More Than a Score

About More Than a Score

More Than a Score: Redefining Success Beyond School is an Australian podcast hosted by Laura Pitt and Dan Steele, experienced educators and coaches from the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. Every fortnight, we share open and honest conversations about school, ATAR pressure, pathways, learning differences, parenting teens, career changes and what success can look like beyond the school gates. Our guests — from leaders, parents and educators to athletes, entrepreneurs and creatives — take us through what school was really like for them, the choices, changes and skills that came next, and the things they learned along the way. Because real pathways are rarely straight. If you're a parent wondering what comes next for your young person, worried they don't have a clear plan, navigating subject choices, results, learning differences or a change in direction (or simply trying to support them without adding more pressure) this podcast is for you. You'll hear stories that challenge the idea that there is one right pathway and discover perspectives you can take back into the conversations happening for you in your own home. Our message is simple: • No score can sum you up. • There is no one right path. • And no one wants to peak in high school. Want something practical to try at home? 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. New episodes every fortnight. Hosted by Laura Pitt and Dan Steele.

Publisher

Laura Pitt & Dan Steele

Category

business · education

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

1 Sept 2025

Latest episode

5 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

49 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   5 Oct 2026

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

   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.

2. 

   21 Sept 2026

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

   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.

3. 

   7 Sept 2026

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

   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 and follow the show to hear each new conversation as it lands.

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Spotify

5.0 / 5

4 ratings

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