Podcast - E - Much More Than A Score

From Parisian Nanny to Chief Strategy Officer: Sam Cousins on Playing the Long Game

5 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 7 min

What if finishing school with no idea what to do next is exactly where a great career begins? This episode is for any parent, or any young person, who feels anxious about not having a plan, and it's a reminder that the path that's yours may be one you don't even know exists yet. In this episode of More Than a Score, we sit down with Sam Cousins: chief strategy officer, 28-year veteran of global media and advertising, storytelling teacher, former au pair, lifeguard and swimming teacher, and mum of two. Sam didn't love school. She never quite found her people, finished her A-levels with "learning fatigue," and pushed back hard when her parents urged her toward university. Then a friend announced she was off to be an au pair, and Sam bought a magazine, answered an ad, and moved to Paris at 18, alone and painfully shy. It was terrifying, and she says it made her who she is. Watching French TV ads and billboards to learn the language sparked a curiosity about advertising. From her Paris attic room, she asked her mum to post university prospectuses, studied marketing at Bournemouth, and fell into media, a field few school leavers have heard of. She moved to Australia at 30, built a career working across almost every consumer category, and has been headhunted for every role since 2000. For parents, it's a warm, funny and honest conversation about resilience, friendship, and preparing kids for jobs that don't exist yet. For young people, it's proof that you don't need it all figured out by 30, and that the "wrong" start can lead somewhere remarkable. What you'll discover in this episode Why finishing school with no plan is far more common, and less risky, than it feels How embracing fear at 18 built the resilience Sam has drawn on ever since Why some people don't find their people at school, and how to find them later The "bucket test" for spotting friendships and workplaces that fill you up or drain you What media and advertising actually involve, and why so few students know the career exists Why stories persuade where facts and figures make people suspicious How genuine relationships, not job applications, have shaped a 28-year career The human skills that matter most as AI reshapes work, and why experience will be valued again How to tell a temporary rough patch from a sign it's time to change Why "no" often just means "not now," and the case for celebrating late career changes More Than a Score is hosted by Laura Pitt and Dan Steele, a former secondary teacher and a former award-winning assistant principal, on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, with over 35 years in education between them. New episodes fortnightly. Subscribe and follow the show to hear each new conversation as it lands.

From The Score & Sports Injury That Felt Like Complete Failure to Fulfillment: Ryan Bedford on Life After The Results

21 Sep 2026 · 53 min

What do you do when the number on the screen feels like it just closed every door you'd planned to walk through? This episode is for any parent, or young person, who has ever felt defined by a disappointing result, and it's a reminder that a score is a moment, not a verdict. In this episode of More Than a Score, we sit down with Ryan Bedford: three-time Australian representative sprinter, former journalist, tech professional, and now a budding actor, taught years ago by our own Laura. Ryan finished school in a fiercely competitive cohort, where anything under a 90 could feel like a low score. He sat his final exam, felt certain he had failed, and cried in the car on the way to the airport...then flew interstate to compete the very next day. The score that came back was a genuine disappointment. But running gave him somewhere to channel it, a move to Queensland gave him a clean slate, and life kept opening doors that the result had supposedly closed. What followed was anything but linear: degrees that didn't stick, years at Uber as it was still finding its feet, an elite sprinting career studded with injuries and near-misses, and eventually a move to Amsterdam that gave him room to explore who he actually is. Along the way he stopped measuring himself by external scores and started living by his own values, and found a fulfilment he says he never had when he was winning. For parents, it's a warm, honest look at resilience, identity, and why the things that "don't stick" are never wasted. For young people, it's proof that one bad result changes far less than it feels like it will. What you'll discover in this episode - Why a score can feel like total failure in the moment, and why that feeling passes -How someone can crumble in an exam yet perform under pressure on a start line, and what that reveals about confidence - Why a "clean slate" in a new place can be exactly what a young person needs - How a career-ending injury became a turning point rather than an ending - Why the degrees and jobs that "didn't stick" still built the person he is now - The shift from chasing external scores to living by your own values - Why leaving Australia gave Ryan permission to explore without the "house by 25" pressure - How extracurriculars and getting to know yourself build real resilience - Why you can be many things at once (athlete, professional, actor) and never just one More Than a Score is hosted by Laura Pitt and Dan Steele, a former secondary teacher and a former award-winning assistant principal, on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, with over 35 years in education between them. New episodes fortnightly. Subscribe and follow the show to hear each new conversation as it lands AND get One Small Shift - our practical fortnightly note to help parents have better conversations about success and pathways.

