Simon Higginbotham

"I’ve seen a lot of changes since my very first day at Yarra. I think the school is very much about students living the dream.”

When Simon Higginbotham joined Form One at Yarra, the school uniform was a little different from today. He remembers having to wear a school cap all day – including in class. A blazer, shorts and long socks were also mandatory.

“The uniform rules were very strict. One teacher, Norman Maggs, was notorious for discipline and if any boy arrived at school with hair below the collar, he’d send that boy straight home to get a haircut,” says Simon.

Another teacher who made a strong impression was Simon’s first Maths teacher, Allen Crawley, who won bronze in the 4x100m relay in the 1966 Commonwealth Games. He also came sixth in the long jump event at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico.

“I remember seeing him wear the Mexico Olympics t-shirt and we were all in awe of him. He had a presence,” says Simon.

During his years at Yarra, Simon admits he was ‘a bit of a stirrer’, but he always completed his schoolwork and graduated with HSC results that enabled him to enrol in Economics and Law at Monash University.

But after 18 months he realised a legal career was not his future and he and a group of friends took a road trip to Perth which gave Simon time to think about what came next. During this time, he decided to become a teacher and when he returned to Melbourne he began a four year degree and qualified as a secondary school teacher.

“I enjoyed my teaching rounds and knew I’d made the right decision this time,” he says.

His first teaching job was at Camberwell Girls Grammar where he taught Accounting and Business Management. He was then invited by a former teacher to return to Yarra and taught Accounting, Economics, Legal Studies and Business Management.

“A few of my teachers were still here and probably wondered why I was back after being a bit of a troublemaker in class! But I worked hard and won their respect!”

During his career Simon has also held senior business managerial roles in the corporate and education worlds but has returned to Yarra for a third time to teach on a casual basis.

“I now come across students in class, and I taught their parents.

Retirement is around the corner. My wife and I want to travel and I also want to play more golf!”

Various stages of Simon’s life have been interwoven with Yarra and his various spells at the school have generated many friendships and fond memories.