Bunbury Senior High School teacher Tyril Houghton named as a 2017 WA Education Award finalist

After a successful career in education, Mrs Houghton arrived at Bunbury Senior High School in 2013 and set about implementing new programs for success. 

The effort has paid off with the school now ranking about the Australian average in mathematics through the annual NAPLAN testing. 

“Strong foundations are the key, especially in a subject like mathematics, so we’ve really put a strong emphasis on new technology and teaching methods to achieve results,” Mrs Houghton said. 

“Apart for changes in the classroom, I’ve also worked extensively to mentor younger staff to ensure they get the best start in their careers and they stick with teaching for the long term. 

“Teaching is a challenging but very rewarding profession and I’ve always said I’ll stop doing it when I’ve gone a week without changing the life of a student.”

Mrs Houghton said she was “quite humble” at the news she was a finalist but she was thrilled to see that three of the four finalists are from regional school, including Jade Warrington, a teacher at Newton Moore Senior High School.

“People often think you need to go to Perth for a good education but that’s just not true. Parents can feel comfortable that their students are getting a quality education here in the South West,” she said.