Ballarat Grammar School
Encyclopedia : B : BA : BAL : Ballarat Grammar School
| 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 | |
| Affiliations | Round Square |
| Location | Wendouree, Victoria, Australia |
| Campus | Rural Parkland |
| Enrolment | (P-12) |
| School colours | Blue, Brown and Gold |
| School Hymn | |
| 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.
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.
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 school has also performed very well in athletics and cross country events. Athletes of note include Sam Gibb, Alex Davis and Brenton Rowe who have all represented the Victorian teams.
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 systme 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.
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:
Hayhoe - Wigan
Woodbridge - Dart
Manifold - Smith
Krome - Butler
Cuthbert - Robin
Macpherson - 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 - particularly those with special needs children. 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 partially by the fact that their reputation has led to parents requesting their athletic gifted child be placed in those houses. 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.
The current headmaster is Stephen Higgs.
External links
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