Scotch Oakburn College

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Scotch Oakburn College
Ad Superiora Viam Inveniam
(Latin:"I will find a way to higher things")
Established 1886 (MLC)
1901 (Scotch)
1979 (Amalgamation)
School Type Independent, Co-educational, Day and Boarding
Denomination Uniting Church
Slogan "Creating the future"
Key People Mr. Andrew Barr (Principal)
Mr. Hugh McKenzie (Chairman)
Rev. Graham Bartley (Chaplain)
School Fees AU$6,100–10,850 p.a (Day 2007)[1]
Location Launceston, Tasmania, Australia Flag of Australia
Coordinates 41°26′59″S 147°10′9″E / -41.44972, 147.16917Coordinates: 41°26′59″S 147°10′9″E / -41.44972, 147.16917
Enrolment ~1,100 (ELC–12)[2]
Colours Maroon, Blue and Gold             
Homepage www.soc.tas.edu.au

Scotch Oakburn College is an independent, Uniting Church, co-educational, day and boarding school, located in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.

Established in 1979, with the amalgamation of Oakburn College and Scotch College, the school currently caters for approximately 1,100 students from Early Learning (3 years old) to Year 12 (18 years old), including 56 boarders from Years 7 to 12.[2]

Scotch Oakburn is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),[3] the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA),[4] the Australian Boarding Schools' Association,[5] and the Sports Association of Tasmanian Independent Schools.

The College is a full member of the Round Square association, an international association spreading across five continents and over 50 schools around the world. Scotch Oakburn College is the only full member of Round Square in Tasmania.[5]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Formation

The Scotch Oakburn College was created in 1979, through the amalgamation of the Scotch College and Oakburn College (formerly the Methodist Ladies' College). It currently operates as a college of the Uniting Church in Australia, formed in 1977 by the union of many congregations of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and Congregational Union of Australia with the Methodist Church of Australasia.[6]

[edit] Methodist Ladies' College

The Methodist Ladies' College, Launceston, c1906–1930
The Methodist Ladies' College, Launceston, c1906–1930

The Methodist Ladies' College, Launceston (M.L.C) was established on Elphin Road, just east of the city centre, in 1886. The aim of the college was to allow girls the same access to educational facilities as boys. The largest building on campus had been named "Oakburn" upon its construction 25 years earlier. After its first year, it had 88 students. The first Headmaster was Mr G. Thornton-Lewis.[6]

In 1969, M.L.C was renamed "Oakburn College" as the school council felt that 'Ladies' was outdated. The school became co–educational in 1973.[6]

[edit] Scotch College

The Scotch College was established as a non-denominational all-boys' school, on York Street in 1901. The school went through a number of owners in its first 50 years of existence, eventually being taken over by the Presbyterian Church of Australia in October 1950. In 1917, it moved from its York Street residence to the "Ravenscraig" property on Penquite Road, around 10km east of the city.[6]

By 1972 the College was struggling to survive and it was subsequently decided to introduce co–education.[6]

[edit] Church union and amalgamation

After the formation of the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977, representatives from both colleges joined to discuss an amalgamation. The successful amalgamation process was chaired by local physician Dr John Morris, AO, MBE, who was then Chairman of the Oakburn College Council. 1979 was the inaugural year of Scotch Oakburn College with the Oakburn College Council Chairman becoming the Chairman of the amalgamated college's Council, and the Principal of Scotch College becoming the inaugural Principal of the amalgamted College.[6]

The former Oakburn College campus, on Elphin Road, in 1979 became home to the Matriculation classes (years 11 and 12) and the junior school (years K–6) and boarding house. The same year, the Scotch College campus on Penquite Road became the middle school (years 7 to 10). In 1980, the current set-up was adopted with years 11 and 12 joining the middle school classes at the Penquite Campus, leaving the Elphin Campus with Early Learning to Grade 6 and the boarding house.[6]

[edit] Principals

Years Methodist Ladies' College[6]
1886 – 1889 Mr George Thornton Lewis, BA (London)
1890 – 1902 The Rev. Francis J. Nance, MA
1903 – 1941 Miss Mary E.G. Fox, MBE, MA
1941 – 1954 Miss Gwendoline Madder, MA, DipEd, Acting Head 1926 – 1928, 1936
1954 – 1962 The Rev. C.O. Leigh Cook, MA
1963 – 1971 The Rev. C. Leigh Speedy, MSc, BD, DipEd, MACE
1972 – 1976 The Rev. Angas S. Holmes, BA, BD, MRE, DipEd, MACE
1977 – 1978 The Rev. Alan E. Green, BSc, BD, DipEd, MACE
Years Scotch College[6]
1900 – 1901 Mr S. Leslie Brown, MA
1902 – 1914 Mr Andrew Raeburn
1914 – 1924 Mr C. Mitchell Tovell, MSc
1925 – 1950 Mr W.W.V. Briggs, MBE, MA, DipEd, Vice Principal 1951 – 1956
1950 – 1966 The Rev Robert H. Dean, BA, BEd, MACE
1966 – 1971 Mr John T. Sykes, BA (Hons), BEd, MACE, JP
1972 – 1977 Mr Jock P. Herbert, BA DipEd, FRGS, MACE
1978 – 1979 Dr Bruce N. Carter, BA, EdM, EdD, MACE
Years Scotch Oakburn College[6]
1979 – 1985 Dr Bruce N. Carter, BA, EdM, EdD, MACE
1979 – 1981 The Rev Alan E. Green, Associate Principal of Scotch Oakburn College
1986 – 1993 Mr David J. Hone, BA Hons, Cert Ed, MEd, MACE
1994 – 2001 Mr Graeme E. McDonald, BA, DipEd, MEdAdmin, MACE, MACEA
2002 – Present Mr Andrew D. Barr, BEc (Hons), DipEd, MEdStudies, MACEL

