The King's School, Sydney
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- For other schools of the same name, see The King's School.
| The King's School, Parramatta | |
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| Fortiter et Fideliter (Latin:"Bravely and Faithfully")[1] |
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| Established | 1831[2] |
| School Type | Independent, Single-sex, Day & Boarding |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Key People | Dr. Timothy Hawkes (Headmaster) William Grant Broughton (Founder) The Reverend Martin Robinson (Chairman) |
| School Fees | AU$10,724–20,913 p.a (day) AU$30,100–36,100 p.a (boarding)[3] |
| Location | North Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia  |
| Coordinates | Coordinates: |
| Enrolment | ~1,465 (K–12)[4] |
| Employees | ~108[4] |
| Colours | Sky Blue and White |
| Homepage | www.kings.edu.au |
The King's School is a GPS private school. It is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for boys, located in North Parramatta. Parramatta is a satellite city west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Established in 1831, The King's School is Australia's first and oldest operating independent school[5] and currently caters for approximately 1465 students from Kindergarten to Year 12.[4] The school also enrols approximately 430 boarders from Years 5 to 12,[2] making it one of the largest boarding schools in Australia.[6]
The School is affiliated with the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference,[7] the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),[8] the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA),[9] the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA),[2] and is a founding member of the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (AAGPS).[10]
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[edit] 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. Broughton was a protege of the Duke of Wellington, Prime Minister of Great Britain at the time. The Duke assisted in securing royal patronage, the text of which 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.
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.[11] 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.[11]
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.
In 1848, Robert Forrest returned to the school, which had now enrolled sixty students, but he was again forced to resign due to illness in September 1853. In July 1854, the Reverend Thomas Druitt was appointed headmaster and established military drill in April 1855, a compulsory subject overseen by W. Bamford. Druitt had been under the impression that his appointment was permanent and he refused to relinquish his position upon the arrival of his replacement, Reverend Frederick Armitage in January 1855. It was not until the intervention of Bishop Frederic Barker in May 1855 that Druitt agreed to stand down.
Under the helm of Armitage, the school experienced a protracted period of expansion in facilities and enrolments, due to his significant wealth derived from private interests in English coal mines which allowed him to underwrite many of the improvements himself. Subsequently, the student body rapidly ballooned to nearly two hundred, 150 of which were boarders and the remaining 42 were day students.At the time, students were required to work seven hours per day in summer and six hours in winter. Notwithstanding religious holidays, there were two official school holidays per year including a mid-winder vacation from June 15 to July 15, and a mid-summer vacation from 24 December to 31 January. Armitage, in 1859, adopted school arms similar to that of The King's School Canterbury in England, which according to The King's School 1831–1981, was due to the then erroneous assumption that the school was named after its English namesake. He applied for leave in 1862 to attend to his ill wife and to obtain a mathetmatics degree at Cambridge University. However, Armitage never returned; although by the end of his tenure, he had raised the standard and quality of education to a high level.[12]
In stark contrast, the acting headmaster appointed prior to Armitage's departure, L.J. Trollope, saw a drastic contraction in the student body to just 10 pupils by June 1864, subsequently resulting in the closure of the school. There are varying accounts as to the reasons underpinning the school's rapid and sudden decline, ranging from the school's poor financial situation, the dilapidated buildings and competition from other schools, whilst The King's School 1831–1981 officially claims that it was a series of successive rainstorms causing the collapse of the schoolroom roof that forced its closure. Other accounts have blamed Armitage who lacked the discipline to continue as headmaster. The Australian Dictionary of Biography argues that while the departure of Armitage was not ideal, "a headmastership devoid of endowment or guaranteed salary in a colonial school without a council or adequate financial support could hardly have been attractive to a scholarly English gentleman."[12]
[edit] Campus
The Kings School originally rented premises in George Street, Parramatta near the wharves on Parramatta River. The School soon outgrew “Harrisford” House in George Street, and following submission to the Crown it was provided with land and premises a little further upriver in Parramatta close to Government House. The School remained there for 130 years until it was vacated in August 1968 when the School completed its relocation to Gowan Brae, a 300 acre site located in North Parramatta. Established in 1880, Gowan Brae was the family residence and property of James Burns (shipowner), co-founder of Burns Philp and Company. In 1910 Sir James Burns endowed some of the Gowan Brae property, to establish the Presbyterian Homes for Children (later renamed Burnside and currently known as UnitingCare Burnside. Other sections of the property are now owned by the Redeemer Baptist School and Tara Anglican School for Girls, with some still owned by the NSW Synod of the Uniting Church to operate the Uniting Theological College. Another section was sold for residential development, the suburb now known as "Kingsdene".[13]
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.
Sporting facilities include 15 playing fields used interchangeably between cricket and rugby union, 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—the Sports Centre—was opened on 16 June 2007.
The extensive facilities of The King's School have been subject to political scrutiny during the tenure of Prime Minister John Howard, whereby the Australian Labor Party has criticised Federal 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" that would remove a significant proportion of private-school funding.[14] Latham was defeated at the election.
