Yogesh Mani has been named the new principal of Goulburn High School

Mr Mani was officially named principal of the school recently, a place he has worked for the past eight years and been deputy principal for five years before stepping into the top job.

Originally in private business, Mr Mani moved into teaching 15 years ago.

"I thought I could contribute more as a teacher to the community by educating our students," he said.

"I grew up in a small village in Fiji and education was always an important thing for us."

He said his focus was to make sure every student that came through the gates of Goulburn High, was given the best opportunity to succeed.

Mr Mani said he wanted to ensure his school made a difference for every child, "whatever it takes".

"I strongly believe that every student can succeed regardless of what their starting point is."

But it's not just the students who Mr Mani wants to support in their development.

He said he was also focused on making sure the teaching staff were supported in their professional development.

"Teachers are the most significant in-school factor in terms of students' growth. The more we invest our time in our teachers to ensure they are abreast of the changes in the teaching and learning space, [the more] they will be delivering quality learning to our students."

And just as he is committed to ensuring everyone in the school has the opportunity to develop and succeed, he also has high expectations and aspirations for staff and students.

"There's a relentless focus of continuous improvement. For the students [there are] high expectations on behaviour and learning.

"What's really important for me is the aspirations for the students - setting goals for themselves, working towards a career path and that the school supports them."

In order to help students achieve these goals, Goulburn High has partnered with the University of Canberra and developed a high aspirations program.

Mr Mani said they would also work with local businesses to share their experiences to help students be 'work ready'.

While the school has invested in technology and teachers provide learning through online platforms, Mr Mani said they also had a "strong foundational" literacy and numeracy program.

He also hoped to improve HSC results in the coming years but said it was not solely about the number of band six results achieved.

"It's about the expected growth and supporting students in whatever their ambitions are."

He also knows that talking about what needs to happen is not enough.

"I have high expectations of myself as a leader. I walk the walk. That's very important and I think that's what staff admire about me - if I say something, I'll do it."

He believes his success is not just about hard work but also the ability to communicate with people.

"I'm very grounded in my humble beginnings and I think that comes across in my interactions with people because I've always felt that human connection is very important."

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