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
Principal	Philip Grutzner
Chaplain	Patrick Duckworth
Grades	K–12
Enrolment	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 members of 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.

Saints is a day and boarding school 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.

The recent past has been a time of change at Saints. The new Headmaster, Mr Grutzner, has been quick in making a number of long serving staff redundant. He has also restructured the Senior School, causing considerable distress among teachers and students. If the changes are for the long term benefit of the school remains to be seen.

History

The origins of the school lie in the ambition of the early colonists to establish for their sons an institution equivalent to the Public Schools 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. 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 significant source of the school's revenue is the 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. The bequest was subject to the life interests of ten relations; he last surviving relation died in 1910 and in 1912 the property was vested in the school. 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 training sessions. Weekend competitions are held at the school (or at away venues) each weekend against other schools in Adelaide. Each sport has an annual intercollegiate showdown against rivals Prince Alfred College, known to students as the "Intercol".

Music

The school runs an extensive music program which encourages students to study musical instruments and perform in ensembles. These ensembles perform in several concerts throughout the year, both within the school and externally. Groups include an intermediate and a senior concert band, senior choir, orchestra, string orchestra, and two stage bands that are named for prominent Australian jazz musicians James Morrison and Don Burrows.

Outdoor Education

The Outdoor Education campus at Finniss is used by students from years 7 to 10 for annual camps. In addition, students have the opportunity to join the Exploration Society, which allows boys with a passion for outdoor activities to pursue more challenging ventures. Activities include hiking, kayaking, rockclimbing, mountain bike touring and cross country skiing.

Exchange Program

St Peter's College's exchange program has links with schools in Germany, France, China, South Africa and Canada.

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)

and other well known figures including:

• Andy Thomas (Astronaut)
• Scott Hicks (Film Director)
• Tom Lewis (Premier of New South Wales 1975-1976)
• Grant Burge Master Winemaker

External links

• St Peters College