Brookvale Public School has been watching this suburb grow since 1887, long enough to have shaped a few generations of locals, including Beaches COVERED co-founders John and Megan Vickery. "It's a school where tradition and innovation sit side by side," says Principal Luke Richmond, and four years into his principalship, the evidence is hard to argue with.

The change on his watch has been significant, but what strikes you talking to him is how much he values what was already here. "I am the very proud principal of an amazingly vibrant school with a proud history and a bright future," he says.

The families who choose Brookvale Public are a good reflection of the suburb itself: tradespeople, doctors, lawyers, educators and small business owners, all sharing high expectations for their kids. The school meets them with contemporary, evidence-informed teaching, renewed learning spaces, targeted support and an Opportunity Class for gifted students. Beyond strong teaching in English, mathematics and science, students can find themselves in a band rehearsal, a public speaking competition, a dance performance or a Student Representative Council meeting. Through Champion Groups, kids connect across every year level from Kindergarten to Year 6, supported by older peer leaders. The values of Respect, Responsibility and Personal Best run through all of it.

The community piece is something else entirely. Last year around 4,000 people turned up to the school's Halloween Festival, and the P&C raised more than 100,000 dollars in a single year, channelled straight back into the students. Open Days, transition programs, cultural celebrations, the Neurodiversity Parent Group and Cultural Reference Group all add to a school that reflects the people around it.

That creative energy spills into the classrooms too. Artist in Residence Leia Sidery, a long-time local, has been working with students to design and paint murals across the campus. And later this year, a large-scale mural by First Nations artist Sharon Robbie will appear on the Old Pittwater Road facade. The school takes centre stage, surrounded by the story of the local community from the Dreaming until today, with Greendale Creek winding toward the Pacific Ocean and the Aboriginal sites woven through it.

"Brookvale Public School has the most amazing community you will ever find in a school," says P&C President Hina Osmany. "Every child is supported and every staff member goes above and beyond. The leadership of Luke Richmond has transformed Brookvale over the last four years. It is one of the Northern Beaches' most exciting schools."

What is coming next is just as compelling. Three major projects will change the school's streetscape over the next twelve months, including two large shaded outdoor areas and a redesigned frontage developed with landscape architects. And in 2027 the ACE (Academic Challenge and Enrichment) Academy launches, offering extension classes in Years 3 and 5, open to gifted students from across the Beaches.

At the centre of it all is something Luke returns to again and again. "Every child deserves to be known, supported and challenged," he says. At Brookvale Public, that is just how things are done. Visit brookvale-p.schools.nsw.gov.au or call (02) 9905 4168 to arrange a tour.