Hosts: Skye Hughes, Amanda Marshall, and Will Masara
Guest: Dr Adrian Cam – Principal of Westbourne Grammar and 2025 Australian Principal of the Year
What does it really look like to design a school for the future? In this visionary episode, the Podclass team is joined once again by the bold and brilliant Dr Adrian Cam to explore how schools can move beyond traditional models and truly prepare young people for the world they’re inheriting. From AI academies and 3D printers to authentic student voice and leadership, this conversation is packed with ideas to challenge and inspire educators, school leaders, and students alike.
🚀 Segment 1: Rethinking Curriculum as a Platform, Not a Prison
"Curriculum is the floor, not the ceiling." – Dr Adrian Cam
Dr Cam opens up about GEAR.ed, a compulsory middle-years subject at Westbourne where students build not-for-profits, machine learning systems, and even their own 3D printers. At its core? A belief that students can do more than we expect — if we let them.
Rather than viewing curriculum as a constraint, Cam encourages educators to see it as a launchpad for exploration, experimentation, and creativity. Teachers are supported as facilitators, not just instructors, empowered to let go of rigid control and trust the process.
🧠 Segment 2: AI Academy, Real-World Relevance, and Empowering Young Innovators
"If schools aren’t leading the conversation on AI – who is?"
The episode dives into Westbourne’s AI Academy, a nationally recognised initiative launched in response to the rise of tools like ChatGPT. Far beyond basic prompt engineering, students are developing their own AI models, engaging with data architecture, and applying these skills to real-world problems.
Dr Cam shares how the Academy is reframing AI as a creative tool, rather than a shortcut – and how student-led projects (including retro arcade machines and drone programs!) emerge when learning is authentic, experiential, and brave enough to fail forward.
👩🎓 Segment 3: Student Voice in Practice – Not Just Performance
"Nothing about us, without us." – Amanda Marshall
From sitting on leadership interview panels to providing direct feedback to the principal, students at Westbourne are deeply embedded in decision-making. Dr Cam explains how his school fosters psychological safety, critical feedback, and a sense of "becoming" – where students aren’t just learning subjects, but learning to be artists, engineers, and leaders.
By treating young people as capable citizens of the world today, schools can shift away from deficit narratives and build a culture where students speak truth to power – and are heard.
✏️ Practical Strategies for Educators
These insights from Episode 59 are ready to take back to your school community:
- Reframe the curriculum as a creative platform – not a checklist
- Create space for students to grapple with complexity (real projects, real tools, real-world relevance)
- Position teachers as co-learners and facilitators, not just content experts
- Establish systems of feedback that prioritise student voice – including in leadership decisions
- Clarify when and how AI should (and shouldn’t) be used in assessments
- Celebrate student risk-taking and failure as essential learning
🎧 Conclusion
This episode reminds us what education can be: a place of trust, innovation, and transformation. Whether you're a principal, teacher, or student, Episode 59 is a powerful call to never settle – and to believe in the brilliance of young people.
🔗 Links
🎧 Listen to all episodes: www.ylaaus.com/podclass
🧑🏫 Explore YEP: https://youthengagementproject.com
🔍 Learn more about YLAA: www.ylaaus.com
📸 Follow the convo on Instagram: @podclass.aus