‘We run the school’: The man behind Sydney’s top-performing
Reddam House
Lucy Carroll
July 6, 2024 5.00am
When Reddam House opened its Woollahra campus just over 20 years ago, it was an outlier among the century-old, single-sex private schools that dominate Sydney’s eastern suburbs. The nondenominational, co-ed school quickly became known for its academic ethos, relaxed uniforms and strong results
Its popularity among parents grew fast, and by 2009 it had broken into the top 10 HSC rankings, outperforming some top public selective schools.
Nadim Nsouli, the founder of Inspired, the global operator of Reddam, which runs more than 100 schools in 24 countries, says the success of his company’s model means the group is considering opening other local Reddam campuses, with the inner west, Sutherland Shire and lower northern beaches named as potential sites.
“We’re not going to have another 10 Sydney schools, but there’s no reason we can’t have four,” Nsouli told the Herald “We think there’s potential demand in NSW, and we are actively evaluating other opportunities The barrier is access to good real estate, and grounds for facilities and sport ”
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Reddam House is split over two eastern suburbs campuses. CHRISTOPHER PEARCE
Now split over two eastern suburbs campuses, Reddam was established in 2001 by Graeme Crawford, a teacher turned businessman who ran a multinational group of schools in the UK and South Africa.
Inspired bought Sydney’s Reddam campuses five years ago, and the school gave up $5 million a year in government funding to become fully for-profit. Crawford became Inspired’s group president.
“I don’t want any government funding, or government interference in any of my schools,” Nsouli says “We don’t take donations We run the school; we’re not going to be run by the parents ”
“When we gave up government money we were asked if fees would go up The answer was no Fees rise with inflation and in line with our competitors,” he says. “The fact we make a profit should be completely irrelevant to the parents.”
The Bahamas-based Nsouli was born in Lebanon, moved to the United States at 17 and graduated from university in finance and law. He spent two decades in London in banking and private equity.
“My firm made some investments in education, and because of that I started spending time in schools I was fascinated by the fact that education is a massive sector, but there were few groups doing it on a global level ”
Nadim Nsouli runs Inspired, a global network of more than 100 schools including Reddam House in Sydney TIMES NEWSPAPERS LTD
Inspired, which several years ago was valued at $4 billion, runs all their schools – whether bought or built from scratch – as for-profit entities. Last June, the company bought Wetherby in London’s Notting Hill, an elite prep school that counts Prince William and Harry among its former students. It now owns 17 schools in the UK.
Next year, a Reddam kindergarten to year 12 school will open in a converted high-rise office block in North Sydney The plans sparked concern among some locals and the nearby Wenona, which questioned if another private school was needed in the high-density area
But Nsouli is undeterred “I try not to refer to education as a product But if a product is not good, people aren’t going to come – or pay the fees,” he says
Reddam hiked its fees 7 per cent this year to $43,400. Many of Inspired’s schools charge fees exceeding $50,000 a year.
The school has also attracted criticism for its intense focus on academic results, with some saying the weekly 50-minute “cycle tests”, sat by students from year 3 are too demanding and place excessive pressure on children Others have warned despite not having an entrance test, it “becomes selective by stealth” through its assessment process
When Reddam opened in 2001, the Heraldreported the school had raided the staff rooms of private and selective schools – including Sydney Grammar, Moriah College and James Ruse – to bolster its teaching workforce. The poaching infuriated surrounding high-fee private schools.
“Obviously, there’s great demand for top teachers, and we want to continue to offer an attractive environment and packages to bring them on board,” Nsouli says
The principal is also crucial, he explains “It’s no secret that a strong head is key That’s the person who solves little problems before they start bubbling up in parent WhatsApp chats
“Whenever I have a problem that starts emerging in school, it’s a weak head. Whenever I have big problems it’s a weak head, combined with a weak regional CEO. So we need great heads who are well rewarded.
“We also don’t have boards of governors We try and keep the politics out of it, and that means schools don’t follow the direction of the most powerful governor on the board ”
Despite expansion plans, Nsouli says there are some countries where he is yet to buy schools Victoria is also out, he says. “We can’t operate for-profit schools in Melbourne. But we are looking at places where the regulatory environment enables us to do so.
An external render of Reddam House’s new campus in North Sydney.
“In the US, we couldn’t just go and buy Phillips Academy or Deerfield [elite Massachusetts schools], so we don’t have schools there We are now looking at starting schools in the US from scratch,” he says.
“We will continue to grow via greenfield developments, acquisitions, and existing schools in terms of adding new buildings.”
In 2019, Nsouli said while some international companies had looked at the sector in Australia, none had made a move to buy, largely due to concerns about whether they can compete as forprofit entities against “heavily entrenched not-for-profit traditional schools”
“I don’t think you’ll see any other not-for-profit schools switching for-profit like Reddam in Sydney. But that doesn’t mean you won’t have companies trying to come in and start schools from scratch there.”
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Lucy Carroll is education editor of The Sydney Morning Herald She was previously a health reporter Connect via Twitter or email