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0:00 Kids today are delivered a truth via an algorithm. That's the way that their life is shaped. 

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0:15 Hello and welcome to The Educator TV. 

0:18 I'm Kylie Spear and joining me today is Paul Beg, principal at Villanova College. Villanova College has been 

0:26 named as a winner of The Educator 5-star Best Schools for 2026. 

0:32 Welcome to you, Paul. Huge congratulations and thank you so much for joining us today. 

0:38 Thanks, It's um lovely to be here and it's certainly a wonderful uh wonderful honor to be uh to be a part of it. 

0:44 Well, firstly, Paul, beyond the recognition itself, what has this five-star result changed or confirmed for the college? whether that's 

0:53 enrollment interest, staff confidence, or validation of a specific program. 

0:59 I don't think it's necessarily um changed anything. It's more about a validation of the of the work we've done uh you know over the last few years 

1:07 around uh our student formation uh program, our pastoral processes, our our co-curricular work, the our learning and 

1:15 teaching framework and the and the pedagogical strategies that we work with our teachers to deliver a great education and a great set of opportunities for the boys here at uh 

1:23 here at Villa. So um yeah, it's it's a great a great validation for the hard work of um uh of our of our wonderful teachers and staff. Villanova's 

1:32 Austinian identity is built around five gateway values: humility, interiority, community, restless search for truth, 

1:40 and ongoing conversion. Which of these shows up most visibly in a student's day-to-day experience? And how does it show up differently for staff? 

1:50 Well, I think the the reality of that of of our gateway values is that um uh none 

1:57 presuppose or or uh uh or work ahead of the other. The way that they live is actually um in the everyday experience 

2:05 of um uh of boys and their and what they achieve. So, you know, our role is to unpack their opportunities according to 

2:12 those uh to those values and to create the challenge for their learning through those. And um so I think it's not that um uh one is any more prevalent in a 

2:22 student's life than the other. Um it's actually about you know a a simple a simple achievement um like uh in the in 

2:30 the classroom looking and going well how are you going to replicate that success and that's the interiority element going inside yourself and finding the inner 

2:38 teacher and saying well what were the elements behind that success and how do I replicate them in other areas of my of my life. Um, the idea of a restless 

2:46 search for truth to us here, it's actually a relatively simple concept. 

2:50 You know, kids today are delivered a truth via an algorithm. That's the way that their life is shaped. Um, we want 

2:58 to grow young men who don't just accept what's been delivered. Be restless about that truth. Don't knock it back completely, but but explore it, critique 

3:06 it, challenge it. We live in a society where so much truth is someone's personal truth rather than ever being tested. So, you know, they're just two 

3:14 ways that that that it all comes together and and we do that as one community. Um, we respect each other uh and live, I suppose, in that way that we 

3:22 know that it's through teamwork and service that our ultimate success will actually arrive in that classroom. Um, we we together and and a staff did 

3:31 exactly the same. You know, if I take community um as an element, our uh our classroom community, the teacher doesn't sit above the students when they're 

3:39 doing their work. We work together with our boys and their success is our success. Um and inside the room um every 

3:47 boy relies on the cooperation uh and the intent of every other boy and their staff member to um uh to get to that 

3:56 next level. And and you the same applies in in in sports coaching in in music and the arts that we uh so love in drama. Um 

4:03 yeah, it's it's all pervasive. those values they they don't sit uh in any sort of priority order or hierarchy. 

4:11 Which is a lovely segue to my next question. Paul, the college is known for its holistic approach to education. How 

4:18 do you balance academic excellence with student well-being, leadership, development, and personal growth? 

4:26 It's actually a simple answer. Don't separate them. the the idea that each of those are compartmentalized from an educational perspective, it can often 

4:35 get you quite lost in the work that you're doing. Um um that the nature or the very definition of holistic it is is 

4:42 it's one together. Utilize one to to inform and to improve the other. So um 

4:49 uh a student may see success on a on a on a rugby field or in uh or through a cricket game or through swimming. Now that success comes through turning up. 

