About
Harry Hildebrand
A passionate educator who has spent most of his working life getting students out of the classroom and into the world.
Harry trained as a biology teacher and taught at Wesley College in Melbourne before travelling through South America. In 1997 he arrived at Markham College in Lima with a backpack and a slightly scorched CV, planning to stay a year. He stayed for almost 27 years, as head of science and then deputy head, developing and running the school’s holistic program outside the classroom, from kindergarten to Year 12. That’s where X-Factor-Ed was developed. The program he began developing in 2009 became Markham’s official HELIX Program in 2015, and he led it as Deputy Head (Director of HELIX) until 2023. HELIX stood for Holistic, Experiential Learning, Leadership, International Citizenship and the X-Factor: the same pillars X-Factor-Ed is built on today.
Since then he has worked at Haileybury Rendall School in Darwin and Wangaratta High School in Victoria, helping to restructure student leadership and running trips ‘…with a purpose’.
I started this because I was inspired by the response of students when they were given opportunities to make a positive impact.
Harry Hildebrand
I’ve always said that students’ wellbeing improves out of sight when they do things for other people.
Harry Hildebrand
Harry’s CV is available on request.
The record
- 1988–1996, Wesley College, Melbourne: science, biology and mathematics teacher; head of house.
- August 1997–2023, Markham College, Lima: joined in August 1997; head of biology from 1998, then head of science (2001–2007), assistant head of secondary (2009–2015), and deputy head leading everything outside the classroom (2015–2023), including outdoor education, trips, service, IB CAS and Round Square.
- 2024, Haileybury Rendall School, Darwin: director of boarding, responsible for 106 boarders across three houses, 90 of them from remote Indigenous communities.
- Wangaratta High School, Victoria: restructured student leadership and led the 2026 Peru trip.
Beyond the job description
- Started Markham’s outdoor education program in 2001, then built it into a program for every student aged 8 to 17.
- Coordinated the response to the August 2007 earthquake in Peru for sixteen years. Since then, projects he designed and led have involved more than 7,000 student, teacher and community volunteers, and have built 35 community centres and 488 houses (confirmed by Harry, September 2026).
- Served on the Latin American Heads Conference committee for Education for Sustainable Development (2009–2023). One of its projects was presented at COP28 in Dubai in December 2023.
- President of the Peruvian Cricket Association since 2008, and captain of the Peru national team from 2001 to 2013.
- Board member of South American Explorers, 2009–2017.
BSc (Hons) and Diploma of Education, Monash University. Fluent Spanish speaker. References from former heads of school are available on request.
Talk to Harry
Tell us about your school and Harry will reply personally.