Information about Sydney Grammar School

Sydney Grammar School
Motto	Laus Deo 'Praise be to God'
Established	1857
Type	Independent secondary; primary; preparatory
Headmaster	Dr J. T. Vallance
Founder	Laurence Hynes Halloran
Students	1840
Grades	K–12
Location	Sydney, NSW, Australia
Campus	Multiple (refer to article)
Colours	Black and Gold
Website	www.sydgram.nsw.edu.au

Sydney Grammar School is a non-denominational, independent school for boys in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school is a member of the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (GPS). Incorporated in 1854 by an Act of Parliament and opened in 1857, it claims to offer a "classical" or "grammar school" education thought of as liberal, humane, pre-vocational pedagogy.^[1]

Sydney Grammar School has three day campuses in New South Wales, Darlinghurst (Forms I-VI, Year 7 - Year 12), Edgecliff (Kindergarten–Year 6), and St. Ives (Kindergarten–Year 6).

History

The Sydney Public Free Grammar School opened in 1825 with Laurence Hynes Halloran (1765-1831) as Head Master. Halloran, who had operated a private school in Exeter, England, had fled England in 1796 due to debts and after being accused of immorality. His degrees (in Divinity) were self-awarded. In 1830 Sydney College was founded. Sir Francis Forbes, Chief Justice, became President of the College and laid the foundation stone of the present building in College Street on 26 January, 1830. In 1835 Sydney College opened in this building with W.T. Cape as Head Master. In 1842 he resigned and was succeeded by T.H. Braim. In 1850 Sydney College was closed.

In 1854 Sydney Grammar School (SGS) was incorporated by Act of Parliament and acquired the land and building in College Street which had been temporarily occupied by the newly-founded University of Sydney in 1852. It was opened on 3 August 1857 specifically as a 'feeder school' for the University.

The preamble of the Sydney Grammar School Act 1854 states that:

It is deemed expedient for the better advancement of religion and morality and the promotion of useful knowledge to establish in Sydney a public school for conferring on all classes and denominations of Her Majesty’s subjects resident in the Colony of New South Wales without any distinction whatsoever the advantages of a regular and liberal course of education.[1]

The Act provides that the Trustees of the School shall consist of twelve persons, of whom six shall be persons holding the following offices respectively:

• The Honourable the Attorney-General of New South Wales
• The Honourable the President of the New South Wales Legislative Council
• The Honourable the Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
• The Chancellor of the University of Sydney
• The Principal Professor of Classics of the University of Sydney
• The Senior Professor of Mathematics of the University of Sydney

The Act also provides that the Governor of New South Wales shall be the official Visitor of the School.

Structure

Sydney Grammar has a total enrolment of 1840 boys across Years K-12. In Term Three of 2006, the main high School campus had an enrolment of 1109 boys in Forms I-VI (Years 7-12). There are also two Preparatory Schools, one at St. Ives in the Northern Suburbs (440 boys) and the other at Edgecliff in the Eastern Suburbs (300 boys). Each year, approximately two-thirds of the incoming Form I at College Street are from the two Preparatory Schools, while the rest are drawn from schools in Sydney, from interstate and overseas.

Curriculum

Sydney Grammar prides itself on the liberal, pre-vocational nature of its education, and this sentiment is reflected in its academic structure and subject choices. The academic departments are:

• Classics
• Design and Technology
• Economics
• English
• Geography
• History
• Mathematics
• Modern Languages (Asian and European)
• Music
• Physical Education
• Science
• Visual Arts.

Subjects offered for the Higher School Certificate include English Standard, English Advanced, English Extension 1, English Extension 2, Mathematics, Mathematics Extension 1, Mathematics Extension 2, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Earth and Environmental Science, Geography, Modern History, Ancient History, History Extension, Economics, Latin, Latin Extension, Classical Greek, Classical Greek Extension, French Continuers, French Extension, Italian Continuers, Italian Extension, German Continuers, German Extension, Chinese Continuers, Chinese Extension, Japanese Beginners, Music 1 and 2, Music Extension, Visual Art and PDHPE. Sanskrit, Design and Technology and Special Academic Courses are offered as non-HSC subjects.

