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Barker College

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Barker College is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school, located in Hornsby, a North Shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Founded in 1890 by the Reverend Henry Plume, at Kurrajong Heights, Barker is an all-boys school from Years 3 to 9, and co-educational from Years 10 to 12. The college has a non-selective enrolment policy and currently caters for approximately 1,968 students,[1] including 60 boarders from Years 10 to 12.[2] In 2007, Barker College ranked second in Higher School Certificate (HSC) results in the Hornsby region, behind Hornsby Girls' High School.

Barker is affiliated with the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference,[3] the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),[4] the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA),[5] the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA),[2] the Independent Schools Association (ISA),[6] and is a founding member of the Combined Associated Schools (CAS).[6]

History

Barker College was founded in early 1890 by an Anglican clergyman, the Reverend Henry Plume, at Kurrajong Heights, in the Blue Mountains, with five pupils. It was named for Plume's mentor and friend, the Right Reverend Frederic Barker, the second Bishop of Sydney. The College moved to its present site in Hornsby early in 1896, and in 1919 its ownership transferred to the Church of England.[7]

- ucation

1975 saw the introduction of the co-educational collegiate senior school for students in Years 11 and 12, with the enrolment of 59 female students. In 2000, Year 10 also became part of the senior School, and girls now usually enter the school at Year 10 level.[7] Today there are 450 girls enroled at Barker.[2]

Headmasters

Cigarette card featuring the Barker colours & crest, c.1910s
Period Details
1890 – 1905 Reverend Henry Plume
1905 – 1929 William Carter
1929 – 1932 Arthur Thorold
1933 – 1957 William Leslie
1958 – 1963 John Dewes
1963 – 1986 Trevor McCaskill
1986 – 1995 Neil Tucker
1996 – Present Dr. Roderick Kefford

Motto

The school motto, Honor, non Honores, may be translated from Latin to "Honour, not rewards". This replaced a previous motto, "I Take, but I Surrender", adopted for the school by Henry Plume in 1875 from the armorial achievement of one of his friends, Robert Fowler, Lord Mayor of Sydney. The motto was changed in 1895, when the school moved from Kurrajong to Hornsby.

Campus

Barker College is situated on a 20-hectare campus in suburban Hornsby,[8] 25 kilometres to the north of Sydney.[9] The Junior School, shares the campus with the Middle and Senior schools.[8]

The current facilities of the school include:

  • A library; An Information Technology Centre; The McCaskill Music Centre, containing private tuition studios, classrooms, a recording studio, and a recital hall;
  • Three Drama performance spaces, including two rehearsal rooms, a Drama Theatre with raked seating, and the School Hall;
  • The Centenary Design Centre with provision for individual studios and whole-class teaching in Design & Technology and Visual Arts;
  • The Barker Foundation Science Centre, containing ten teaching laboratories, four individual student laboratories and a 106-seat lecture theatre;
  • Boarding houses (Carter (Boys) and Plume (Girls);
  • Sporting fields, together with Tennis and Basketball courts, and an artificial surface for Hockey, Soccer, Netball, Athletics, Basketball, Volleyball and other games;
  • A gymnasium, equipped with weights and resistance training equipment, and an adjoining indoor Aquatic Centre.[8]


Co-curricular activities

The school conducts many extracurricular activities including the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, cadets, drama and musical performances, chess, debating, mock trials, public speaking, mountain biking, skiing, Equestrianism and breeds its own cattle for competition in the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

Sport

In 2004, 2005 and 2006 the Barker rugby 1st XV won the Combined Associated Schools (CAS) title with three, back-to-back, undefeated seasons. The team also made the final of the Waratah Shield competition in 2005, and won it in 2006.[citation needed] in 2008 Barker were knocked out by St Gregory's College three rounds in.

Barker College was the first school in the CAS history to win a hat-trick of Archer Shield cricket titles from 2000-2002.[citation needed] It also won the 2007 season.[citation needed]

Barker also won the first ever CAS Volleyball competition.

Music

The McCaskill Music Centre is a building on the campus of Barker College used entirely for music. Music classes are taught there for all students, and almost all co-curricular music activities take place there. The band program is taken care of by Peter Wamsley, and the Head of the Music Department is James Allington.

