Greg Hill (1962) – Across the Generations
Posted on September 18, 2025
As part of Year 10’s Creativity Activity Service (CAS) Day on 11 August 2025, five alumni volunteered to be interviewed by students wanting to develop their interview techniques. The conversations flowed, and all enjoyed learning more about the School across the generations.
Greg Hill (1962) on his time as a student and teacher at The Friends’ School
By Tobiasz Kozlowski (2027) and Wilson Deng (2027)
Greg Hill’s relationship with The Friends’ School spans decades, weaving together memories of his youth with the rich experiences of his teaching career. As both a former student and long-serving staff member, Greg has witnessed the school’s evolution firsthand and remains deeply appreciative of the community that shaped him.
Greg Hill was a teacher at Friends’ on and off for over forty years, so great memories will stay inside him. Though he describes his early years after leaving school as those of a ‘lost soul’, he eventually decided that he wanted to return to the school. He describes the way the school has changed since his time here, both in terms of the campus and the culture of the staff and students.
As both a student and a teacher, Greg loved PhysEd, teaching for many years before returning to university to begin a fine arts degree, though he never completed it.
Immediately after graduating, Greg was not certain about the life path he intended to take. After briefly holding a job at the zincworks, he chose to study accounting.
“After starting and stopping accountancy for 12 months while I worked at the zinc works I went to Uni and completed a diploma in PE. After two years teaching in the education department at Clarence High and Wynyard High I ‘asked’ [former Principal] Bill Oats for a job but he said there wasn’t a position for me. But only a few weeks later he rang and said they had a PE position in junior and middle school at Friends for me and asked when I could start. When I said ‘tomorrow!’ he reminded me that I had to give notice and advised me to find out what was required before heading back to Hobart.”
Greg took up the position and taught at Friends’ continuously for about nine years. Though he changed schools several times, teaching at St Virgil’s in Austin’s Ferry and briefly in Melbourne, he repeatedly returned to Friends’, later coaching the school rowing team.
One of the most striking changes he has seen in the school isn’t about buildings, but attitudes. Greg recalls a time when male and female staff received vastly different tuition discounts for their children; 90% for men, 10% for women, based on outdated assumptions about family income. “It’s an example of how things have changed for the better,” he notes, highlighting the school’s progress towards equity and inclusivity.
For Greg, what makes The Friends’ School special isn’t just the academics, but the culture. “It’s a really special school,” he says, describing the atmosphere as one where staff and students relate as equals. “Teachers don’t see themselves as higher than the students, and that’s a really nice way to run a school.” This sense of mutual respect, he believes, has a lasting influence on students’ outlooks well beyond graduation.
His fondest memories include moments of student ingenuity, like the time some cross-country runners stashed bikes along the route to avoid the long run. “The teachers weren’t worried – they thought it was genius,” Hill laughs.
Reflecting on his career, Greg is quick to encourage aspiring educators, especially in high-demand subjects like mathematics. But he also advises flexibility: “Don’t lock yourself into one thing. Sometimes people change direction, and that’s okay.”
Greg’s own children have taken diverse paths: one in marketing and media, another in sports medicine – a reminder, he says, that careers can evolve in unexpected ways.
After four decades of teaching, Greg Hill’s commitment to The Friends’ School is clear. His journey from a young PhysEd enthusiast to a respected teacher reflects not only his personal passion for learning, but also the enduring values of a school that fosters respect, curiosity, and community. And while the campus may have grown and modernised, the spirit that first drew him here remains unchanged.
