Denis Pyatt
Denis is the South Island Coordinator for the National Aspiring Principals Association.
Denis has a wealth of experience as a leader in secondary schools. He has been principal of two successful secondary schools (Horowhenua College (1994-99) and Papanui High School (2000-2011). Prior to that he taught in a range of secondary schools throughout the country and in France.
His skills in change management, strategic planning, culture building, raising student achievement and overall school development have earned him a nation-wide reputation.
He has a strong interest in leadership development and in addition to his role in NAPP, he is a mentor in the National First Time Principals’ Programme and has been engaged by the Ministry of Education to provide support for the secondary principals affected by the Christchurch earthquakes.
Denis has been at the forefront of the development of international education and believes the further internationalisation of the New Zealand education sector needs to be a high priority. He is fluent in English and French, competent in te reo Maori, and has some competency in Spanish, Japanese and Mandarin.
Denis is able to provide professional development or consultancy services in the following areas:
- Principal development
- Middle management development
- Distributed leadership
- Change management
- Strategic planning
- School development
- Raising student achievement
- Marketing for international students
- International school partnerships
- Work in bi or multi-cultural communities
- School/business/community partnerships
- School sector representative, Mayor of Christchurch’s Prosperous Christchurch think tank and was invited by the Ministry of Education, as a Principal of a high performing school, to brief the new Prime Minister (Rt Hon John Key) on the education sector in 2009.
- Chairperson of the Canterbury/West Coast Secondary Principals’ Association. 2007-2010.
- Woolf Fisher Fellow, 1986, exploring senior secondary education models in Australia. In a 3 month sabbatical in 2009 he focussed on models for “engaging the disengaged” in the UK.
“Hei aha te mea nui o te ao? Hei tangata, hei tangata, hei tangata.”
“What’s the most important thing in the world? It’s people, people, people.”
"I’m a people person and the reason I’m so passionate about education is that it involves working with, and understanding, all the “communities” (students, families, staff, and business) which make up our schools. I’ve spent my entire career involved in the secondary sector and I’m immensely proud of the quality of the educational delivery our country offers. I simply can’t imagine a more exciting, satisfying and challenging environment to work in."
