Ballarat Grammar School
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Ballarat Grammar School | |
Honores labourem sequenter
"Honour follows work" |
|
Established | |
School type | Independent, Day and Boarding |
Principal/Headmaster | Mr. Stephen Higgs |
Chairman | Mr. John E Miller |
Chaplain | Fr. Peter Treleor |
Affiliations | Round Square |
Location | Wendouree, Victoria, Australia |
Campus | Rural Parkland |
Enrolment | (P-12) |
School colours | Blue, Brown and Gold |
School Hymn | "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 gloden thought, by wisdom wrought, let these the more increase; Sure and steadfast, spite of scathe, serva fidem - keep the faith. |
Area | 16.5 Hectares |
Homepage | www.bgs.vic.edu.au |
Ballarat Grammar School. The full title is Ballarat and Queens Anglican Grammar School and informally called "Grammar" by locals, is a private school located in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. It was formed by the merger of the all boys school Ballarat Grammar, and the all girls school "Queen's". It is a member of the Round Square association of schools and has some of the highest VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) scores in the state.
The school motto is "Honores labourem sequenter" - Honour follows work.
Contents |
[edit] Round Square
The school's Round Square philosophy is seen in its student exchange programs and its community service projects on a local and global scale, including its "Thai water project" that aims to provide remote Thai villages with fresh running water.
[edit] Sport
Rowing is considered by many to be the school's most celebrated sport, although a subculture considers it overhyped; 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 at Lake Nagambie. The schools crews have recently returned from Lake Barrington in Tasmania where they achieved a Gold, Silver and Bronze medal. The school has also performed very well in athletics and cross country events, and Cricket winning the BAS premiership 3 out of the last 5 years and a Victorian Championships in 03/04. Their most recent premiership was in season 05/06, where led by team captain Edward Guthrie and vice-captain Lachlan Vine won the premiership.
[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 engage in pranks against each other. Dart and Wigan also compete against each other in soccer and 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 over looked when competing against the "day" (non-boarding) houses.
There are also two girls' boarding houses, Hayhoe and Woodbridge. Hayhoe has multiple buildings including Larritt which was created in the last few years to accommodate the ever-increasing number of boarders, housing exclusively female boarders in years 7 and 8.
There are also 8 day houses, 4 for girls and 4 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.
Other houses have also developed reputations, some known to students and others to the wider community. Robin-Cuthbert has a strong pastoral care tradition, which has led to it being the house of choice for many parents who have children with special needs. Krome-Butler tend to dominate sporting activities (Butler have won the swimming sports for 12 years running and the athletics sports for 8), which may be explained by the house's excellent leadership and vigorous training regime. Boarding houses tend to excell in performance-based competitions. Smith-Manifold has a very strong link to the support of charities. Much of this characterised after their heavy involvement with 'Noopsi Badges'. Special badges, made by HIV positive mothers to be sold to raise awareness, and to provide a much needed income.
[edit] House Combinations
In addition, the houses are paired in brother-sister groups. While the houses are generally independent, having separate meetings and tutorial groups for example, they form one team in the various competitions.
The pairs are:
- Krome - Butler
- Woodbridge - Dart
- Manifold - Smith
- Hayhoe - Wigan
- Cuthbert - Robin
- Macpherson - Nevett
[edit] Administration
The current headmaster is Stephen Higgs