The King's School, Parramatta

For other schools of the same name, see The King's School.

The King's School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for boys', located in North Parramatta, a Greater Western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Established in 1831, The King's School is one of the oldest operating schools in Australia, and currently caters for approximately 1465 students from Kindergarten to Year 12. The school also enrols approximately 430 boarders from Years 5 to 12, making it one of the largest boarding schools in Australia.

The School is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA), the Australian Boarding Schools' Association, and is a founding member of the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (AAGPS).

History

In January 1830, the Venerable Archdeacon, William Grant Broughton, devised a plan for the establishment of grammar schools in New South Wales under the governship of Sir Ralph Darling, in which it was stated that, with the authority of King George IV, such schools be named "The King's Schools". By the time royal sanction was granted, King William IV held the throne of England. Two schools were opened in 1832: the first in Pitt Street, Sydney; the other in George Street, Parramatta, a major settlement about 20 kilometres inland. The former, opened in January 1832, was closed eight months later after the death of its first headmaster, while the Parramatta campus remained open under the stewardship of the Reverend Robert Forrest, who was first appointed headmaster in 1831.

The King's School c. 1890

According to The King's School 1831–1981, on opening day on Monday, 13th February 1832 there were just three students in attendance, all of them day students and under ten years of age. However, the accuracy of this official account is disputed given that no original school register of student attendance from the period remains; some sources indicate that there were up to twelve students initially enrolled, with an even distribution between day students and boarders. In any event, Robert Forrest was paid a relatively low salary of £100 per annum, especially since he was required to endure the protracted sea journey from England to Australia, but it was inclusive of a land and housing grant. From fees of £28 and £8 per annum for each boarder and day student respectively, he was also expected to maintain boarders and pay the salaries of his assistants, whose fees were £4 per annum for each student taught. According to an article in the Australian Historical Society Journal in 1903, school enrolments reached over 100 students before the end of the first year.

By 1839, Forrest's health had deteriorated and thus he submitted his resignation. However, ill-health would also cause the school to experience a rapid succession of headmasters in the following decade. The Reverend William Clarke was appointed headmaster to replace Forrest, whilst Reverend John Troughton was appointed master in charge of boarders. Two years later, the Reverend W.W. Simpson (first cousin to Sir James Young Simpson, pioneer of chloroform) assumed the role of headmaster, however an epidemic of scarlet fever in 1843 also forced his reisgnation. Reverend James Walker, a notable botanist and classical scholar, succeeded Simpson, however ill-health also resulted in his resignation in December 1847.

Campus

File:TKS Entrance.JPG

The entrance to the School

The King's School is situated on a single 120-hectare campus located on the outskirts of suburban Parramatta. Some notable facilities of the school include:

Sports

Sporting facilities include 15 playing fields used interchangeably between cricket and rugby, 14 tennis courts, five basketball courts, five soccer fields, a 50 metre lap pool, a 25 metre swimming pool, a diving pool, and a gym under which there is a small rifle range. The school also has a rowing facility in Putney, on the Parramatta River. A newly constructed gym was opened on 16 June 2007 and dubbed the Sports Centre.

The extensive sporting facilities of The King's School have been subject to much political scrutiny during the tenure of Prime Minister John Howard, whereby the Australian Labor Party has criticised Federal Government grants to wealthy private schools. The controversy reached its apex during the 2004 Federal election in which Mark Latham, as Leader of the Opposition, launched a private school "hit list" which would strip hundreds of millions of dollars from elite private schools. Latham was subsequently defeated at the election.

Senior School

The King's senior school features a library within the Centre for Learning and Leadership, as well as separate buildings for visual arts, music, science, and industrial design and technology. However, the majority of academic proceedings occur within the precinct generally known as the "quadrangle" in which there are twenty classrooms all of which are fully equipped with audio-visual and computer facilities.