4:59 So determination uh through commitment through a focus on skills and taking time to break the skill down and then rebuild the skill through repeated 

5:08 practice and then through tests and challenges when you compete and then from those tests and challenges you review the outcome and then you set a 

5:17 new set of goals to move forward. So then you take that element of education, you take that to mathematics or science or HS um and you say well can you apply 

5:26 that methodology into your learning and that's where our student formation program is so important in our house system where where our dedicated mentors 

5:36 will actually take that apart with the boys in their empower ed goal setting sessions. So they sit down, they talk through and take apart and say, "Well, 

5:44 where's an element of life that's going well? Why?" And then unpack it and then say, "Where's an area of life that's not going so well?" Or even you just it's 

5:53 not where you want to be yet. How can you get there? That focus on growth. You know, we've got a a great framework which really works. It comes from our 

6:00 values, big values. Um difficult to understand particularly for our little fellas in five and six, but growth, respect, effort, accountability, 

6:08 teamwork, and service. So much of our life success as adults and as children is based on what's our our focus and our 

6:17 intention and our commitment to growth, respect, effort, accountability, teamwork and service. That that's that's so core. So so that that's I suppose 

6:24 from our perspective that's how we do it at fantastic. Since its founding in 1948, 

6:32 Villanova College has built a strong reputation for educating young men. What do you believe are the key factors that 

6:40 continue to make the college a school of choice for families? 

6:45 A lot of it comes out of that that history is that we do have a clarity of of of identity. Um we know uh what we do 

6:55 what we do well and where we can improve and and and we have a focus on improvement and getting better um both from a college leadership team level and 

7:03 through to our staff through to our uh through to our students. Um, and I think that's probably the the the the key 

7:10 element of it is um not not trying to move toward innovation just simply 

7:17 because well, we need to change or we need to do something different or um there's another cool kid living on our street so let's get to know them. That 

7:26 can't be how we operate our school. We have to um not get stuck in what we know but have clarity of purpose and then as 

7:36 new ideas, new technologies, new methodologies come forward, research and then embrace and then and then review 

7:44 and work through a cycle. Um, and I think that's what what keeps us attractive to to people and um uh even in terms of those values that we 

7:52 mentioned before, ensuring they are always relevant regardless, for example, of whether um uh students or families 

8:00 who are in our community have got a faith base or uh whether they're more secular in their outlook. Um those 

8:06 values have intent, value, purpose, and definitive outcome regardless. And I think that's how we keep ourselves 

8:14 relevant. um uh and important within our community and and and strong enrollments and and a place of excellence. 

8:22 And finally, Paul, with the new Pope Leo I 14th STEM and Great Hall precinct underway, what does that investment 

8:31 disclose about where Villanova sees the next chapter of boys education heading? 

8:38 It's interesting on on reflection of that question. Um I'm probably one of the things about our college is that we 

8:45 we we do know that um our building won't define our our direction. Um our um our 

8:56 philosophy and our mission and our val values define uh you define where we go. 

9:01 Well, I think what we know in that case of this new building is it opens up more and more opportunities um for boys 

9:09 around science, technology, engineering, in maths in in sports um uh in hospitality. Uh so it it does do that, 

9:18 but the the the reality is is what it opens the door to is that greater engagement with um young people and what 

9:25 they what they need, our boys and what they need. What won't change as we move forward with this building is um the challenges that young people face won't 

9:34 change. So um relationships, identity, self-efficacy, um uh support, the need for success, um 

9:43 the worry about the future, those things will all stay static. um and new buildings, new opportunities, uh 

9:50 engagement with our staff and teachers, uh deepening our philosophy and finding new ways to to tell those stories with 

9:58 boys is probably where the change comes both at Villanova, but also in education. It's not going to be the needs of the students that that that 

10:06 change. It's actually going to be how do we meet those needs? Um how do we explore the challenges? uh and and I 

10:13 suppose that um how do we walk the journey with uh with the students and the families um to make sure that they 

10:21 are um happy, fulfilled, challenged and they can actually see that future and shape that future moving forward. So, 

10:30 we're really excited about the Pope Leo the 14th century and it and and its opening because it will provide deeper 

10:36 and broader opportunity to explore um getting to know young people and and um having them make their way in the world. 

10:45 Wonderful. Well, thank you so much for your time today, your brilliant clarity and insights and huge congratulations to 

10:53 you and the entire college once again, Paul. 

10:57 Thanks so much, Colin. As I said, it's um it is a wonderful honor, but it's something that doesn't sit in in this chair where I am today. Um our our 

11:06 staff, our parent community uh and our boys um all cooperate together um to uh 

11:14 to to deliver, you know, successful outcomes for our for our community um and for Villanova. So, it's really it's it's really pleasing. It's a validation, 

11:22 but it's not um something we'll just sit back on and accept and say, "Isn't that lovely?" Um, it's just an acknowledgement to keep to keep the challenge and keep moving forward with our with our kids. 

11:32 Fantastic. And thank you, of course, to our viewers for watching the latest episode of The Educator TV. We look forward to seeing you again soon. 

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