Headquarters:
220 Burwood Highway, Wantirna South, VIC 3152
Year founded:
1982
Number of employees:
140
Phone:
03 8805 3800
Email:
reception@knox.vic.edu.au
Website:
knox.vic.edu.au
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/school/the-knox-school-melbourne-australia/
Nikki Kirkup
Principal and Chief Executive
Toni-Ann Bright
Associate Principal and Head of Community, Culture and Operations
Janelle Mathias
Associate Principal and Head of Senior School
Leadership
With over 20 years of experience in education and leadership across three continents, Nikki Kirkup, originally from the UK, came to Australia in 2015 as director of senior years at Melbourne Girls Grammar (MGGS), where she was instrumental in developing, launching and leading the innovative MGGS Senior Years Holistic Model.
In 2020, Kirkup joined The Knox School (TKS) originally as deputy principal, subsequently taking on the role of principal and chief executive in 2021. With her passion for collaborative leadership, student-centred approaches, community engagement and innovation in education, she continues to champion the vision of TKS as a leader in personalised learning.
Principal and Chief Executive
Nikki Kirkup
Toni-Ann Bright started her teaching career in South Africa, cementing her belief that all students have the right to access quality education that provides the best opportunities available and meets students’ academic and wellbeing needs. Further teaching and leadership roles in the UK and Australia provided her a wealth of operational, administrative, curriculum and strategic experience across a range of learning environments.
Toni-Ann hopes her enthusiasm and love of learning can inspire others to engage positively with their education. She is dedicated to fostering an environment that is student focused, engages the community, develops leadership and encourages students and teachers to achieve their best.
Associate Principal and Head of Community, Culture and Operations
Toni-Ann Bright
Janelle Mathias successfully completed a double degree at the University of Melbourne, specialising in both science and education. Her passion for teaching led her to commence her career in education, teaching mathematics at The Knox School (TKS) in 2009. Throughout her tenure at TKS, she has held various roles that have contributed to her development as both a teacher and a leader within the school community.
Mathias is dedicated to the holistic development of her students and is committed to fostering a learning environment that provides opportunities for students to grow and achieve their personal best.
Associate Principal and Head of Senior School
Janelle Mathias
Simon Cowell
Associate Principal and Head of Junior School
Simon Cowell is a 1995 The Knox School alumnus. He has completed a degree in community development at Deakin University, leading him to work in the international community development sector. He was a board member of an educational charity in Cambodia, and this position directed him to education.
Cowell completed a degree in both primary and secondary education. He has taught in various roles across both primary and secondary schools in the UK and Australia. Hehas a strong focus on the inquiry process through a concept-driven curriculum and the Design Thinking Model.
In his own time, he enjoys travelling, especially to Cambodia, where he still maintains strong connections to the educational community.
Associate Principal and Head of Junior School
Simon Cowell
Tracey Costello
Chief Financial Officer
Tracey Costello is an accomplished strategic leader with a breadth and depth of finance, governance and strategic executive experience, including 10 years with a Big 4 accounting consultancy, working in Australia, USA and Canada, and 10 years as a senior executive in both government and commercial organisations.
Chief Financial Officer
Tracey Costello
Isaac Rule
Head of Digital Strategy
Fiona Kapkidis
Head of People and Culture (Human Resources)
Margaret Leau-Sulusi
Business Development Manager
Pam Chhabra
Manager – Residential Strata
Isaac Rule is a digital strategy and operations leader with experience across New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Australia. With a background in primary education and a Master of Educational Leadership, he brings his experience in the classroom to system-level execution.
He leads digital projects to improve systems and is committed to building staff capability, strengthening digital literacy and aligning innovation with strategic priorities. His portfolio includes oversight of the school’s Learning Management System and stakeholder engagement.
Rule is passionate about supporting students to develop their critical thinking skills and independence. His work as timetabler supports delivery of the school’s academic program, aligning staffing, subject offerings and resource allocation to maximise the benefit to students.
Head of Digital Strategy
Isaac Rule
With more than 20 years in people and culture, Fiona Kapkidis combines her HR experience with a strong background in business and music education. A graduate of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music at the University of Melbourne, she later completed postgraduate qualifications in business management at Monash University, shaping her holistic approach to people development. Her career includes over five years in Asia with a major communications company, where she led professional development, team engagement and training programs across culturally diverse organisational environments.
Prior to joining The Knox School, she worked in the property industry, leading people strategy, recruitment and stakeholder engagement. Passionate about creating positive workplaces and building authentic connections, Kapkidis believes that when people feel valued and supported, they bring their best to what they do. She remains deeply connected to the music community, teaching piano privately and having previously served as a board director for both the Victorian Music Teachers’ Association and Melbourne Youth Orchestras.
