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Author John Marsden founded his own school to try to improve the system

ABC News By Judd Boaz and Sarah Lawrence
Updated December 20, 2024

After ‘surviving’ negative experiences in the classroom, author John Marsden founded his own school to try to improve the system

John Marsden was an acclaimed author who turned his talents to teaching. (ABC News: Dave May)
John Marsden was an acclaimed author who turned his talents to teaching. (ABC News: Dave May)

When interviewed by the ABC about the schools he spent the last decades of his life building, author John Marsden shared some insights into his hiring policies.

“I didn’t want teachers whose main interest in life was the colour of their next dishwasher,” he said.

In 2006, Marsden opened Candlebark, a prep to Year 7 school located in the foothills of the Macedon Ranges, half an hour’s drive north of Melbourne. A secondary school, Alice Miller, was established ten years later.

Candlebark school was founded in 2006 on a property north of Melbourne. (Facebook)
Candlebark school was founded in 2006 on a property north of Melbourne. (Facebook)

Marsden hoped to find staff who had lived life to the fullest and were as passionate about teaching young people as he was.

The Victorian author had dropped out of three different university courses before finding teaching, a calling he said he fell in love with almost immediately.

Marsden’s passion for education stemmed from his own difficult experiences at school.

“I got in trouble all the time,” Marsden said of his time at The King’s School in Sydney during the 1960s.

“I found it a pretty tough experience and it took all my survival skills to get through the years I had there.”

John Marsden was deeply influenced by his own negative experiences at school. (ABC News)
John Marsden was deeply influenced by his own negative experiences at school. (ABC News)

Sarah Mayor Cox is a literacy expert and long-time friend of John Marsden, and said the author’s own experiences at school drove him to provide a better environment for his students.

“Like many people who have been bullied and institutionally bullied … he then became an absolute champion for the underdog, for the rights of children and young adults,” she said.

A gift at getting on the same wavelength

Ms Mayor Cox said Marsden was able to build a connection with young people by treating them with the same respect as he would adults.

“He did not differentiate young people from anybody else. He just spoke straight to them — didn’t talk down to them, didn’t talk up to them — and he was able to get on their wavelength,” Ms Mayor Cox said.

The respect he paid young people and their experiences extended into his award-winning writing and the subject matter he covered in his novels.

“He really felt that we ripped off young people by not taking them seriously,” Ms Mayor Cox said.

“So he was prepared to go to areas and down emotional rabbit holes that other people were saying ‘Oh, it’s too dark. You can’t do that with young people’.”

John Marsden reflects on the school he built in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges

Alice Miller and Candlebark principal Sarita Ryan said Marsden’s “profound respect” for young people drove everything he did in relation to the school.

“To see them as real human beings, multi-faceted with their own drives and capabilities,” Ms Ryan said.

The ethos extended to the school’s curriculum, which featured an emphasis on real world experiences and outdoor activity.

Sarita Ryan
Sarita Ryan is the principal at Alice Miller and Candlebark. (ABC News: Sarah Lawrence)

The philosophy attracted media attention, with television cameras arriving at the school to report on its policy of having students clean the school at the end of the each day.

“This always was a source of great hilarity to us, because it just seemed common sense,” Ms Ryan said.

“The idea that young people can spend their days at the school and then the team of adults will come after hours and secretly clean the place and set it up for them just didn’t seem right to us.”

Student life at John Marsden’s schools

For students coming to Candlebark and Alice Miller from the traditional school system, Marsden’s schools felt like an injection of freedom into their educational lives.

Elfie Munro-Lawrence attended both Candlebark and Alice Miller and said activities like climbing trees or exploring a nearby creek were advertised as major facets of the school experience.

“I remember when I was enrolling, my mum had to sign this long booklet that had essentially all these disclaimers about the risks that the children face because they let you do all these things,” she said.

“I thought it was so nice because I’d never been allowed to climb trees or anything like that at my previous school.”

“It was just nice to be treated with a little bit more autonomy.”

Candlebark school sits on more than 1,100 acres in central Victoria. (ABC News: Sarah Lawrence)
Candlebark school sits on more than 1,100 acres in central Victoria. (ABC News: Sarah Lawrence)

Ms Munro-Lawrence said she remembered less of a separation between students and teachers from her time at the school, including the school’s founder.

When she was the lead in the school play, Ms Munro-Lawrence had Marsden serving as her director.

“He would just tell you how he wanted it done, and he wouldn’t be afraid to tell you if you were doing it wrong,” she said.

“I guess that kind of leads into treating teenagers like the actual human beings rather than like children and trying to sugar coat everything.

“I definitely grew a lot from that kind of feedback.”

The school emphasises outdoor education and a more relaxed relationship between teachers and students. (ABC News: Sarah Lawrence)
Candlebark school sits on more than 1,100 acres in central Victoria. (ABC News: Sarah Lawrence)

She said Marsden should be commended for what he left behind.

“With all the books and the money, he could have just sat back and kept writing books and not done anything with his money,” she said.

“I think it was a pretty cool legacy to leave, leaving a school and an alternative form of education.”

Eden Shoo says Marsden's death was a "big shock" to the community. (ABC News)
Eden Shoo says Marsden’s death was a “big shock” to the community. (ABC News)

Another former student and current staff member, Eden Shoo, said Marsden’s death had left a big hole in the community.

“He was so incredibly supportive and kind, and just had this wealth of knowledge that we all feel so lucky to have been a part of,” she said.

Candlebark student Jethro Faust has also paid tribute.

“He was just an amazing teacher,” he said. “He would always come into class, we’d always crack jokes at each other, do some random stuff, usually he’d tell a story or two.

“The first thing John ever said to us was ‘Everything you’ve learnt in English is wrong’.”

Candlebark student Jethro Faust says he remembers Marsden's creative English lessons. (ABC News)
Candlebark student Jethro Faust says he remembers Marsden’s creative English lessons. (ABC News)

A lasting legacy

In his final year, Marsden stepped down as principal, but he continued living at the Candlebark campus, coming to the school for lunch each day.

He also continued teaching a Year 7 English class, something he described to other members of staff as one of the most meaningful educational experiences he had in his long career.

In the last week, the author had attended graduation ceremonies for Year 6 and 7 students, seeing off another generation of students.

Sarita Ryan said Marsden spent his last moments doing what he loved best.

“We found him yesterday. He did die at home, he died in his office. It’s hard to talk about but he died writing, which was no surprise to any of us,” she said.

“He died at his desk. In that sense, I know he died doing one of his loves.”

Sarah Mayor Cox said while Marsden’s views on education were not for everyone, he was undeniably a special human being.

“Yes, he was controversial. Yes, he could be a curmudgeon,” Ms Mayor Cox said.

“There were lots of things that we didn’t necessarily agree with, and there were times that he did pontificate, but god, he was lovable.”

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