History of the site

Sydney Grammar School is the oldest secondary school still in use in the City of Sydney, and is also historically significant as the site on which the University of Sydney began. The School also holds scientific significance as containing examples of early building materials and techniques in pre-Federation Australia.

The site was founded as The Sydney College in 1830, and the following year began operations in a new building in Hyde Park designed by Edward Hallen. It consisted of a single large room (now known as Big School) with basement rooms beneath. Sydney College continued despite financial difficulties until 1853, when it was taken over by the fledgling University of Sydney until such time as the present Grose Farm site was ready for occupation. The site was then sold in 1856 to the Trustees of the new Sydney Free Public Grammar School, which had been established and endowed with a building fund by Act of Parliament. Edmund Blacket was commissioned to design extensions to the south and north of the Hallen building, which were completed in 1856 and 1857 respectively. The War Memorial wing, named for its position "behind" Big School's monument to the World War I, was built at the northern end of Big School in 1953 by the Scott brothers, at the cost of its double stair case. In 1876, the main building was extended to the east by Mansfield Brothers, and this extension was itself extended to the north and south in 1899 by John W Manson. The Science classrooms on Stanley Street were built in 1889-90. Other early buildings on the site, now demolished, included the Sergeant's Lodge, an ablutions block (known as the White House) on Stanley Street, and a former postal sorting office on Yurong Street (now the Palladium building).

Today

Sydney Grammar is a private school and is one of the most selective schools in Australia. Each year up to 18 full scholarships are offered to boys who show academic promise and who perform well in the scholarship examination. Currently, it is regarded as the most academically proficient private school in NSW and performs consistently well in the Higher School Certificate.^[2]

At $20,826 per annum (for Forms I - VI, non-boarding ),^[3] the tuition fees are among the highest of any secondary day school in the country.

Sydney Grammar is located near the centre of the Sydney Central Business District. The campus is compact and consists of multi-storey buildings (of up to seven floors) in a concrete landscape setting. Sydney Grammar is situated on the eastern side of Sydney's Hyde Park, next to the Australian Museum, and extends from College Street to Yurong Street. The designs of the School's buildings illustrate many different architectural eras: "Big School" (dating from the early 19th century colonial era), the Blacket buildings (annexed onto either side of "Big School" and completed in the 1850s), the original Science building (1891), the Science laboratory block (1960s), the Palladium building (an example of 1970s Modernist architecture), the Stanley Street building and Alastair Mackerras Theatre (1980s), and the A. B. 'Banjo' Paterson Library (1990s).

Weigall, the School's sportsground (named after former Headmaster Albert Bythesea Weigall), is located at Rushcutters Bay next to the Edgecliff Preparatory School and includes tennis courts, cricket nets and three fields for cricket, rugby and football. It is routinely used for Saturday sports matches, Physical Education and as a recreational area for Grammar's Edgecliff Preparatory School next door. There is also a large gymnasium at College Street and full rowing facilities at the School's boatshed at Gladesville.

In May 2005, Headmaster John Vallance announced that the School would lead a consortium to purchase 30 Alma St Paddington, known as 'White City', from Tennis New South Wales, thus extending the Weigall grounds substantially.^[4] In 2006, development applications to subdivide the White City tennis courts (numbered DA 20/2006 and DA 302/2006) were lodged with Woollahra Council (NSW, Australia) to develop the site to accommodate more tennis and basketball courts; these were subsequently passed.

Music

Sydney Grammar's music programme is amongst the best of any secondary school in Australia. SGS has won the AMEB Music Shield ten times in the past eleven years. Two-thirds of pupils in the School play a musical instrument or are involved with music in some way. SGS boasts scores of musical groups in mostly classical, chamber and jazz styles. The School Orchestra has received wide acclaim and frequently engages in tours across Australia and the World. Grammar's extensive choir programme involves hundreds of boys, 'Old Boys' and parents, participating every-which-way in its many annual concerts. The School's senior a cappella group is known as 'The Grammarphones' and is composed of the best tenors, basses and baritones in the senior years.