Head of People and Culture (Human Resources)
Fiona Kapkidis
Margaret Leau-Sulusi brings over 20 years of banking experience to her role as business development manager, having started with Westpac in 2005. Her background includes lending support, senior lending roles and branch management. Leau-Sulusi partners closely with mortgage advisers, providing product expertise and strategic guidance to drive strong client outcomes. Known for her collaborative style and responsiveness, she is passionate about building trusted relationships and delivering customer-focused results.
Business Development Manager
Margaret Leau-Sulusi
Stephen McMillan first entered the financial services Industry when he joined GE Capital as a finance analyst in 2008, from which he progressed through roles working both onshore and offshore. From there, he moved into Pacific Premium Funding as a financial planning and analysis leader in 2012 and was a key resource in the evolution of the business, first with the successful sale to Macquarie Pacific Funding and then the following progression into IQumulate Premium Funding, where he is now the commercial manager.
As commercial manager, McMillan leads a team that is responsible for commercial analysis and business support, identifying and reporting improvement initiatives, and the securitization and treasury functions of the business.
Commercial Manager
Stephen McMillan
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Adam Basaldella
Manager – Claims
Stephen McMillan first entered the financial services Industry when he joined GE Capital as a finance analyst in 2008, from which he progressed through roles working both onshore and offshore. From there, he moved into Pacific Premium Funding as a financial planning and analysis leader in 2012 and was a key resource in the evolution of the business, first with the successful sale to Macquarie Pacific Funding and then the following progression into IQumulate Premium Funding, where he is now the commercial manager.
As commercial manager, McMillan leads a team that is responsible for commercial analysis and business support, identifying and reporting improvement initiatives, and the securitization and treasury functions of the business.
Product Manager
Claire Watson
Stephen McMillan first entered the financial services Industry when he joined GE Capital as a finance analyst in 2008, from which he progressed through roles working both onshore and offshore. From there, he moved into Pacific Premium Funding as a financial planning and analysis leader in 2012 and was a key resource in the evolution of the business, first with the successful sale to Macquarie Pacific Funding and then the following progression into IQumulate Premium Funding, where he is now the commercial manager.
As commercial manager, McMillan leads a team that is responsible for commercial analysis and business support, identifying and reporting improvement initiatives, and the securitization and treasury functions of the business.
Commercial Manager
Stephen McMillan
“We also maintain open lines of communication with advisers so they know what to expect and can plan accordingly”
Hayley Burgess, ANZ Bank New Zealand
“We’ve invested heavily in resourcing and process improvements to reduce friction and speed up approvals”
Hayley Burgess, ANZ Bank New Zealand
The Knox School describes itself as ’intentionally untraditional’, a phrase that captures its commitment to doing things because they work, not because they are conventional. The independent co-educational school in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs has built its entire model around that conviction, serving Early Learning to Year 12 on a single campus since 1982.
At the heart of the model is the Three Journeys framework, which maps the full scope of how education develops in each student. Knowledge develops the intellectual mind. Skills builds creativity, communication, collaboration and critical thinking.
Character develops personality, values and contribution to the world. None outranks the others; it is their interaction that shapes each student. The TKS Learner Profile, introduced in 2026, lets students measure growth across all three journeys beyond academic grades. Student-led parent conferences put students in charge of presenting that evidence.
Student agency is the most visible expression of the model, operating as embedded practice rather than a stated aspiration. Students co-designed the school’s outdoor learning spaces and the TKS Futures Hub. They sit on a formal Student Commission and run the Flight Deck podcast, interviewing guests including academics and theatre directors.
Through Knoxpeditions and The CUBE, students work on real client briefs, earning Melbourne Metrics credentials from the University of Melbourne alongside TKS micro-credentials.
The past year’s defining strategic move was the release of The Knox School Learning Ecosystem: Roadmap to 2030, published in October 2025. Co-constructed with students, staff, parents and partners, it is a living framework built around six domains, spanning student development, wellbeing, teaching, schooling experience, connection and belonging, and leadership. It opens by naming the world students are entering: rapid technological change, pervasive AI and the need for sustainability. Implementation is tracked and reported transparently to the Board.
Technology is deployed to serve pedagogy rather than define it. A five-part Digital Strategy spans governance, digital pedagogy, student wellbeing, curriculum alignment and horizon scanning. Students engage with AI ethically and critically through dedicated Flexible Learning Time units, benchmarked against the Australian Framework for Generative AI in Schools. Its Microsoft 365 environment and learning management system are both being rebuilt.
Support is equally intentional. Every student has a mentor or academic coach as a first point of contact. An ELC to Year 12 wellbeing framework covers cognitive, physical, social, emotional, spiritual and digital health. A wellbeing team introduced in 2026, including a fitness coach, nutritionist and wellbeing coach, works alongside a school psychologist. Mental Health First Aid training was completed by all teaching staff in 2024 and extended to all professional staff in 2025.
With students representing 55 nationalities and speaking 43 languages, diversity is a daily reality. A Reconciliation Action Plan and Indigenous-led learning experiences reflect a school where, in its own words, every one of us belongs.
