Outward, inward, onward: Trinity’s new research and professional growth centre

Trinity’s new Hurlstone Centre provides research and professional growth opportunities for the Trinity academic community to take part in and benefit from. Its establishment ushers in a new era where research sits at the heart of Trinity’s future.

What would it look like for Trinity to have its own centre dedicated to educational research and professional growth? This is the question that Trinity’s leadership team pondered throughout 2024.

Already, research has been a huge part of Trinity’s story. For decades, The Arthur Holt Library Team has played a vital role in supporting both student and staff research. In more recent years, staff have been involved in the International Boys’ School Coalition Action Research Program and Trinity’s Professional Learning Teams are now an established structure within the school, with teachers collaborating in research-informed disciplined inquiry. Partnerships with nearby universities have led to great results and research breakfasts are now a staple in the staff calendar.

All of this is a core feature of Trinity’s commitment to continual improvement: research reveals what’s working, why it’s working and how it can be adapted in specific educational contexts.

It’s clear that research is not slowing down at Trinity any time soon, and for good reason. The research happening on site and being conducted by Trinity staff is directly informing pedagogical practice here at Trinity and beyond. As a result, student learning experiences are also evolving, for the better.

“There’s a nexus between education innovation and the way that research can inform teachers’ practice, particularly in how we use research to evaluate and share what is working,” Dr Kimberley Pressick-Kilborn, Head of Research and Professional Growth.

At the 2025 Boston International Boys’ School Conference, Dr Pressick-Kilborn and Headmaster Mr Tim Bowden presented a workshop exploring exactly how Trinity has built a research culture, sharing what they’ve learnt with other educators across the world.

Now, Trinity is renewing their commitment to research with the introduction of the Hurlstone Centre – an initiative of the School focused on research and professional growth.

“The Hurlstone Centre is a commitment to being a School that supports and promotes excellence in teaching and learning. Having a Centre positions our School to grow our external engagement and think about the role that we might play in contributing to the wider education research agenda and landscape of teacher professional growth,” Dr Pressick-Kilborn says. “The Centre will facilitate partnerships that enable this as well as support the work of the School. We’re simultaneously looking inward and outward.”

“At Trinity, we believe that schools don’t just exist to teach; they exist to learn – and for our staff and students to grow through that experience,” added Headmaster Tim Bowden. “By establishing our own Centre for Educational Research and Professional Growth, we are making a bold commitment to continuous improvement in teaching and learning. This initiative will empower our teachers to engage in meaningful research, collaborate with global educators, and apply the latest evidence-based strategies in their classrooms. Our students will benefit from innovative and effective learning approaches, ensuring they are prepared for the future with the skills, confidence, and curiosity to thrive.

Through this initiative, we aim to lead by example — demonstrating that education is not static but an evolving field, where the best outcomes are achieved through inquiry, collaboration, and a deep commitment to excellence. Great education does not happen to people but with people.”

While the Hurlstone Centre isn’t a physical space just yet, it gets its name from the physical site of the School, pointing to a future shaped by research.

“The oldest building on Trinity’s grounds is called Hurlstone and we wanted to connect this new chapter of research with the origins of the School on the Summer Hill campus,” Dr Pressick-Kilborn says. “It’s one of the buildings at the physical heart of the School and we want to be thinking about how research can be at the heart of what we do.”

Want to know more about the research initiatives at Trinity? You can explore what’s been happening in recent months and what’s coming up next here.