House system

Senior School

The Centre for Learning and Leadership, containing a library, an audiotorium, computer laboratories and classrooms

The King's School has implemented a house system consisting of 14 separate houses for both day students and boarders. The boarding houses include Gowan Brae, Baker, Bishop Barker, Broughton, Forrest, Hake, Macarthur and Waddy; whilst the day student houses include Britten, Burkitt, Dalmas, Kurrle, Macquarie and Wickham. The houses serve as a hub for students wherein recreational and pastoral activities are conducted.

Kurrle and Wickham were created as a result of an expansion in enrolments in 2001, but the remaining Houses have been in existence for several decades. Their names are derived from former Headmasters and Deputy Headmasters, the founder of the school and the traditional name of the school site.

Preparatory School

The preparatory school has four houses - Stiles, Thomas, Blaxland and Harrison. Blaxland includes both boarders and day students, however boarders are housed within Gowan Brae, which is shared exclusively with Year 7 students.

The purpose of Gowan Brae is to serve as an intermediary step between primary and secondary schooling, allowing Year 7 students the opportunity to adapt to the unique institutions of the senior school, whilst remaining within a common peer group of similar age.

Uniform

The King's School uniform is unique among Sydney schools, and is the oldest military uniform still worn in Australia. It consists of navy-blue trousers with a vertical red stripe; white shirt and grey/red jacket. The uniform reflects the military history of the school, and is similar to the blazers worn at the Battle of Waterloo.

Sir William Archer Gunn & fellow King's students in uniform, c. 1931

The jacket may be modified to denote rank in the cadet corps. All students, except school prefects, wear one badge on the collar of their uniform jacket. Prefects wear two badges on both sides. This is due to the fact that students of lower rank would have carried rifles over one shoulder, thus damaging the additional badge, whilst prefects would instead be armed with pistols.

The jacket is replaced in Years 11 and 12 with a white, pinstriped navy-blue blazer or a sky-blue Honours blazer. Both blazers feature pockets which may have special stitching commemorating academic or sporting achievements in the form of full or half "colours". Outstanding achievement is awarded with Honours "colours" and is exclusively signified by the sky-blue blazer. The jacket and blazers must be worn with a standard black tie, the colour commemorating the death of Queen Victoria.

The preparatory school uniform differs slightly to that of the senior school. Students in Kindergarten to Year 2 also wear the pinstriped blazer, however it is in conjunction with khaki shorts and knee-high black socks. From Years 3 to 6, students wear navy-blue shorts with the vertical red stripe, knee-high black socks and the grey/red blazer.

Co-curriculum

Co-curricular activities offered by the school include debating, choir, musicals, bands and ensembles, sport, and the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. Senior intellectual clubs (The Twelve Club, The Cartesian Club, the Scipionic Circle), are also offered.

The school hosts and produces an annual musical containing a cast of current students from The King's School and Tara Anglican School for Girls. Past productions include The Pirates of Penzance, South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair Lady, The Mikado and Grease.

Academic clubs

The school's headmaster, deputy headmaster and other senior staff each host intellectual clubs composed of promising senior students. The most eminent clubs include the "Twelve Club" hosted by headmaster Dr Timothy Hawkes and "The Cartesian Club" hosted by deputy headmaster Peter Rainey. The members of these clubs are usually selected as a result of their success in areas of academics or leadership activities.

Debating

King's prep competes in the JSHAA and ISDA debating competitions, while the senior school competes in the GPS and ISDA competitions. 2004 saw the school win the ISDA competition, the largest independent schools competition in NSW, for the first time. In 2004 the school was also represented in national and world championship winning representative teams.

Cadet corps

The Cadet Corps annual passing out parade on the White Oval. The school chapel is in the background

The school's Cadet Corps is the oldest and largest in Australia. All students in Years 8 and 9 are required to undertake cadetships in which they are taught self-preservation techniques, absailing, shooting, map reading, marching and other general leadership skills. Each year, a Corps camp is held at the Singleton Defence Force Base in New South Wales.