Recently, SGS has embarked upon a five year programme entitled 'Bach: 2010' in which all the known choral cantatas of J.S. Bach will be performed in a series of concerts between 2005 and 2010. Sydney Grammar is one of the few institutions in the world seeking to engage in such an exercise and, with its newly installed Mander Organ in the 'Big School', is well-equipped to do so. [2]

Under the current Head Master, an organic Rock-&-Roll movement has emerged and is currently thriving. The end of 2004 saw the consummation of years of practice in the first Grammarpalooza Rock Concert, which included the musical style of an 'Old Boy' band of some note, Dappled Cities Fly.

Sport

Sydney Grammar School is a member of the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of NSW (GPS). GPS sporting events are contested in rugby, football, cricket, tennis, volleyball, cross country, basketball, rowing, swimming, athletics, rifle shooting, and debating. The School also competes in fencing and chess competitions.

Grammar participates in the Tri-Grammar competitions with Brisbane Grammar School, and Melbourne Grammar School. Sydney Grammar School and Melbourne Grammar School also compete for "The Bat" in the same competition. The Sydney-Melbourne match dates back to 1876.

Competition in rowing culminates in the Riverview Gold Cup for Junior Crews and the Head of the River for Senior Crews.

Extra-Curricular

Dozens of clubs and societies service the extended student body of the School.^[5] These include:

• Academic Extension Programme (Available to high achieving students. Prepares boys for university and olympiad level chemistry, physics or maths)
• Air Force Cadets (The oldest squadron in Australia (306 SQN))
• Anime Society
• Army Cadet Corps (Founded in 1871 by School Headmaster Albert Bythesea Weigall, the Corps is one of the oldest military units in the nation, even predating the Australian Army.^[6][7])
• Asian Education Club
• Audio-Visual Team
• Ceramics Club
• Chess Club (renowned to be one of the best in NSW, having won the State Senior, Intermediate and Junior divisions in 2002, the first school to have done so in the competition)
• Classical Chinese club
• Classical Culture Society
• Computer Club
• Gourmet Food Society
• Creative Writing Club, run by Dr Hughes
• Debating Club
• Drama Club
• Endeavour Club
• Film Club
• French Club
• Fly Fishing Club
• Crusaders
• 'Kaleidoscope Eyes', an academic extension magazine
• Library team
• Mathematics Club
• Philosophy Club
• Rock Music Club
• Student Advisory Council
• 'Tiger' magazine, a satirical school newspaper established in 1989
• Viking Club

A number of boys also assist in editing the School's yearly almanac, "The Sydneian", over 400 editions of which have been produced since 1875.

Notable alumni

Former pupils of the School are known as Old Sydneians. See List of notable Old Sydneians.

Headmasters

The current Headmaster of Sydney Grammar School is Dr John T. Vallance. Dr Vallance attended St John's College, Cambridge and was later a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge at which time he wrote The Lost Theory of Asclepiades of Bithynia (ISBN 0-19-824248-4), which is cited by a number of other histories of philosophy and of medicine. [3] Dr Vallance is also the author of the entries on medicine and anthropology in the Oxford Classical Dictionary (3rd edition).

Dr Vallance succeeded Dr Ralph Townsend in his role as Headmaster. After a period at Oundle School, Dr Townsend is now Headmaster of Winchester College, England.

Years	Sydney College
1835-1841	William Timothy Cape
1841-1846	Thomas Henry Braim, MA
1847-1849	D. Patterson
1850	Charles Woodward, LLB
Years	Sydney Grammar School
1857-1866	W. J. Stephens, MA
1867-1912	Albert Bythesea Weigall, CMG, MA
1913-1920	H. N. P. Sloman, MC, MA
1920-1923	Arthur Henry Shakespeare Lucas, MA, BSc
1923-1939	H. S. Dettmann, MA, BCL
1940-1950	F. G. Phillips, MA
1951-1964	C. O. Healey, OBE, TD, MA
1965-1968	S. P. T. Houldsworth, MA, DipEd
1969-1989	A. M. Mackerras, AO, MA
1989-1999	Dr Ralph D. Townsend, MA, D.Phil
1999-	Dr John. T. Vallance, MA, Ph.D.

References

See also

• List of Non-Government schools in New South Wales

External links

• Sydney Grammar School website
• The Old Sydneians Union
• The Sydneian Bach Choir

•  • [ e] Members of the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales, Australia
Newington College Shore School St Ignatius' College St Joseph's College Sydney Boys High School Sydney Grammar School The Armidale School The King's School The Scots College