St Peter's College, Adelaide

St Peter's College
St Peter's College logo
Location
Adelaide , South Australia Australia
Information
Type	Independent single-sex
Motto	Pro Deo et Patria 'For God and Country'
Established	1847
Chairman	Mary Sutherland
Principal	Philip Grutzner
Chaplain	Patrick Duckworth
Grades	K–12
Enrolment	c.1,150
Campus	St Peters, Finniss
Colour(s)	Blue and white
Affiliations	Anglican Church
Website	www.stpeters.sa.edu.au

St Peter's College, commonly Saints, is an independent boy's school in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Founded in 1847 by the Anglican Church of Australia, the school is noted for its famous alumni, including three Nobel laureates and forty-one Rhodes scholars. Its main campus is located near the Adelaide Parklands in St Peters, while a second outdoor education campus is located in Finniss near Lake Alexandrina.

The school is a day and boarding facility and provides education to boys from pre-school to Year 12. It offers two matriculation streams in secondary education: the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) and the International Baccalaureate (IB). It is funded by student fees, which range from AU$7,900 to AU$14,100, government grants and endowments.

History

The origins of the school lie in the ambition of the early colonists to establish for their sons an institution equivalent to those which they benefitted from in Great Britain. They founded the Church of England Collegiate School of South Australia, or The Collegiate School, as a proprietary school on 15 July 1847 in the schoolroom of Holy Trinity Church on North Terrace. The school's foundation was followed by the arrival of the first Bishop of Adelaide Augustus Short in December 1847. Short brought with him an endowment of £2,000 from the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge with which he was expected establish an institution for the Church of England. He intended to use the Trinity School as the basis for this institution and had his chaplain the Reverend T.P. Wilson appointed as its Head Master. He also purchased the school's current estate in Hackney (now St Peters).

In 1849, negotiations between Short and the proprietors concluded, and a Council of Governors was established per their agreement. The school was rededicated as the Collegiate School of St Peter's upon incorporation in July 1849. The Latin translation, Sancti Petri Schola Collegiata, is still used as the school acronym, SPSC.

Emblem

The school's emblem consists of a blue shield with white trim, surmounted by two golden keys and bishop's mitre. The keys represent Saint Peter while the mitre represents the school's link to the Anglican Church. Beneath the shield is a scroll with the school's Latin motto "Pro Deo et Patria", in which translates into English as "For God and Country".

House system

The school has a house system currently consisting of 10 houses, each named after prominent figures in school's history. Four of these – Da Costa, Farrell, Hawkes and Short – were the original four houses founded in 1920. To accomodate the growing student population five additional houses were founded: MacDermott, Woodcock, Young, Howard and Farr. There is also a boarding house – School and Allen House – that was established in 2003 through the amalgamation of School House with Wyatt & Allen house.

Campus

An 1875 drawing of the school grounds. The Old School House is centre-ground and the Chapel is to the right.

The school is situated on 32 hectares of landscaped grounds only 3 kilometres from the Adelaide central business district on Hackney Road in St Peters. The main campus' facilities include seven ovals, a hockey pitch, ten tennis courts and two swimming pools. It features mostly heritage architecture, but also includes modern buildings. The "Big School Room" is thought to be Australia's oldest classroom still in constant use.

The most recent addition to the school has been a sports centre, which includes four basketball courts, a 25 metre pool, a diving pool, a weights and conditioning room, and café. The school is currently raising funds to refurbish the old gymnasium as a new Drama Centre.

The College also owns an outdoor education property in Finniss, situated on several hectares of land on the banks of the River Finniss. The property includes dormitories, teacher accommodation and a gymnasium, and students are involved with the property's revegetation program.

Endowments

A signifcant source of the school's revenue derives from the former estate of Benjamin Mendes da Costa. Da Costa, a successful Adelaide businessman, bequeathed his estate of £20,000 to the Collegiate School of St Peter when he died in 1868. A large portion of the estate remains land in prominent city-centre locations. Income generated by the estate is used to subsidise the fees of all students, along with several scholarships and bursaries.

