Ballarat Grammar School

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Ballarat Grammar
Ballarat Grammar School crest. Source: www.bgs.vic.edu.au (Ballarat Grammar website)
Latin: Honores Laborem Sequuntur
Honour Follows Labour
Address
201 Forest Street,
Wendouree, Victoria, 3355, Australia
Coordinates Lat : 37°32'22.52"S, Long :143°49'52.23"E, Location on wikimapia
Information
Religious affiliation(s) Anglican
Established 1911
Chairperson Hon Rob Knowles, AO
Headmaster Stephen J. Higgs
Chaplain Fr Peter Treloar
Grades ELC - 12
Gender Co-educational
Enrolment Approx 1300
School Colour(s) Blue, Brown & Gold             
Slogan Leading through Learning
Song Serva Fidem

School Anthem = (To the tune of Holst's 'Jupiter Hymn')
Publication Boomalacka
Yearbook 'The Grammarian'
Full Name Ballarat and Queen’s Anglican Grammar School
Website www.bgs.vic.edu.au
Website Portal (internal)

Ballarat and Queens Anglican Grammar School is an independent, Anglican Church school located at Wendouree (Ballarat), Victoria, 123 km west of Melbourne.

Contents

[edit] History

Ballarat Church of England Grammar School for Boys was opened by Bishop Green on the current Forest Street site in 1911. The Church of England Girls’ Grammar School was acquired by the Anglican Diocese in 1918 having formerly been Queen’s College which was established 1877, 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.

For the 2011 Century Year Celebrations a book, Met by Wendouree, captures much of the history of the schools. Although both were originally small schools, many alumni have made significant contributions to the Nation, in politics, in academia, education and health services, in business and as musicians and artists. Many are mentioned in the book.

There is also Mainly About Girls, A History of Queen’s, Ballarat 1876 – 1972 written by Susanne White and Winds of Influence, A History of Ballarat Grammar School 1911 – 1971 by Michael Boyle.

[edit] Campus

Ballarat and Queens Anglican Grammar School is located in Ballarat, on the corner of Howitt and Forest streets, Wendouree. The expansive campus stretches as far north as Norman St, and west towards Dare St. 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 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. The main auditorium seats 857 and the expansive stage area has the capacity to handle a range of performances. 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 WCPA also features natural cooling utilizing underground catacombs and natural air-flow.

The Heinz Centre is an award-winning (2002 BEN Environment Award [1] ) 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.

Ballarat and Queens Anglican Grammar School is a sister school to St Augustine's High School, an Anglican Mission boarding school in Penhalonga, Zimbabwe.'

[edit] Academic standing

Grammar has been a ranked school in Victoria for several years. It competes strongly with Ballarat Clarendon College, and together they are the only schools from Ballarat to feature in the rankings of the best Victorian schools.

Academic Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Official Victorian Rank[2] 45th 38th 48th 59th 69th -
Median VCE scores 35 34 34 33 33 -
Percentage of VCE scores 40+ 19% 22% 17% 16% 15.7% -

[edit] Sport

Rowing is considered by many to be the school's most celebrated sport[citation needed], although a subculture considers it overhyped[citation needed]. The Ballarat Associated Schools (BAS) crews compete in the annual "Head of the Lake" (also known simply as "Boat Race"), which has recently been held on the Barwon River.

In cricket, it won the BAS premiership for three out of the last five years and a Victorian Championship in 2003-2004.[citation needed]

[edit] House system

The house system is very important to the structure of the school, and there is substantial rivalry between houses in swimming, athletics, and choral competitions, among others. 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.

School Song
Serva Fidem

The mitre and the millrind are met by Wendouree;
The Heavenly Creed, the homely deed, together still should be;
Sure and steadfast, spite of scathe, serva fidem - keep the faith.

Where once earth's gold was gathered, and now the golden fleece;
Each golden thought, by wisdom wrought, let these the more increase;
Sure and steadfast, spite of scathe, serva fidem - keep the faith.

And keeping comes from winning, he holds who first has won;
No careless hand may join the band that hears the glad 'Well Done!';
Sure and steadfast, spite of scathe, serva fidem - keep the faith.

So to the end though never, the end our eyes discern;
Before our school the shining rule: who lives who still can learn;
Sure and steadfast, spite of scathe, serva fidem - keep the faith.

There are also two girls' boarding houses, Hayhoe and Woodbridge. Hayhoe has multiple buildings including Larritt which 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:

  • Macpherson          - Nevett             
  • Manifold          - Smith         
  • Woodbridge              - Dart         
  • Hayhoe          - Wigan         
  • Cuthbert          - Robin         
  • Krome          - Butler         

[edit] Chapel of St Mark

Located within the School grounds is the Chapel of St Mark. Originally built as the School assembly hall (Manifold Hall), the building was transformed into a chapel when student numbers demanded a larger space. Overseen by Chaplain Fr Peter Treloar and Assistant Chaplain Mrs Fiona Whitehouse, the Chapel holds several school services each week, as well as baptisms, weddings and funerals by School families and the wider community.

Notably, each winter the Chapel plays host to the charitable drive Can the Chapel. School houses compete to donate non-perishable items, lining the walls (and aisles) of the Chapel. All proceeds are donated to Anglicare Ballarat, and distributed to the needy within the Ballarat community.

[edit] Alumni

Academia
Arts and Media
Music
 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2010)
Politics
Secret Service
  • John Ross-Perrier - Deputy Director ASIO [4]
Sport

[edit] References

  1. ^ 2002 BEN Environment Awards (accessed:20-07-2008)
  2. ^ Grammar's ranking source
  3. ^ A.J.Pittard Biography
  4. ^ Trinity College, University of Melbourne document (Retrieved 1/4/2009)

[edit] Further reading

  • M.J.W. Boyle, Winds of Influence: A Short History of The Ballarat Grammar School 1911-1971 (n.d.)
  • Susanne L. White, Mainly About Girls: A History of Queen's, Ballarat 1876-1972 (1990)

[edit] External links

Question book-new.svg
 This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (December 2006)


Coordinates: 37°32′15″S 143°49′48″E / 37.5375°S 143.83°E / -37.5375; 143.83

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