[edit] Campuses

[edit] Elphin

The older of the two campuses, the Elphin Campus is the site of the more historic buildings in the school. The Elphin Campus is home to the primary school and boarding house. The first building on the land was "Oakburn", constructed by Eliza Thomson in 1861, a year after she was granted the land. This is the most historic building on any of the campuses. In time, "Oakburn" would become the boarding house. The college was later re-named for this building. An extension to this building, the Mary Fox Jubilee Wing, was constructed in 1935 to celebrate the College's jubilee anniversary.

The stately "Lemana" and "The Stables" are located on the western end of the campus. They include classroom areas for Years 2 to 5. "The Stables", as the name suggests, was formerly the stable area for horses. The primary classroom area is located on the eastern end of the campus, near the Mary Fox Chapel and Hall. This dual-purpose space is the centre of many school community events.

An Early Learning complex houses pre-school, kindergarten, and out-of-school-hours care facilities. This complex was built on the site of the original Methodist Ladies' College/Oakburn College Principal's residence.

[edit] Penquite

The Penquite Campus has a large field area in the centre, with buildings scattered around the outside. The major buildings are named after significant people and places in the school's heritage.

  • "Ravenscraig", named after the original name of the Penquite Road property, refers to the oldest classroom block on the campus. Formerly housing senior staff and administrative offices, this area now includes recently refurbished classrooms and teachers' departmental offices.
  • Briggs House is located on the eastern end of the campus. First constructed in 1954, this building was for boarding students of Scotch College. It is named for long serving headmaster W.V.V. Briggs. Upon amalgamation, the building began to be used for social sciences classrooms, and the kitchen area became the food technology area.
  • The Robert Dean Senior Student Centre is one of the campus's largest buildings, visible in the centre of the campus. Named for former Scotch College Headmaster, the Reverend Robert Dean, this redeveloped building, opened in March 2007, has been purpose-built for Year 11 and Year 12 students. Underneath are the Design and Technology, and Art departments.
  • Saint Andrews, named after the patron saint of Scotland, is located on the western side of the campus. The building mainly includes several specialised science laboratories, mathematics classrooms, and computer labs. The tuckshop area is located in this area.
  • The Health and Physical Education Centre opened in August 2007 features international standard basketball, netball, badminton and volleyball courts, two multi-purpose learning studios, and a weights and ergo room.

The Penquite Campus has seen a lot of building development since amalgamation:

  • The John Morris Library, named after the inaugural Chairman of the amalgamated College Council (now the Board of Management) was constructed in the late 1980s.
  • The Bruce Carter Administration Building, named after the inaugural Principal of the amalamated College, replaced the former administration facilities in Ravenscraig in the early 1990s.
  • The Horton Auditorium/Performing Arts Centre, opened in 2003, which includes an auditorium and performing arts facilities. The auditorium is named after the nineteenth century boys' school, Horton College, near Ross in the Tasmanian Midlands, which was the first Methodist College in Australia.

[edit] Valley

In 2005, Scotch Oakburn came to an arrangement with the owner of Fawlty Towers, near Fingal, to lease and use a part the property for outdoor education and environmental study purposes. This property is known as the Valley Campus.

[edit] House system

Scotch Oakburn College Senior School operates under the four school houses: Nance (yellow), Briggs (green), Dean (blue) and Fox (red). Throughout the year students compete in a number of competitions to gain points to win the house shield at the end of the year, the competitions include swimming, cross-country, athletics, debating, netball and music.

[edit] Alumni

Alumni of the Scotch Oakburn College (and its predecessors) are known as Old Collegians, and may elect to join the schools alumni association, the Scotch Oakburn Old Collegians Association (SOOCA).[6] Some notable Old Collegians include:

Business
Military
Politics, public service and the law
Sport

[edit] References

  1. ^ Private school fees in Tasmania half those of mainland states. Schools. T Change (2007-02-07). Retrieved on 2008-03-01.
  2. ^ a b Educational and Financial Report 2006 (PDF). Scotch Oakburn College (2006). Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
  3. ^ AHISA Schools: Tasmania. Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (April 2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
  4. ^ JSHAA Tasmania Directory of Members. Junior School Heads' Association of Australia (2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
  5. ^ a b Schools: Scotch Oakburn College. Australian Boarding Schools' Association (2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Scotch Oakburn College History (doc). The History. Scotch Oakburn College. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
  7. ^ The History. Scotch Oakburn College (2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-22.
  8. ^ "AMBROSE Marcos Ross". Who's Who in Australia Live!. (2006-11-17). Ed. Suzannah Pearce. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd. Retrieved on 2007-10-06. 

[edit] See also

[edit] External links