St Peter's College sold Da Costa Arcade, near Rundle Mall, in 2005.

Extra-curricular activities

Sport

Each student at St Peters is encouraged to play both a summer and winter sport. Choices are:

Summer: Athletics, Badminton, Cricket, Rowing, Sailing, Golf, Swimming, Tennis, Volleyball, Water Polo Winter: Basketball, Cross Country, Australian Rules Football, Field Hockey, Rugby, Soccer, Squash, Table Tennis

Staff and past students conduct weekly training sessions for students in each sport. Weekend competitions are held at the school each weekend against other schools in Adelaide

Each year both summer and winter intercols are held between St Peter's College and Prince Alfred College. The intercols are an integral part of the sporting season for both schools and commonly the intercols finish each season of sport. In 2006 Saints won all intercols except the football intercol and a draw in the Soccer intercol.

Music

St Peter's College also runs an extensive Music program. The school maintains many musical ensembles which perform regularly throughout the year. Groups include an intermediate and a senior Concert Band, Senior Choir, Orchestra, String Orchestra, and two Stage Bands, named for prominent Australian jazz musicians James Morrison and Don Burrows.

In addition to this students have the option of studying wide range of musical instruments.

During the year major productions are held. Commonly there is the Autumn Bands concert which showcases both the Senior and Junior school's four concert bands. The Winter Jazz Concert features the school's jazz ensembles and is an enjoyable evening for all.

A combined orchestral concert is also held with the amalgamation of the Walford Anglican School for Girl's orchestra and the St Peter's Orchestra. This concert featuring more than 100 musicians is an excellent evening showcasing both school's orchestras. Commonly these concerts are themed with this year's theme being Australian Music.

The Annual concert is commonly held on the final Tuesday of term 3 and showcases all of the ensembles in the Senior School. This concert is the principle concert of the year and features many solo performances from departing year 12 students.

During the year two chanber concerts are also held in the 'Big School Room' which is known for its excellent acoustics and historic signifigance within the school. These chamber concerts feature the smaller school ensembles, the Senior Choir and solo artists. One concert is commonly held in the first term with the final concert being held in the final school term.

Drama

St Peter's College's new drama centre has been a centrepiece of the many productions staged throughout the year. This year has seen the productions of a complete french version of 'Le Marriage of Figaro' by the French Society, Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible' and later on this year the school will see the production of 'Cloud Street'. Biannually the school also produces a musical with a prominent Adelaide girls school, Walford Anglican School For Girls. Last year the school staged a production of 'West Side Story' and the previous two years saw the productions of 'Paris' and 'Les Miserables'. These musicals provide great enjoyment for those students from both schools who participate in them, and also for the wider Saints and Walford community to watch.

Debating and Mooting

St Peters College maintains a debating society which has had much success in recent years.

2005 saw both the Senior A & B teams reaching the grand finals in their respective divisions. The senior A team was vicorious against their Seymore opponents however the Senior B team narrowly lost againt Seymore.

Mock Trials ("Mooting") has a strong following within the school, where 2 interschool mooting teams compete, as well as an intraschool competition.

2005 saw great success in the school mooting program where the Senior B team reached the state grand final unfortunatly defeated by the Seymore College team.

Outdoor Education

St Peter's College maintains an extensive outdoor education program for all students within the school. Students in years 7-10 utilise the school's outdoor educaiton facility at Finnis, situated on an estuary of the River Murray. There students progress through a program that culminates in year 10 with a 6 day venture which consists of 2 days bike riding and camping, 2 days kayaking and camping and a day rock climbing. This program is designed to teach students essential team working skills, instill independance and make students aware of the environment around them.

Exploration Society

Students may also join the school's Exploration Society. This society allows students to partake on ventures organised during the school holidays and weekends during the school term. The society holds a meeting each school term and students can see presentations regarding the ventures held by the society and select ventures that they would like to join.

Kayaking Ventures

During the April holidays the society holds a kayaking venture that lasts for 5 days wither held on the Coorong near Goolwa or at Chowilla in the upper murray river system in South Australia.

