Warrnambool's King's College principal visits Harvard Uni conference

Mr Rouse said it was a real contrast between the two having just spent weeks in Uganda visiting Ararat Christian School which the Warrnambool school helps support.

"You've gone from a developing school with very few resources to an exclusive university that has been around for centuries with a long history," he said.

"We're going to continue to support Ararat Christian School. It's part of our DNA in terms of mission and service."

But Mr Rouse said the school also wanted to improve its teaching and learning.

"Those two things are really important parts of our culture - mission and service and excellence in teaching and learning," he said.

As part of his sabbatical, Mr Rouse has been in Boston this month to attend a six-day conference at Harvard University.

About 180 principals from around the world attended the event including 14 from Victoria but it also attracted principals from Lebanon, Jordan and Mexico.

Mr Rouse said some of the takeaways from the conference was that King's was "on the right track" but the lessons learnt at Harvard would help the school to sharpen its focus.

He said the school's phonics program had seen some good growth in student literacy development in the six months since it had been implemented.

One conference session, he said, was about engaging with families, something the school's new outdoor learning and function space - which is under construction - will be used for.

The dual-purpose space will be an outdoor classroom as well as a place for summer events and performances and is being created with COVID-19 funding.

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