The Cadet Corps performs an annual Passing-out Parade, which commemorates the transferral of leadership and colours from the senior Year 12 cadets to specially-selected Year 11 cadets. The event is rooted in much tradition, usually presided over by a high-ranking member of the Australian Defence Force, and generally attracting an audience of thousands wishing to view the formal procession.

The King's School Marching Band is a central element of the Cadet Corps, providing the rhythm to which the cadets must march during the Passing-out parade. The band consists of members of the Senior Concert Band and the Performing Band, and it also marches annually at the ANZAC Day Parade in Sydney.

Music

The school has a music programme that caters for all levels of musical ability. In Year 7 boys complete the compulsory 100-hour music course set by the NSW government, which introduces them to singing and basic rhythm patterns. Full- and half-period instrumental lessons are offered, with teachers for piano, pipe organ, guitar, violin, viola, violoncello, contrabass, tuba, horn, trombone, trumpet, saxophone, flute, clarinet, percussion, voice and bagpipes.

The Performing Band is a wind ensemble that caters for beginning to intermediate musicians studying Grade 4 AMEB and lower. It performs mainly Jazz music. The Senior Concert Band is a Symphonic Wind Ensemble that performs Symphonic and Jazz music. The Marching Band includes members of The Senior Concert Band and select members of The Performing Band. The school has a Junior Strings ensemble and a Chamber String Orchestra for experienced players. Junior strings is mainly for musicians of Grade 3 AMEB and lower, and the orchestra is for higher grades. There are also two piano trios, three stage bands and a guitar ensemble for each year group. The School has a main, non-auditioned choir for boys in the senior school. In the prep school there are two choirs. The School has recently introduced a new invitation only choir called "Schola Cantorum" meaning School of Singers. This consists of a select few from the Prep and Senior Schools.

King's has two pipe organs: a chapel organ in the Memorial Chapel and a baroque organ in Futter Hall.

Sport

Sport is compulsory for all students. In the Senior School students may participate in Rugby Union, Rowing, Cricket, Basketball, Tennis, Football, Swimming, Cross Country, or if personally selected by the sportsmaster, may represent the school at Shooting. In the prep school, Cricket, Rugby Union, Football, Teeball, Tennis, and Softball are available. The school engages in these sports as a member of the GPS competition consisting of seven other schools; St Ignatius' College, St Joseph's College, Sydney High School, Sydney Grammar School, Sydney Church of England Grammar School, Newington College and The Scots College.

King's School eight oar crew, 1932

In rowing, the school has won the GPS Head of the River 17 times (including 2006 and 2007), and the Schoolboy VIII at the National Rowing Championships in 1982, 2001 and 2006. The school has also won the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at the Henley Royal Regatta in 2001 and the Fawley Challenge Cup in 2006. During the 2007 Head of the River, The Kings School refused to allow the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) to test its first eight rowing team after reports the ASADA had forced students from the Sydney Church of England Grammar School rowing team to strip naked and give urine samples.[1]

The rugby union 1st XV team has won numerous GPS Premierships in recent years, including those in 1997-2000 and 2002, as well as the 2000 Sanix World Rugby Youth Tournament in Japan. The current Australian Wallabies Rugby team contains a number of former students including Stirling Mortlock, Benn Robinson, Julian Huxley, Will Caldwell and James Hilgendorf.

The school's 1st XI cricket team recently won the GPS premiership, edging out a strong Sydney Church of England Grammar School side to win by 8 runs in the final round, and capturing their first Premiership in cricket in 41 years.

Notable alumni

Alumni of The King's School are known as Old Boys. For notable Old Boys of The King's School, see List of Old Boys of The King's School, Sydney.

See also

• List of Non-Government schools in New South Wales
• List of boarding schools
• Tudor House School
• New South Wales Rugby Union

External links

• The King's School website