Ballarat Grammar School Explained

Ballarat Grammar
Motto:Latin: Honores Laborem Sequuntur
Motto Translation:Honour Follows Labour
Streetaddress:201 Forest Street,
City:Wendouree
State:Victoria
Postcode:3355
Country:Australia
Coordinates:-37.5396°N 143.8312°W[1]
Established:1911
Chairperson:Shantini Deutscher[2]
Headmaster:Adam Heath
Chaplain:Rev’d Dr Timothy Gaden[3]
Grades:ELC–12
Slogan:Learning to Thrive, Engaged in the World.
Song:Serva Fidem (To the tune of Holst's "Jupiter Hymn")
Test Name:VCE
Test Average:32[4]
Publication:Boomalacka
Yearbook:The Grammarian
Website:www.bgs.vic.edu.au
Gender:Co-educational
Enrolment:1537
School Colours:Blue, brown & gold
Number:928[5]

Ballarat and Queen's Anglican Grammar School is a private, co-educational, Anglican, day and boarding school located in Wendouree (Ballarat), Victoria, Australia.[6]

History

Originally known as 'Ballarat Church of England Grammar School for Boys', Ballarat Grammar School was opened by Bishop Browne on the current Forest Street site in 1911.[7] The Church of England Girls’ Grammar School was acquired by the Anglican Diocese in 1918[7] having formerly been Queen’s College which was established 1877,[7] and later having “Queen’s” once again included in the name.

The two schools amalgamated in 1973, and became Ballarat and Queen’s Anglican Grammar School on the Forest Street site.[7]

Headmasters

The first headmaster of Ballarat Grammar was Percy Ansell Robin.[8] Other notable headmasters include G. F. J. Dart.

Adam Heath has been the Headmaster since 2016. Previous to this he was the Middle School Principal at Kristin School in Auckland, New Zealand.[9] Heath originally studied Outdoor Education at La Trobe University and more recently he has completed a master's degree in School Leadership with First Class Honours at The University of Melbourne. After his early teaching in Mallacoota and the UK, Heath moved to join Caulfield Grammar as Head of their Yarra Junction Campus. In 2005, he was appointed as the founding Head of Middle School at Scotch Oakburn College in Launceston.[10]

Previous to Adam Heath, Stephen Higgs was the Headmaster of Ballarat Grammar for 21 years.[11]

Campus

Ballarat and Queen's Anglican Grammar School's main campus is located in Ballarat, on the corner of Howitt and Forest streets, Wendouree. The expansive campus stretches as far north as Norman Street, and west towards Dare Street. Both the Senior School and Junior School are situated on the same campus, sharing many facilities and resources. The Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts is accessed by students via the southern part of the campus, and by the general public via Howitt St.

The Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts (WCPA) was opened in 2006 through a partnership between the school and the wider Ballarat community. It is used by the school and also hosts community events and performances. Ballarat Grammar's Music School is located within the WCPA, featuring tutorial and rehearsal rooms and a professional recording suite.

The Heinz Centre is a Year 9 Environmental Centre, opened in 2001. The centre was the venue for the Sustainable Building Expo held in 2002 as part of World Environment Week. It won the 2002 BEN Environment Award.[12]

The school also has a farming campus at Mount Rowan.[13] This campus is used by grade 4 students and VCE Agriculture-Horticulture students.

The schools City Cite is their campus in the Melbourne CBD[14] and students in year 9 will attend this campus for three weeks in term 4. Ballarat and Queens Anglican Grammar School is a sister school to St Augustine's High School, an Anglican Mission boarding school in Punjabi, Zimbabwe.

Academic standing

Academic year2007200820092010201120122013201420152016
Better Education Rank (Independent schools)45th38th48th59th69th80th73rd55th75th100th
Median VCE score34343433333333343332
Percentage of VCE scores 40+19%22%17%16%15.7%11.5%14.4%15.9%12.7%9.4%
[15]

Sport

Rowing is considered by many to be the school's most celebrated sport. The Ballarat Associated Schools (BAS) crews compete in the annual "Head of the Lake", which is held at Lake Wendouree.

The Ballarat Grammar Senior Girls Australian Rules Football team has had great success in recent years, winning the Ballarat Associated Schools (BAS) Premiership every year since 2013. Coached by teacher Matt Hanlon, the team was first successful in the AFL Victoria Herald Sun Shield (HSS) Championship in 2014, where they claimed the School Girls Division 1 title. The best on ground for the 2015 game was Rene Caris who was drafted to the Geelong Football Club in the 2018 AFL Women's draft. In 2016 and 2017, the Ballarat Grammar Senior Girls Football team triumphed in the Herald Sun Shield claiming Division 1 titles in successive years at RAMS Arena and the MCG respectfully. In 2017, Lauren Butler, who was drafted to the Collingwood Football Club in the 2018 AFL Women's draft,[16] was named best on ground in the Herald Sun Shield Grand Final.

