1. 27 April 2011
To Whom It May Concern
Reference: Mr Ben Crilly-Hargrave
Mr Ben Crilly-Hargrave was employed at St Hilda’s School from September 2007 to December
2010. Ben was initially employed as a casual primary classroom relief teacher and a primary PE
specialist. He impressed in these roles and when an opportunity presented itself the School took the
decision to employ him on a full time permanent basis.
Mr Crilly-Hargrave undertook a number of roles during his tenure including the Junior School PE
specialist teacher position. He taught students from Pre-Prep (3.5 years) to Year 7 (12 to 13 years).
In this capacity Ben was responsible for teaching classroom PE following school based and national
curriculum guidelines. As part of this role he was also responsible for contributing to the co-
curricular programme in the School and in this capacity he coached swimming, touch football, cross
country, athletics, netball and softball teams. Ben was also required to assume the role of touch
football co-ordinator and in this role he had to employ outside coaches, organise the coaching
programme and attend and monitor the Saturday morning competition.
Ben’s capacity to be well organised, his knowledge of a range of sports and his willingness to give of
his time resulted in him being appointed to the role of Junior School Sports and Andrews Cup Co-
ordinator in 2010. In this capacity Ben was responsible for teaching a 0.5 timetable load and
organising, managing and supervising all inter-school sporting activities as well as manage all of the
School’s representative teams across all sports. He did an outstanding job and the results achieved
and the development of the sporting skills/standards in the School was a result of Ben’s committed
approach and his determination to provide the students’ with a positive sporting experience.
Mr Crilly-Hargrave is a very professional and committed teacher. He established very effective and
loyal relationships with all of his colleagues. His capacity to engender support from the parent body
saw an increase in parent participation in the sporting programme and there was certainly the
establishment of mutual respect and effective communication with the broader community.
Ben was well regarded by the students in his care. He was always organised for classes and his
willingness to embrace curriculum changes and to incorporate those changes into his lessons was
noted by his Head of Faculty. Mr Crilly-Hargrave built effective teacher/student relationships that
nurtured shared ownership in the classroom and the students responded very well to Ben’s positive
and encouraging tone.

2. Mr Crilly-Hargrave completed all tasks required of him and always met deadlines. He invited
parents to meet with him to discuss their daughter’s performance and development and his capacity
to report to parents in an honest and informative manner ensured that effective and positive
relationships were maintained.
It was with disappointment that the School accepted Mr Crilly-Hargrave’s resignation at the end of
2010 as his commitment, professionalism and generosity would be a loss to the School. However,
we understood Ben’s desire to expand his experiences and to embrace teaching in a range of learning
environments. Any school would be fortunate to gain Ben’s services as he sets high standards for
himself, works very hard and is committed to his students.
We wish Ben well for the future and know that he will continue to deliver the best he can for any
school that employs him in the years to come.
Cecilia M Kirby MEd, BA, Dip Ed, Dip RE, Cert Sp Nds Ed
Head of Junior School
Queensland College of Teachers/Registration Number: 761399 (Valid 31.12.2015)