2011 Awards
Teacher Award
Mr Mathew Irving
Head of Music
Radford College Canberra, Bruce, ACT
Mathew Irving is Head of Music at Radford College. The music program has almost trebled since his arrival at the school four years ago. Mathew has led the development of a sequential K-12 learning program covering the areas of academic, instrumental and co-curricular music, which has further extended beyond the school into a Community Music Program. Mathew is passionate about instilling a lifelong love of music in the students of the school. His programs ensure rich and rigorous pedagogical practices with outstanding student outcomes. The programs provide a living platform for learning which is constantly changing and growing to meet the demands of the changing learner.
Mathew has taken the Music Department to new heights of accomplishment by ensuring a highly energetic approach is matched by sound application of educational theory. He has a powerful vision for an inclusive music education where aptitude and varying musical tastes are blended into a cohesive whole. Mathew’s leadership in music education is well recognised with his role in the ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies and his work as a founding member and founding President of the ACT Music Educators Network (ACTMEN).