view that issue?” or “What would someone who disagrees with you say?” These questions encourage curiosity, reflection, and deeper understanding. Over time, they help young people become more thoughtful, discerning, and confident learners.
When school and home work together to foster these habits of thinking, we create more than academic success. We create young men who are equipped to engage thoughtfully with the world around them and who understand that learning is not simply about having the right answers, but about asking better questions.
Amy Ayers
Deputy Principal - Academic