[edit] House system
[edit] Senior school
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 Harris, 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Uniform
The King's School uniform is unique among Sydney schools, and is the oldest military uniform still worn in Australia.[15] It consists of navy–blue trousers with a vertical red stripe; white shirt and a jacket. The Jacket is made of a black and white "Salt and pepper" woolen material, technically called a "Birdseye" pattern. It has red cuffs, and red tabs on each side of the collar. The cuffs and epaulets are each surmounted by a braided red "Lovers' Knot". The uniform reflects the military history of the school, and is similar to the blazers worn at the Battle of Waterloo.
The jacket may be modified to denote rank in the cadet corps. All students, except the school's monitors, wear one badge on a red tab on the right collar of their uniform jacket. "House Monitors" wear one badge each side, "School Monitors" also wear one badge on each side however the collar tabs are blue. This is due to the fact that students of lower rank would have carried rifles over one shoulder, thus damaging the additional badge, whilst monitors would instead be armed with pistols. All the buttons are of a silver colour.
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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Cadet corps
The school's cadet corps is the oldest and second largest in Australia. All students in Years 8 and 9 are required to undertake cadetships in which they are taught self-preservation techniques, abseiling, shooting, map reading, marching and other skills. Each year, a corps camp is held at the Singleton Defence Force Base.
In the 1960s, the Corps rifle shooting team won the Lord Milner Trophy, a competition open to all cadet corps in the British Commonwealth. The rifle used was the 0.303 calibre Lee Enfield, No 1 mark 3 *.
The cadet corps performs an annual passing-out parade, which commemorates the transferral of leadership and colours from the Year 12 cadets to selected Year 11 cadets. This traditional event is usually presided over by a high-ranking member of the Australian Defence Force and attracts an audience of thousands.
The King's School Marching Band is a central element of the cadet corps, providing the music to which the cadets march during the parade. The band consists of members of the Senior Concert Band and the Performing Band; it also marches annually at the ANZAC Day Parade in central Sydney.
[edit] Music
The school has a music program that caters for a range of musical abilities. In Year 7, boys complete the 100–hour music course set by the NSW Board of Studies, which introduces them to basic rhythm patterns and notation. Year 7 boys participate in a singing program and take a theory exam at the end of the year. Full- and half-period instrumental lessons are offered in 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. The Senior Concert Band is a symphonic wind ensemble that performs symphonic music and jazz. The Marching Band includes members of the Senior Concert Band and selected 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 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 introduced a new choir, the "Schola Cantorum", open to Prep and Senior School boys by invitation.
The School has two pipe organs: a chapel organ in the Memorial Chapel and a baroque organ in Futter Hall.
[edit] Sport
Sport is compulsory for all students. In the Senior School students may participate in Rugby Union, Rowing, Cricket, Basketball, Tennis, Soccer, Swimming, Cross Country, or if personally selected by the sportsmaster, may represent the school at Shooting. In the prep school, Cricket, Rugby Union, Soccer, 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.
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.[16]
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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] References
- ^ Mission Statement and Goals 2003-2007 (PDF). Headmaster's Welcome p.2. The King's School (2003). Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
- ^ a b c The King's School. New South Wales Schools. Australian Boarding Schools Association. Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
- ^ Fee Structure for 2007 (PDF). Enrolments. The King's School (2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
- ^ a b c Annual Report 2006 (PDF). About The King's School. The King's School (2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
- ^ The King's School. Private Schools Directory (2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
- ^ Greetings from the Headmaster. Headmaster's Office. The King's School. Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
- ^ International Members. HMC Schools. The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
- ^ AHISA Schools: New South Wales. Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (April 2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
- ^ JSHAA New South Wales Directory of Members. Junior School Heads' Association of Australia (2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
- ^ AAGPS History. Info. Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (2007). Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
- ^ a b A short history of The King's School, Parramatta. Australian Historical Society (1903). Retrieved on 2007-10-22.
- ^ a b Mccormack, Terri (1969). "Frederick Armitage (1827-1906)". Australian Dictionary of Biography (Online) 3. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. p.49. Retrieved on 2008-01-27.
- ^ The King's School. New South Wales. School Choice. Retrieved on 2007-10-09.
- ^ Schubert, Mischa; Guerrera, Orietta. "Labor's private school hit list", Election 2004, Melbourne: The Age, 2004-09-15. Retrieved on 2007-10-19.
- ^ Hawkes, Timothy (2007), “Celebrating 175 Years”, King's Herald (Parramatta, NSW: The King's School) (no. 1): p.1, 2007-02-09, <http://www.kings.edu.au/documents/heralds07/herald0107.pdf>. Retrieved on 9 October 2007.
- ^ McIlveen, Luke; Dale, Amy. "School students stripped naked for drug tests", News, Sydney: The Daily Telegraph, 2007-04-04. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
[edit] See also
- List of non-government schools in New South Wales
- List of boarding schools
- Tudor House School
- New South Wales Rugby Union
[edit] External links
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