Tintern Schools

Tintern Schools
Latin: Factis Non Verbis By deeds not words
Location
Ringwood East, Victoria, Australia
Coordinates	37°48′56″S 145°15′34″E / 37.81556°S 145.25944°E / -37.81556; 145.25944Coordinates: 37°48′56″S 145°15′34″E / 37.81556°S 145.25944°E / -37.81556; 145.25944
Information
Type	Independent, Co-ed, Day
Denomination	Anglican
Established	1877[1]
Headmaster	Jenny Collins
Grades	P-12
Enrolment	~1,150[2]  (2007)
Colour(s)	Green, Navy and White
Website	www.tinternschools.vic.edu.au

Tintern Schools (also known as Tintern) is an independent, Anglican day school for girls and boys located in Ringwood East, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Established in 1877 by Emma Bartlet Cook, Tintern has a non-selective enrolment policy and currently caters for over 1,150 students, from pre-prep through to Year 12, including 40 boarders.^[3]

At the Tintern campus girls are educated in single-sex environments from Prep - Year 9, while the boys study at the Southwood campus from Prep - Year 9. In Years 10 - 12 boys and girls learn together in a co-educational classes.

The school is a member of the Eastern Independent Schools of Melbourne (EISM), the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA),^[3] the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA),^[4] the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),^[5] and the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (AGSA).^[6]

History

Tintern was founded in 1877 by Emma Cook. Not satisfied with any of the established schools in Hawthorn, Cook felt she need to start "an excellent school"^[1] for her four youngest daughters and the youngest of her five sons.^[7] It was not long before neighbours asked Cook to allow their children to enrol, and as word spread about the achievements of the school, many country families also sent their children to attend.^[1]

The Church of England Trust purchased the school in 1918, and what was initially a co-educational school, became a school for girls. Continued growth meant to the need for larger and more modern facilities, and subsequently the school moved to its current campus of just over 50 acres (20 ha), at Ringwood East in 1953.^[1] This site had been purchased in June 1946 for £3,113.^[7]

In 1999, under the principalship of Sylvia Walton (1982–2005), the School returned to Cook's founding wish of educating the whole family, with the establishment of Tintern's brother school, Southwood Boys Grammar School, located at Ringwood.^[1]

Campus

Tintern campus, 1950

Tintern Schools is set on a 20 hectares (49 acres) campus in a semi-rural setting, featuring bushland and landscaped gardens. The schools facilities include a multi-function assembly and performance space, ELC, senior and junior libraries and information centres, science and technology laboratories, computer laboratories, established areas for visual and performing arts, a swimming pool and gymnasium complex and other sporting facilities.^[8]

The school also features a farm, where students are encouraged to take part in a Young Farmers program, in which they enter in agricultural competitions. The farm has been operational since the opening of the Ringwood campus of the school, and has since been very successful in local sheep and cattle competitions.

Curriculum

Tintern Girls Grammar School offers both the International Baccalaureate, the Victorian Certificate of Education and Vocational Education Training.

House system

Tintern has a house system adopted in 1924 and modelled on great English Public Schools. The houses are Cross (after Agnes Cross, Headmistress 1911–1918), Gordon (after three former head prefects, all sisters), Mansfield (after founder and first principal Emma Cook, whose maiden name was Mansfield), Somner (after three sisters, two of whom were staff members) and Watt, after ex-student and cyclist Kathy Watt.^[9]

Notable alumnae

Alumnae of Tintern Girls Grammar School are known as 'Old Girls' or 'Old Grammarians' and automatically become members of the schools alumni association, the Tintern Old Girls Association (TOGA).^[10] Some notable Old Girls include:

• Jo Bailey – Sale of the Century co-presenter and wife of Stephen Silvagni^[11]
• Judy Maddigan – Member for the seat of Essendon representing the ALP
• Hilary McPhee – Vice-chancellor's fellow University of Melbourne and former publisher ^[11]
• Kathy Watt – Gold medallist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in the Road Race^[11]
• Fifi Box – Radio broadcaster and TV personality
• Helen Reddy – Singer-songwriter and actress
• Penelope Thwaites – Concert pianist and composer

See also

• List of schools in Victoria

References

External links

• Tintern Schools Website