General News
31 January, 2026
Ararat College welcomes new principal for 2026
ARARAT College has announced Emma Henry as its new principal, succeeding acting principal Jenette Penn. Miss Henry is no stranger to the school community, having begun her career at Ararat College in 2011 as an English and physical education teacher.
Over the years, she has taken on a range of leadership roles, most recently deputy principal.
“I’ve been very fortunate throughout my time here of having really strong leaders to be able to mentor and guide me, and then have gradually just taken on different roles as they’ve come up and try my hand at different things,” she said.
She credited former principals Jeff Sawyer and Ellie McDougall for their influence during her career, highlighting the benefits of working within a smaller school environment.
“Potentially a bonus of a smaller school environment is being able to have that really close mentor and guidance throughout my time here,” she said.
Miss Henry said stepping into the principal role would be a new challenge, but one she was excited to embrace.
“This is a whole, whole different challenge. I really love this school and our young people. We’ve got an amazing staff, an amazing team that’s here, so I guess I’m really honoured to be part of Ararat College and continue on the journey.”
Looking ahead, Miss Henry said she was keen to continue work already underway at the school.
“I definitely want to continue on some of the work that we have started already, particularly a focus around our school-wide positive behaviour,” she said.
Ms Henry said her focus would remain firmly on student outcomes across all year levels.
“We have been working within our literacy and numeracy focus to continue to grow our students within that growth band. So that work will continue to grow.”
While acknowledging the nerves that come with the role, Ms Henry said she was enthusiastic about the future.
“I’m very excited, very nervous, but being that I am passionate about the school, I’m really excited for the challenge that’s ahead,” she said.
Miss Henry takes over at an exciting time for Ararat College with a multi-million dollar refurbishment of the school currently underway.
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