For the past 22 years, Mrs Browning has been the principal of Southland Girls’ High School. She is leaving the position at the end of the year.
Her aim was to help girls become independent young women, Mrs Browning said.
"They leave here with qualifications that enable them to have a good quality of life.
"They’re not going to be reliant on anybody else.
"They can earn their own income."
The old saying "if you educate a woman, you educate a family" was true, Mrs Browning said.
"Women have such a direct influence on the education levels of their own children and the more qualified they are as women, the better off qualified their family or their children will be as a consequence.
"So it’s a self-perpetuating pattern, if you like."
The New Zealand economy needed well-educated women, she said.
"That’s what will increase the productivity levels of New Zealand and the standard of living of New Zealanders will increase."
Her late mother, Dorothy Middlemiss, had started at Southland Girls’ High School in year 9 when she was 10 years old.
Her grandfather was against her mother going to high school, but for two consecutive years she had been dux of the primary school she attended.
Her teacher suggested she go to Southland Girls’ High.
She only stayed two years because her father said he did not want to waste any more money on her education.
Her mother was a strong advocate of education and insisted her two daughters, who both went to Southland Girls’ High, leave school with university entrance.
After school, Mrs Browning went on to primary school training, which she completed at the same time as a degree.
She joined the Southland Girls’ High staff in 1995 and took the leadership opportunities that came her way.
By 2003 she was the principal.
At the start it had not been her intention to become the principal.
"This has been the place that’s provided me with the maximum amount of opportunities.
"For women in this school, there is no barrier if you want to take on leadership."
She was a great believer in single-sex girls schools.
"I think single-sex girls schools provide the opportunity for the girls to be participants in their learning, rather than part of the audience, as per co-ed schools."
Single-sex girls schools encouraged girls to achieve well.
"The level of confidence that girls-only develop, in girls, is phenomenal."
Students who attend single-sex girls’ schools often go on to achieve more.
"They’ve learnt a lot of the things about themselves and how they are as learners without the distraction of boys, and they often end up in high-performing jobs."
It was the right time for her to leave, Mrs Browning said.
"The school’s a high-performing school with great enrolment, stable staff, excellent achievements.
"It’s just the perfect time to go when everything is good.
"Honestly, I’ve been here long enough, and it’s time for someone else."
She was moving to Melbourne, where her daughter and family lived.
Her daughter was returning to work.
"My mother supported me to go back to work, so I’m just repaying the bit that my mother did for me."
However, she would also look for work opportunities.
She was not feeling sad about leaving, as she had plenty to look forward to.
"I feel satisfied."