Renee Saulitis is one of the most recent draftees to the AFLW competition from the Ballarat Grammar Australian Rules Football program, having been drafted to the St Kilda Football Club with pick 34 in the 2020 AFL Women's draft.[17] Maggie Caris, younger sister of Rene Caris of the Geelong Football Club, was also drafted in the 2020 AFL Women's draft to the Melbourne Football Club at pick 17.[18] Nominees for the 2021 AFL Women's draft include Ballarat Grammar students Ella Friend and Nyakoat Dojiok which will take place later in the year.[19]

BAS premierships

Ballarat Grammar has won the following BAS premierships.[20] Premierships won prior to 1973 were done so by the pre-amalgamation schools.

Combined:

Boys:

Girls:

House system

The house system is very important to the structure of the school, and there is substantial rivalry between houses in swimming, athletics, choral competitions, and more. The house system also provides pastoral care and a degree of mentoring to students. The rivalry is particularly seen between the two boys' boarding houses, Dart and Wigan, which often used to engage in pranks against each other. This practice was abandoned in 2007 after new administration deemed the activities of the boarding houses to be inappropriate. Dart and Wigan still compete against each other in soccer and Australian rules football matches. These houses used to be one, and their subsequent division may be the cause of the competition. The Dart-Wigan rivalry is often overlooked when competing against the "day" (non-boarding) houses.

There are also three girls' boarding houses, Hayhoe, Woodbridge and Larritt. Larritt was created to accommodate the ever-increasing number of boarders, housing exclusively female boarders in years 7, 8 and 9. Larritt girls 'graduate' to Hayhoe and Woodbridge when they reach year 10.

There are also eight-day houses, four for girls and four for boys. The girls' day houses are Manifold, Krome, Cuthbert and Macpherson. The boys' houses are Smith, Butler, Robin and Nevett.

All houses are named after people who were important to the school such as former Headmasters/Headmistresses or substantial donors, and are paired in brother-sister groups. While the houses are generally independent, they compete together in a number of competitions.

The pairs are:

Alumni

Academia
Arts and media
Music
Politics
Sport

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=-37.5395752&lon=143.8307762&z=16&l=0&m=a&v=2 Location on wikimapia
  2. Web site: Board of Directors. Ballarat Grammar School . 1 May 2020.
  3. Web site: bgs.vic.edu.au . Senior Staff. 27 January 2018.
  4. Web site: Better Education VCE School Results – 2016. Better Education. 2016.
  5. Web site: Education provider details. vrga.vic.gov.au. 25 October 2016.
  6. Web site: State Register – Provider details. VRQA.
  7. Web site: History Ballarat Grammar. Birch. Joel. www.bgs.vic.edu.au. 24 October 2016.
  8. Book: Winds of Influence: A Short History of the Ballarat Grammar School, 1911-1971 . Ballarat Old Grammarians' Association . 1973 . 9780959862805 . Boyle . M.J.W. . en.
  9. Web site: Meet the Principal – Kristin. www.kristin.school.nz. 24 October 2016.
  10. Web site: Principals in Profile – Adam Heath Independent Schools Victoria. www.is.vic.edu.au. en-AU. 13 July 2017.
  11. Web site: Headmaster's Welcome Ballarat Grammar. Birch. Joel. www.bgs.vic.edu.au. 24 October 2016.
  12. http://bird.net.au/bird/index.php?title=2002_Environment_Awards 2002 BEN Environment Awards
  13. Web site: Campuses & Facilities Ballarat Grammar. Birch. Joel. www.bgs.vic.edu.au. 24 October 2016.
  14. Web site: Year 9 Ballarat Grammar. Birch. Joel. www.bgs.vic.edu.au. 24 October 2016.
  15. Web site: VCE School Ranking – 2015. Family. Wang. bettereducation.com.au. 24 October 2016.
  16. Web site: AFLW draft 2018: Every pick from every club. 23 October 2018.
  17. Web site: Warrnambool athlete caps off 2020 with AFLW spot. 11 November 2020.
  18. Web site: Maggie Caris | AFL.
  19. Web site: REVEALED: AFLW Draft date, Combine attendees.
  20. Web site: Past Results. 2021-02-05. bas.vic.edu.au.
  21. Web site: Alan Head biography in the Australian Academy of Science. 27 February 2012.
  22. News: Ballarat Grammar boat christening brings back memories for Olympian. Melanie. Whelan. 6 November 2011.