From School Refuser to Award-Winning Author: Brendan James Murray on Why the Score Isn't the Point

7 Sep 2026 · 58 min

What if a score that's higher than you hoped for could actually work against you? This episode is for any parent, or any young person, who has ever felt boxed in by a number, or quietly written off at school, and it's a reminder that being good at school and being set up for a good life are not the same thing. In this episode of More Than a Score, we sit down with Brendan James Murray: award-winning author of four books, high-school English teacher, and dad of two. Brendan's story starts somewhere surprising. He spent almost a year as a "school refuser" in grade four, an anxiety he wouldn't understand for decades, and was the kind of quiet kid who can drift out of a teacher's thinking entirely. He leaned into reading and writing because that's where he felt capable, and ended up with a score far higher than he expected. But that number brought its own pressure. Feeling he had to "spend it in the right way," he chose a science degree that matched the score rather than his passion, and dropped out within weeks. What followed was a slower, truer path: studying writing because he loved it, moving into teaching, and eventually publishing The Drowned Man, which won the Ned Kelly Award for Best True Crime. Now, as both a teacher handing out scores and an author writing against them, he sits on every side of the scoreboard at once. For parents, it's a warm, honest conversation about not writing kids off, resisting the urge to steer them by prestige, and asking what a good life actually looks like. For young people, it's proof that a quiet start, or a wrong turn, doesn't decide where you end up. What you'll discover in this episode • Why a score higher than expected can feel like a trap rather than a win • The idea of an ATAR as "currency" you feel obliged to spend, and where that leads • Why a former "school refuser" can still be a capable, successful student, and what that should teach us • How the quiet kids drift below the radar, and why that's worth resisting • The difference between choosing subjects for prestige, for a career, or because your friends are • Why Brendan believes universities, not schools, should carry more of the admissions burden • What he wishes parents knew about subject selection and the "you'll need maths later" myth • Why imagination vanishes from the curriculum after grade two, and how to keep it alive at home • The role of empathy and discipline in both great teaching and great writing • Why the craft of writing still matters in the age of AI, and the difference between imagining and generating More Than a Score is hosted by Laura Pitt and Dan Steele, a former secondary teacher and a former award-winning assistant principal, on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, with over 35 years in education between them. New episodes fortnightly. Subscribe at muchmorethanascore.com or your chosen podcast platform. . Enjoyed this conversation? Join One Small Shift, our free fortnightly note for parents. Each edition gives you one simple, practical shift you can try with your young person to reduce pressure, open better conversations and help them find their own way. Find One Small Shift, Pathways Coaching and more at muchmorethanascore.com

From Chartered Accountant to Doula: Felicity Pountney on Why Your Score Isn't Your Destiny

24 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 16 min

What happens when your child gets a near-perfect score and still feels stuck? This episode is for any parent, or any young person, who is high-achieving but uncertain, and it is a reminder that a great score is a starting point, not a life sentence. In this episode of More Than a Score, we sit down with Felicity “Flick” Pountney: former chartered accountant, prenatal yoga and hypnobirthing educator, birth doula, adventurer, and mum of three. Flick left an academic all-girls school in Melbourne with a score around 95, and was still disappointed. She had fallen just short of the double degree she had set her heart on, and had absorbed a powerful belief that she needed to use the score to its full potential. So she chose commerce, a path she admits she did not fully understand or love, went on to a graduate program at PricewaterhouseCoopers, qualified as a chartered accountant, and spent years at Sony PlayStation’s London head office. The work opened doors, and the travel and the people were the real prize. But a quiet question kept surfacing: is this actually me? That question came to a head when she fell pregnant, and a chance meeting with a prenatal yoga teacher cracked something open. What followed was a complete reinvention, from corporate finance to heart-led work supporting women through pregnancy and birth. For parents, it is a generous, honest look at how the pressure to match your score can quietly steer a young person away from what they actually love. For young people, it is proof that the winding path is not a wasted one, and that no single result defines where you end up. What you’ll discover in this episode • Why a score of 95 can still leave a young person feeling like they have fallen short • The trap of treating your ATAR as “currency” you are obliged to spend • How choosing subjects for the score, not for passion, can lead to real regret • Why non-examples, the things that do not fit, are as useful as the things that do • Flick’s “checklist of three” for weighing up whether a job is worth staying in • How overseas experience revealed that a score means very little once you leave the system • Why the biggest career changes tend to come from conversations, not courses • How to spot the transferable skills a “wrong” path quietly builds • A practical first step for anyone who knows they need a change but feels scared to make it • Why there is no failure in “no man’s land,” and how progress beats a tidy definition of success More Than a Score is hosted by Laura Pitt and Dan Steele, a former secondary teacher and a former award-winning assistant principal, on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, with over 35 years in education between them. New episodes fortnightly. Subscribe and follow the show to hear each new conversation as it lands at muchmorethanascore.com. Enjoyed this conversation? Join One Small Shift, our free fortnightly note for parents. Each edition gives you one simple, practical shift you can try with your young person to reduce pressure, open better conversations and help them find their own way. Find One Small Shift, Pathways Coaching and more at muchmorethanascore.com

