Swan Christian College (SCC) played host to the SCEA ‘Association Meeting’ last night – Thursday 26 June 2025 – with the Annual General Meeting ushering in new Directors, returning Board Recruitment Committee members and a wonderful message of hope from international guest speaker Mr Andy Wolfe (Executive Director – Church of England Schools, UK).
Mr Wolfe is in Australia as part of a whistle-stop tour visiting Christian schools and church organisations in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. He oversees 4,700 schools in the United Kingdom – a vast array of educational institutions, both large and small, from all parts of Great Britain.
When writing and planning his publications for such a large audience, his mindset is always ‘How does a busy teacher engage with this?’ – an important concept to keep in mind when focusing on an audience of today’s teachers in classrooms across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
Mr Wolfe’s presentation opened the evening, which then featured a devotional thought from Board Director Mr Rod White around the power of God’s word.
Two new Board Directors were voted in – Mr Steve Sonneman-Smith and Mr Peter Burton, and two Board Recruitment Committee (BRC) members were re-nominated and held their positions – Mrs Caroline Blake and Mr Neil David.
Dr Martin Bent concluded his time on the BRC in style by ensuring that the two new Directors were emphatically endorsed into their new roles. The Grievance Committee of Mrs Shelley Forbes and Mr Simon Creek were endorsed for another term of office.
Dr Graeme Cross (Chief Executive Officer – SCEA) presented on the CHARIS virtues and the journey from a disparate set of schools to a united entity that is ‘greater than the sum of its parts.’
Mr Nick Wood (Chief Operating Officer – SCEA) spoke about the new auditors for SCEA and the process that had been followed to reach a successful accounting firm as part of this tender process. He also spoke about the proposed diversification of investment strategy, which will be tabled at the next Association meeting.
Mr Craig Clark (Board Chair – SCEA) concluded the night by saying that this last 12 months had been a time in which ‘normal Board work’ had dominated their time together rather than any other issues that may have taken the time of SCEA’s governing committee.
“Exciting things are coming, and everything is working as a result of the peace and prosperity across our schools and the leadership team,” said Mr Clark.
“SCEA Principals are practising the vision of our Association on a daily basis, and it truly is a joy to be a part of God’s work here at SCEA right now.”
