Kate O’Donnell
GOAL College, NSW
Gadigal, Wangal
Teaching Fellow
Kate O’Donnell is the founder of GOAL College, a Sydney senior high school with two campuses on Gadigal and Wangal country, built from the ground up to give disengaged, at-risk students a genuine alternative to traditional schooling.
Drawing on four years working with public education leaders in the USA on outcomes for disadvantaged students, Kate started the school a decade ago with three visionary teachers and 25 students in a rented, hot-desk office. Today, GOAL College employs 36 staff and achieves a 99% HSC completion rate, 97% post-Year 12 engagement in work or study, and sees a quarter of its students head straight to university without an ATAR, and achieves outcomes for First Nations and Pasifika students that far exceed sector norms.
Kate built the school on a flat, collaborative structure from day one, teaching alongside staff and making decisions together as the school grew. She has since introduced fortnightly wellbeing meetings, off-class admin time and a work-from-home day, driving strong staff retention and stability.
Having recently stepped back from Principal to a mentoring role as Foundation Principal, Kate continues coaching staff on leadership and wellbeing, and was awarded the inaugural Australian Teacher Award in 2023 for improving health and wellbeing.
Sport sits at the heart of how Kate has built engagement, with every student completing a Certificate III in Sport, Aquatics and Recreation and volunteering as coaches at local primary schools. She has forged partnerships with the South Sydney Rabbitohs’ Souths Cares program, the University of Sydney’s Gadigal Centre, Western Sydney University, ACPE and ICMS, connections that helped deliver the school’s first Aboriginal undergraduate acceptance in 2024.
The results are impressive: 100% HSC attainment for Indigenous students every year from 2017–2021, and a five-year average HSC attainment of 100% for low-SES students, compared to 68.5% statewide.