From Carpenter to General Manager: Lyle House on Building Your Own Path

10 Aug 2026 · 53 min

What if the pressure your teenager feels to have their whole life mapped out by Year 12 is the very thing holding them back? In this episode of More Than a Score, we sit down with Lyle House, General Manager of Enchanted Adventure, former carpenter and builder, lifelong cricketer and captain, and dad of two, whose path from school to leadership took just about every turn a path can take. If you are a parent watching a son or daughter who is not lit up by school, this conversation is for you. Lyle left school in 2002 knowing university was not his path, and nobody at home made him feel that was a problem. His mum, who worked for a builder at the time, did not push him in any direction. She simply backed what he chose and quietly put real opportunities in his way, including a house build he could learn from and a property development he could manage. It is a gentle, honest picture of what supportive parenting actually looks like when a child is heading somewhere other than the university everyone assumes. From there, Lyle's path bent again and again. He became a carpenter, then a commercial building supervisor, then ran his own building company through what he calls a five year slog. He studied hard for his full builder's licence and failed the exam, and that failure, of all things, became the doorway to what came next. Years later, through a chance conversation at the gym, he moved into tourism with no industry background at all, and worked his way up to general manager. The thing that unlocked it was not a new qualification. It was finally recognising the skills he already had. For parents, this is a reassuring and practical listen. Lyle talks plainly about redefining success away from money and trophies, about why he considers teams that never won a premiership genuinely successful, about feedback that lands because it is delivered with respect, and about the quiet courage it takes to admit that the thing you built your identity around is no longer for you. He offers something every anxious parent needs to hear, which is that what your child does tomorrow is not what they have to do for the rest of their life. What you'll discover in this episode - Why a young person who is not academic is not a young person who is falling behind - What genuinely supportive parenting looked like for Lyle, and why his mum never pushed - How to help a teenager recognise the transferable skills they already have - Why failing the builder's licence exam turned out to be the best thing for his career - How the biggest career changes tend to come through people and conversations, not plans - Why talking openly about feeling stuck is what lets new opportunities find you - How to give feedback to a young person so it actually lands, without damaging the relationship - What Lyle believes real success looks like, after losing more grand finals than most people play - The one message he would give his Year 12 self, and every teenager feeling the pressure now - Why having something to fall back on and staying open are not opposites Whether your child is heading for a trade, a gap year, university, or has no idea yet, this episode is a warm reminder that there is no one right path, and that the winding ones are far more common, and far more hopeful, than they are made to seem. More Than a Score: Redefining Success Beyond School is hosted by Laura Pitt and Dan Steele, a former teacher and award-winning assistant leader, on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. New episodes fortnightly. Subscribe to follow along here or at muchmorethanascore.com Enjoyed this conversation? Join One Small Shift, our free fortnightly note for parents. Each edition gives you one simple, practical shift you can try with your young person to reduce pressure, open better conversations and help them find their own way. Find One Small Shift, Pathways Coaching and more at muchmorethanascore.com

My Child Isn't Doing Well at School. What Should I Do? | with Adam Hipwell

27 Jul 2026 · 57 min

What if the most important thing your child needs isn't a higher score, but someone who truly sees them? Adam Hipwell knows what it feels like to believe school just isn't for you. After leaving Year 12 disappointed with a score that didn't reflect what he was capable of, Adam made the courageous decision to repeat his final year. Looking back, it wasn't simply a higher score that changed his future. It was finding a school community where he felt seen, supported and challenged to believe in himself. Today, Adam is a teacher, educational leader, instructional coach, father of two and musician. Every day, he works alongside teachers to create the kind of classrooms he once needed as a teenager. Places where relationships come before results and young people are encouraged to grow, not simply perform. In this thoughtful and deeply practical conversation, Adam shares what helped him move from feeling unseen to helping others belong, why repeating Year 12 became one of the best decisions he ever made, and how parents can focus less on outcomes and more on the habits, relationships and mindset that set young people up for life. Whether you're raising a child navigating school, supporting a teenager through exams, or simply wondering how to encourage confidence without adding pressure, this episode is full of reassurance, perspective and practical wisdom. Because your child's future is never defined by one score. It is shaped by the people who believe in them along the way. What You'll Discover: • Why Adam chose to repeat Year 12 and how that decision changed the direction of his life. • The surprising difference one supportive school community can make in a young person's confidence, wellbeing and achievement. • Why feeling seen is one of the most powerful ingredients for helping children thrive. • How the combination of high support and high challenge helps young people build confidence and resilience. • Why effort, growth and relationships matter far more than chasing perfect grades. • Practical ways parents can help their children navigate setbacks and build confidence when things don't go to plan. • Why a school result is simply a snapshot in time, not a measure of your child's potential. • Adam's powerful concept of replacing a traditional to do list with a to be list to define success by the person you're becoming, not just the achievements you're collecting. • Lessons from Adam's experiences as a teacher, educational leader and father that every parent can apply at home. More Than a Score: Redefining Success Beyond School is hosted by Laura Pitt and Dan Steele, a former teacher and award-winning assistant leader, on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. New episodes fortnightly. Subscribe to follow along here or at muchmorethanascore.com

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From Parisian Nanny to Chief Strategy Officer: Sam Cousins on Playing the Long Game

From The Score & Sports Injury That Felt Like Complete Failure to Fulfillment: Ryan Bedford on Life After The Results

From School Refuser to Award-Winning Author: Brendan James Murray on Why the Score Isn't the Point

From Chartered Accountant to Doula: Felicity Pountney on Why Your Score Isn't Your Destiny

From Carpenter to General Manager: Lyle House on Building Your Own Path

My Child Isn't Doing Well at School. What Should I Do? | with Adam Hipwell

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