| Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales | |
| Size: | 165px |
| Headquarters: | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Membership: | The King's School Sydney Grammar School Newington College Saint Ignatius' College St Joseph's College Sydney Boys High School Sydney Church of England Grammar School The Scots College The Armidale School |
| Language: | English |
| General: | President: Robert Grant AO Chairman: Michael Curran Grammar Hon Secretary: Mark Gainford High Hon Treasurer: Peter Phipps King's[1] |
| Formation: | 1892 |
| Website: | aagps.nsw.edu.au |
The Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (AAGPS) is a sporting association of boys' schools in New South Wales, Australia that contest sporting events among themselves. The AAGPS was formed on 30 March 1892, and today has nine members – eight Sydney schools and one northern NSW country school. The descriptor 'Public School' references the historical usage of the term and the model of the British public school; all except Sydney Boys High School are in modern parlance private schools.
AAGPS representative sports sides are selected typically for matches against representative sides of the Combined Associated Schools (CAS), Independent Schools Association (ISA) and Combined High Schools (CHS).
Of the 130 Rhodes Scholars from 1904 to 2006 and from New South Wales, 85 attended a GPS School and of the 12 Australian Prime Ministers that attended school in Sydney from 1902 to 2023, 6 attended a GPS school specifically Sydney Grammar School, Sydney Boys High, Shore School or St Ignatius College (Riverview). [2]
The Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (AAGPS) was formed at a meeting held at Gunsler's Café, near Circular Quay, on 30 March 1892. The schools represented at this first meeting were The King's School, Saint Ignatius' College, St Joseph's College, All Saints' College, Bathurst and the North Shore Grammar School (Shore). On 12 April, representatives from Sydney Grammar School, Newington College and Cooerwull Academy joined those who had attended the first meeting.[3]
A third meeting was held on 28 April 1892, where membership of the AAGPS was clarified, and St Patrick's College, Goulburn, St Stanislaus College, Bathurst, and The Scots College joined those Schools who attended the first two meetings.[3]
Sydney High School applied for membership in March 1894, but were not accepted for admission until 14 February 1906. The final entrant was The Armidale School, who was admitted to the Association on 7 May 1897.[3]
| School[4] | Location | Enrolment | Founded | Denomination | Day/boarding | Year entered competition | School Colours | Also known as | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The King's School | North Parramatta | 2100 | 1831 | Anglican | Day and boarding | 1892 | King's, TKS | ||
| Sydney Grammar School | Darlinghurst | 1109 | 1854 | Non-denominational | Day | 1892 | Grammar, SGS | ||
| Newington College | Stanmore | 1600 | 1863 | Uniting Church | Day and boarding | 1892 | Newington, Newo, New, NC, Newingtonia | ||
| Saint Ignatius' College | Riverview | 1569 | 1880 | Roman Catholic | Day and boarding | 1892 | Iggies, View, Riverview | ||
| St Joseph's College | Hunters Hill | 900 | 1881 | Roman Catholic | Day and boarding | 1892 | Joeys | ||
| Sydney Boys High School | Moore Park | 1210 | 1883 | Secular | Day | 1906 | High, Sydney High, Sydney Boys | ||
| Sydney Church of England Grammar School (SHORE) | North Sydney | 1207 | 1889 | Anglican | Day and boarding | 1892 | Shore | ||
| The Scots College | Bellevue Hill | 1800 | 1892 | Presbyterian | Day and boarding | 1893 | Scots | ||
| The Armidale School | Armidale | 800 | 1894 | Anglican | Day and boarding | 1897 | Armidale, TAS |
| School | Location | Founded | Denomination | Day/boarding | Year entered competition | Current status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Stanislaus' College | Bathurst | 1867 | Roman Catholic | Boys Day and boarding | 1892 | now a member of the Independent Sporting Association | |
| All Saints' College | Bathurst | 1873 | Anglican | Co-educational Day and boarding | 1892 | now an associate member of the Independent Sporting Association | |
| Cooerwull Academy | Lithgow | 1851 | Presbyterian | Day and boarding | 1892 | closed during World War I | |
| St Patrick's College | Goulburn | 1873 | Roman Catholic | Day and boarding | 1892 | now Trinity Catholic College |
The sports contested are:
See main article: AAGPS (NSW) Rugby. The official rugby union competition commenced in 1892.
See main article: AAGPS (NSW) Athletics. The official athletics competition commenced in 1892. In 1912 the competition was divided into two levels – senior and junior. In 2012 a third level, intermediate, was added.
The official cricket competition commenced in 1893. As early as 1897 the competition was in First and Second Grade.
The official rowing competition commenced in 1893. Some schools had competed at club competition before then. The Head of the River is the main event of the rowing season. It takes place annually in the first term at the Sydney International Regatta Centre.
The official rifle shooting competition commenced in 1905 but results of the National Rifle Association competition are recorded from 1893. The AAGPS decided in 1903 to formally admit Shooting as one of its sports.
The official tennis competition commenced in 1972.
See main article: AAGPS (NSW) Basketball. The official basketball competition commenced in 1975.
The 1sts and 2nds premierships are currently held by Shore and Riverview.
The official swimming competition commenced in 2000. Unofficial competition commenced in 1987 among all nine schools but competitions between the schools via a GPS Relay at each School's Swimming Carnival started in 1922. Between 1903 and 1921, All Schools races were held over various distances at each school's Swimming Carnival.
The official cross country competition commenced in 1988.
See main article: AAGPS (NSW) Soccer. The official football competition commenced in 1988
The official "plate" competition commenced in 2015 with all metropolitan schools competing for the 1st XI and 2nd XI GPS ‘Plate’ trophy. The competition is played in Term 2 prior to the Premiership Rounds.
See also: List of GPS sporting alumni.