The Cathedral School, Townsville

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The Cathedral School of St Anne & St James
Talium Dei Regnum
Established	1917
School Type	Independent, Co-educational, Day & Boarding
Denomination	Anglican
Slogan	"Educating for life-long success"
Key People	The Rev Canon Len Nairn (Principal)
Location	Townsville, Queensland, Australia
Coordinates	19°17′50″S 146°46′42″E / -19.29722, 146.77833Coordinates: 19°17′50″S 146°46′42″E / -19.29722, 146.77833
Enrolment	~767 (ELC-12)[1]
Employees	~59[1]
Colours	Navy, Brown & White
Homepage	www.cathedral.qld.edu.au

The Cathedral School of St. Anne and St. James is an Anglican school for boys and girls from six weeks of age (Early Learning Centre on The Cathedral School campus) to Year 12, including boarding students from Year 7 to Year 12.

The school is situated in the suburb of Mundingburra, Townsville, Queensland Australia and is open to students of all denominations.

[edit] History

The School was established in 1917 as St Anne's, a girls' school operated by the Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Advent. The original school operated in the Synod Hall adjacent to St James Cathedral, but soon moved to its own premises on the site which is now occupied by the Townsville City Council (Walker St)

WAAFs being inspected at St Anne's in 1942

During World War II the school was acquired by the Australian Military for use as barracks accommodation for the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF)of No. 3 Fighter Sector RAAF. The school's students were evacuated to Ravenswood until the WAAAF finished using the premises in 1944/45.

The school moved to its current premesis in Mundingburra in 1958. Over the next 20 years the school settled into its new site and built a number of new buildings to service both boarders and day students. In 1979 the school became co-educational and the school's first male principal was appointed.

In 1985 the new Music and Drama center was opened while a year later the new Technical Art's building was finished. Two years later, In 1988 the new Akins boy's dormitory was opened. In 2001 a major works project was undertaken and resulted in the redevelopment of the senior school precinct and the building of the Nancy Armati Quadrangle and SSA (Sisters of the Sacred Advent) Block comprising of 10 new air conditioned classrooms and computer laboratories. These buildings were opened in 2002.

In 2006 work started on a purpose built facility for young children, now known as the Early Learning Center (ELC) the building was finished in 2007 and accommodates all pre-prep students. Soon after the completion of the ELC work began on an expansion of Akins dormatory to replace the two other aging boys dormatories. This work was completed shortly before the commencement of the 2008 year and has allowed all boys to be housed in a single dormatory.

[edit] Middle School (Grades 7-9)

Housed in its own building the Middle School was opened in 2006 and accommodates grades 7 through 9 in purpose-built classrooms. The building contains only five classrooms for the use of all three grades as many middle school classes are held in senior school classrooms. The entire middle school building is covered by a wifi network and laptops are easily available for flexible use within classrooms.

[edit] Senior School (Grades 10-12)

The Senior School is set around the Nancy Armati Quadrangle which lies in the shadow of a 100+ year old rain tree. Within the senior school there are 6 science laboratories, 11 general purpose classrooms, three computer laboratories and a number of other subject specific rooms including Hospitality, Art and Graphics rooms. All the schools rooms are fully air-conditioned and many are equipped with smartboards, projectors and multimedia systems.

The Nancy Armati Quadrangle

The senior school is the home of the Feetham Information Services Centre (ISC) which services the Middle and Senior schools. The ISC houses a complete range of text and reference books for the school's curriculum and also houses large fiction and non-fiction sections. The ISC also keeps a collection of local newspapers for a period of three to four months after publishing and has a vertical file storage system for articles of importance or are related to the schools curriculum. The ISC also has access to hundreds of Australian and international newspapers stored in a digital format and articles can be retrieved on request. The Information services center also has a large computer section which students can use to access the school's network in their free time or during some classes. A multimedia computer is also available for use and is configured for use with the schools digital cameras, a scanner and camcorders.

The senior school also houses the schools drama and music centre. The Green Hall, formerly the boarders' dining hall, is now used as the drama hall and has been fitted with a stage, seating and the appropriate lighting and sound equipment. The center also includes a number of rooms of varying sizes used for rehearsal and practise for various music groups and individuals. The main music room, the fishbowl (as it is affectionately known due to its large glass double-glazed windows), is a sound insulated room which allows for performance groups and individuals to practise within school hours without disturbing other students.

The Sisters of the Sacred Advent block (The SSA building) is the main teaching block in the senior school and is used for a variety of classes from English and maths to geography and graphics. The building, built in 2002 houses 10 purpose built classrooms as well as a number of staff offices. Three of the rooms in the SSA building are fully equipped computer laboratories which can be used by classes that require compuer usage.

The senior school is also the planned location for a combined lecture theatre and teaching block which will take the place of the aging single story science block (SC Block).

[edit] Boarding

The Cathedral School houses approximately 150 boarding students from different backgrounds, including those from rural families, coastal and island communities and overseas. Boys and girls from Year 7 to Year 12 are accommodated in separate dormitories. Male Boarders are housed in Akins House, located in the Northeastern corner of the campus, while female boarders are housed in two dormatories in the center of the campus. Boarding students are supervided by 'house parents' who live on school campus, often in the boarding house which they supervise. Many of these house parents are also full time administrative or teaching staff.

[edit] Outdoor education

All grades between 2 and 10 participate in the school's outdoor education program. The outdoor education program aim to develop skills in survival as well as be a practical application for many subjects including Biology, Geography, History, Mathematics and English. Outdoor Education "Camps" start at 2 days and go up to 10 days for Year 10. Students in Year 10 may learn to sail on the Queensland Sail Training Ship the South Passage.

[edit] The Cathedral School Leo Club

The Cathedral School Leo Club is a community service group, part of Lions International's youth organization, Leos. The club participates in a number of community service activities and performs fundraising for charity organizations. The Cathedral School Leo Club also has close ties to Twin Cities Leo Club and Northern Suburbs Lions Club, the club's sponsoring lion club. Many past members of the club are now members of the Twin Cities Leo Club.

[edit] Academic results

Year 12 Cohort Overall Position (OP) Results

[edit] Current scene

After the recent completion of the expansion and renovation of Akins House, the boys boarding house, attention has now turned to the start of work on the renovation/restoration of Heatley House and the construction of the new lecture theatre and teaching block in the senior school precinct.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• List of boarding schools

[edit] External links

• The Cathedral School of St Anne and St James