Bush Walking

During the July holidays the society holds a bushwalking venture which is commonly held in the Flinders Rangers. This venture lasts for 5 days and is a testing and challenging venture for students.Also during the september holidays a bushwalking venture is held for students in the Grampions in Victoria. This venture lasts for five days and includes a day rock climbing at the world renowned Mt Arapalies.

Cross Country Sking

For suitably able students a cross country skiing venture is held during the september holidays. This venture travels either to the Victorian High Plains, leaving from Falls Creek to Mt Nelse or the New South Wales Highlands departing Thredbo for Mt Kosiosko and its suroundings.

Rock Climbing

The society also holds various rock climbing days during the school year. The days are graded from beginner, intermediate and advanced. Students progress from the 2 day beginner and intermediate courses held at Morialta to the Advanced course which is held at the world renowned climbing area of Mt Arapalies over a long weekend during the year.

Sea Kayaking

During weekends over the school year the society holds sea kayaking days at Victor Harbour and Middleton. Students travel from the school and spend a day practicing skills relevent to kayaking in the sea.

Mountain Bike Riding

The society has also introduced mountain bike days where a small group of students will travel to relevant sites in South Australia over a weekend where they can practice their mountain biking skills.

The Society allows students to partake in ventures relevant to their areas of interest. Skilled staff attend ventures and assist students in the aquisition of skills and safety procedures relevant to the venture.

Exchange Program

St Peter's College has an extensive international exchange program which is available to all students.

German Exchange

The well entrenched German Exchange is an excellent program maintained by St Peter's College. Students from the College host German students for 7 weeks during the July school holidays and third term. Students then travel to Germany staying in either Menden in West Germany or Beyreauth in Bavaria. Students spend 7 weeks in these towns over the summer holidays. Students are commonly taken to the German Alps or Berlin by their exchange partners during their stay.

French Exchange

The St Peter's College french exchange is a newly developed scheme which is run with Annesley College. Both schools exchange students with Lycée Bernard Palicy in Agen in the South west of France. Last year a group of 23 students, 8 of which were from St Peter's College travelled to France for four weeks where they stayed with families in the Agen area of France. The trip was punctuated by a major 4 day trip to Paris on the TGV. Students also travelled to Bordeaux and Toulouse for day trips due to the close proximity of these major towns in France. Students also host a student from Agen for three weeks during the reciprocal stage of the exchange. Commonly the student will host the same student they have stayed with or will be staying with during the exchange.

Chinese Exchange

This new exchange formed with Xi Xi school in China is an annual exchange held by the school. A group of chinese students travel to China for the two week exchange which visits many of the major sites in China and allows students to improve their Chinese abilities.

South African Exchange

St Peter's College maintains a three month long exchange with the Bishops School in Cape Town, South Africa. One or two students from the college are sent to Bishops where they spend the majority of fourth term experiencing Bishops in South Africa. This most rewarding exchange is highly sought after by students and is an excellent experience for all involved.

Canadian Exchange

St Peter's College is afilliated with a school in Port Hope in Canada. One or two students from the college are selected to participate in this three month exchange with the school in Canada and again this exchange opportunity is highly sought after.

With the schools inclusion in the G20 group (a group of 20 schools around the world) many more exchanges opportunities may become available in the future with schools such as Eton in the UK and the Harvard school in the USA

Notable alumni

St Peter's position as a leading Adelaide school has seen many of its former students achieve renown in several fields. It has educated more Nobel laureates than any other school in Australia, and is second internationally only to New York City's Stuyvesant High School.

St Peter's alumni include three Nobel Prize winners.

• William Lawrence Bragg (Nobel prize in Physics, 1915)
• Howard Walter Florey (Nobel prize in Medicine, 1945)
• J. Robin Warren (Nobel prize in Medicine, 2005)

In addition, several premiers of South Australia were educated at St Peters:

• John Cox Bray (1881-1884)
• Don Dunstan (1967-1968, and 1970-1979)
• David Tonkin (1979-1982)
• John Bannon (1982-1992)

External links

• St Peters College