Following this Andrew turned his passion to providing relevant learning experiences for students, especially in the social, emotional and spiritual realms and this has led him to being one of the world’s most influential contemporary Rites of Passage creators and one of Australia’s most recognised boys’ educators. Each year about 10000 young people in over 100 schools are initiated into adulthood through his school based year-long Rite of Passage program ‘The Rite Journey’. This brings the total number of students having completed The Rite Journey to 50,000 from its beginning. He has worked with thousands of teachers in hundreds of schools to facilitate a process which honours the transition of our children into a responsible, respectful and resilient adulthood. His contemporary methodologies for working with students in middle years’ classrooms are being used by schools throughout Australia and New Zealand, South Korea, Mauritius, Curacao and Europe.

2013 saw him co-creating a new educational initiative, ‘Habits of Heart’ (www.habitsofheart.com), which are a set of 16 principles which when explicitly taught allow for the growth of social and emotional intelligence.

In March 2014 Andrew took his eldest son through a Rite of Passage experience in Central Australia drawing on his Rite Journey experience and more recently in 2017 he took his youngest son on his Rite of Passage Journey. He is now offering workshops to dads/uncles/grandfathers and mentors on creating a Rite of Passage for their boy. This process of creating a Rite of Passage is the subject of the new online course he is working on, it will outline a process of how we can transform our boys into fine young men.

Andrew has been keen to create resources that help teachers and parents in building relationships with their students and children. The Rite Journey Feeling Cards are the first of his suite of card sets. In 2016 Andrew worked on creating a resource to promote conversation and connection specifically amongst men and boys and the ManMade Toolbox was born. In 2017 he teamed up with Jane Bennett to create his third Card resource, a set of conversation cards for women and girls, Woman Wise.

In 2018 Andrew created some resources which help parents ‘graduate responsibility’ with their children and assist in developing resourceful, responsible young men and women. This scaffolded process is called The Rite Journey Parenting Plan.

“Andrew is an exceptionally talented and dedicated teacher who provides a wonderful model of commitment to lifelong learning. His work with High School students demonstrates warmth and clarity, respect and understanding. Students appreciate his willingness to listen, his open and honest responses and his unswerving commitment to their development and wellbeing. Andrew’s lessons are dynamic and engaging, lively and challenging. Students are seen, heard and appreciated, and typically respond by working in a focussed and respectful way. Andrew is also generous in his support of parents and colleagues. As a professional mentor he offers practical advice and opportunities for others to observe and participate in his lessons. His deep understanding of the challenges faced by adolescents – boys in particular – is recognised and valued.  
Andrew’s insights into the needs of adolescent boys led to the development of The Rite Journey, a year-long ‘coming of age’ program that now offers programs for both boys and girls. Andrew worked with colleagues to create manuals for teachers and workbooks for students. He has worked with the staff of schools and community organisations around the country to help them implement the program. Students who have participated and their parents have spoken in glowing terms of how the program has supported their children to step into the next phase of their lives with confidence and with respect for those who will continue to support them. Teachers also notice and appreciate the benefits of the program in providing a structure for the explorations of social and personal issues through the turbulent early high school years. In relation to Adolescent Mental Health, the program definitely provides a pro-active strategy.

Andrew is a wonderful communicator. He has been invited to speak about his work at national and international conferences. He shares insights from research and personal experience with warmth and good humour. He understands the struggles of young people, of parents and of teachers, and can speak to any group in a way that engages them. He is constantly searching for new ways to support students. He is committed to ensuring that each one develops the inner strength to overcome the obstacles that life will inevitably present. “

Felicity Hickman – A current mentor and past-principal of Andrew’s.