Jane Sherlock and Deb McPherson

Teachers

Jane Sherlock and Deb McPherson are experienced and passionate English teachers. They have also been involved in the education sector as authors and presenters at teaching conferences.

Jane Sherlock

Classroom teacher 1983-1994.
1995 Head Teacher of English at Kiama High.
Taught HSC English for 34 years over different courses and levels.
Regular presenter at HSC study days in Griffith, Dubbo, Tamworth.
HSC marker 1984-2016 range of questions as a marker, Senior Marker and Coordinating SOM
Invited by Ryde Curriculum directorate to participate in writing units of work for previous syllabus.
Led the faculty through an AESOP “Best Practice” team investigation by Dr Wayne Sawyer from Western Sydney University.
Represented KHS at National Conference in Darwin in 2006.
Delegate to English Teacher Association Annual Conference over many years.
Presenter at English Teachers’ Conference at University of NSW from 2009 until present and also AATE
2009 received the Australian College of Educators award for her contribution to education.
DET presenter at teacher workshops in Illawarra, South Coast and Narooma areas.
2010 to the present: Project Officer for HSC student events for the NSW English Teachers Association
Past casual lecturer at UOW.
Previously consulted to NESA for current 7-10 syllabus.
With her colleague, Deb McPherson, created a series of 18 online resources for Oxford University Press. These resources explore texts suitable for the Cross Curriculum Priorities.
Author of several English textbooks including the national award-winning Oxford HSC English.
Jane is a regular presenter for the NSW Teachers’ Federation Centre for Professional Learning.
Writer for Cambridge University Press HSC Checkpoints series and Reading Australia.

Deb McPherson

Taught English in NSW government secondary schools for twenty-eight years as a classroom teacher, Head Teacher and Deputy Principal.
She worked as part of the committee selecting texts for the NSW Higher School Certificate for over fifteen years.
She was the Senior Curriculum Officer, English, at the former NSW Board of Studies from 2001-2002 when she worked on the development of the 2002 English Years 7-10 Syllabus.
Deb was the Manager of English for the NSW Department of Education and Training from 2003-2006.
She is the author of four anthologies of Australian non-fiction for Oxford University Press: Lives and Observations, Images and Reflections, Attitudes and Experiences and Passion and Persuasion.
She is also the co-author of Choices for English, a collection of recommended texts for the 7-12 English and Oxford HSC English.
With Jane Sherlock, Deb wrote the Oxford Online Enriching Literature series.
She has lectured and tutored in a part-time capacity at the University of Newcastle and at the University of Wollongong.
Deb has presented the Centre for Professional Learning English Conference from 2013-2023 with Professor Jackie Manuel and Jane Sherlock.
She has reviewed texts for the classroom in her reading and viewing column for the AATE’s journal, English in Australia, for the past ten years.
She regularly presents with Jane Sherlock at the NSW English Teachers Association Annual Conference on wonderful texts for the English classroom.