A high-ranking teacher at a prestigious girl’s school in Perth’s south has suddenly quit despite previously professing her ‘love’ for the job.
The head of Penrhos College’s secondary school, Dr Victoria Kelleher, announced she would be departing from the school at the end of the year.
The school’s principal and only higher-up to Dr Kelleher, Kalea Haran, on Wednesday broke the news in an email to staff and the families of about 1,100 students.
While the email thanked Dr Kelleher for her two-years of service to the school, a reason behind her departure is yet to be given.
The private girls’ school accommodates students from K-12, charging more than $11,500 for kindergarten and escalating to just over $28,000 per year for high-schoolers in years 10-12.
The head of a prestigious girls’ high school in Perth, Dr Victoria Kelleher (pictured), has abruptly quit the role without reason
The email from Ms Haran described Dr Kelleher as ‘pivotal’ in implementing a new plan to change the school’s ‘strategic direction’ between 2023 and 2025.
‘I sincerely thank her for her work over the last two years at Penrhos and wish her all the best in future,’ Ms Haran’s email according to the West Australian.
The school’s principal announced that the current dean of students, Michelle Taylor, would be stepping up in Dr Kelleher’s absence until the end of Term 1 next year.
Ms Taylor has been planning to also depart from the school at the end of the year.
In the December 2022 issue of the school’s newsletter, The Penrosian, Dr Kelleher said her first year at the school had been a ‘privilege… (and) a wonderful opportunity’.
‘When I reflect on my first year at Penrhos College, and the wonderful environment I get to be part of, the only phrase that encompasses the positive experiences and connections that I have seen, and more importantly, that I feel is, ‘Penrhos is a vibe!” Dr Kelleher wrote.
Dr Kelleher, who went to school in a ‘small village’ in Blarney, Northwest of Cork in England’s South, said in a post to LinkedIn that she was shocked she had landed the role at Penrhos College.
While the email thanked Dr Kelleher for her two-years of service to the school, a reason behind her departure is yet to be given
Dr Kelleher had been in the role at Penrhos College (pictured), in Perth’s south, since the start of 2022 and previously stated how much she ‘loved’ the school
The post from last year included images of Perth’s Swan River where the school’s rowing team were practicing before the sun rose.
‘This morning I got to watch our amazing Penrhos girls and their coaches in action, out on the Swan River, on a beautiful morning in Perth, in a role I never dreamed I would have, for a school that I love,’ she wrote.
‘How did this teacher from a small village school in Blarney, Cork, get so lucky!’
Her LinkedIn profile states Dr Kelleher had become a lecturer at Perth’s Murdoch University in June, the same university she received her doctorate in education from.
She had also been the head of curriculum at St George’s Anglican Grammar School in Perth’s CBD in the two years before joining Penrhos.
Daily Mail Australia has approached Dr Kelleher for comment.
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