Barker has a variety of musical ensembles:

  • Symphonic Wind Band - Barker's top concert band, conducted by Peter Wamsley
  • Senior Concert Band - A band for people in years 9-11
  • Concert Band - The top band for the Middle School
  • Intermediate Concert Band - The lower band for the Middle School
  • Junior School Concert Band - The Junior School Band
  • Symphony Orchestra
  • Chamber Orchestra
  • String Orchestra
  • Chamber Choir
  • Senior Choir
  • Middle School Chorale

Barker has won awards with its various choirs and bands in the City of Sydney Eisteddfod, National Band Championships and NSW Band Championships. The Concert Band was the top ranked school concert band in Australia from 1991-1997.[citation needed]

Each year Barker puts on a musical involving year 10 and 11 students, although in the past students from all years have participated. They are: H.M.S. Pinafore, Sweet Charity, Guys and Dolls, Fame, The Pirates of Penzance, Grease, Chess, Les Misérables,West Side Story, and Godspell.

Cadet unit

Further information: Barker College Cadet Unit

Founded in 1900 [1] [10]the Barker College Cadet Unit (BCCU) is one of Australia's oldest cadet units[citation needed] and is currently one of Australia's largest, voluntary cadet units.[citation needed] The unit consists of five companies and two wings made up of those in school years 9 (C Coy and E Coy), 10 (B COY), one company of female members (D COY) and one Adventure training patrol, A Coy for Year 10 and 11 boys and girls. A Pioneer Wing also provides services for the unit through camp preparation, basic construction and logistics as well as instruction in related skills such as abseiling and pyrotechnics. The Headquarters Wing is the smallest group in the unit and is responsible for the logistics and administration of the unit. Each company participates in all three "Biv's" (weekend camps) which are held at various locations such as Holsworthy Army base and Glenworth Valley. At the end of the cadets year all members of the unit attend the week long 'Annual Camp', held at the Australian Army Barracks at Singleton.

Due to the school's refusal to disband the unit during the Defence Department's public relations disaster related to the Vietnam War, the unit is now one of the few in Australia to receive only 'limited support' from the Department.[citation needed] The school does however utilise the services of volunteers, typically previous members as well as the school's teachers, to assist with events such as the camps.

After a lack of members in the late 1970s, the cadet marching band (renamed the Barker College Cadet Marching Band) was fully revived, with the drafting of all school cadets who could play a suitable instrument, in 1999 and participated in its first ANZAC Day Parade in 2000.

Alumni

Old Barker Association

Alumni of Barker may elect to join the school's alumni association, the Old Barker Association (OBA). The Old Barker Association (OBA) was formed in 1908, and was originally known as the 'Barker College Old Boys Union'. The OBA provides a link between Barker College and its past students, with in excess of 7,500 members.[11] Some notable Barker alumni include:

Notable alumni

Media, entertainment and the arts
Finance and Business
Politics, public service and the law
  • Philip Ruddock - Former federal immigration minister, attorney-general
  • Peter Garrett - former Midnight Oil lead singer; environmentalist; federal Minister for Environment, Heritage and Arts (2008-)
  • Michael Edwards- Member of Committee for Agricultural Development in the Riverina Region, Wagga Wagga
Science, medicine and technology

Five old boys are fellows of the Australian Academy of Science:

  • Professor James Angus - Vice-President of the International Union of Pharmacology, Dean of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, former Pro-Chancellor and President of the Academic Board of the University of Melbourne, former President of the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists, Gottschalk Medalist and Australia's Centenary Medalist.
  • Professor Chris Heyde
  • Emeritus Professor Paul Korner
  • Professor Peter Bishop
  • Emeritus Professor Archibald McIntyre
Sport

References

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference AnnualReport was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c "Barker College". Schools. Australian Boarding Schools' Association. 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  3. ^ "International Members". HMC Schools. The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
  4. ^ "AHISA Schools". New South Wales. Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-23. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ "JSHAA New South Wales Directory of Members". New South Wales Branch. Junior School Heads' Association of Australia. 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  6. ^ a b "Sport". Co-Curricular. Barker College. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  7. ^ a b "History of Barker College". About Barker. Barker College. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  8. ^ a b c "Barker Now". About Barker. Barker College. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  9. ^ "Aims and Objectives". Vision and Values. Barker College. Retrieved 2008-01-23.
  10. ^ http://www.barker.nsw.edu.au/curricular.asp
  11. ^ "All About Us". Old Barker Association. Barker College. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
  12. ^ Jamie Brazier at Cricinfo

See also

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