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Geelong Grammar School

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File:GGSBADGE.JPG
Geelong Grammar School arms and motto: Christus nobis factus sapientia.

Geelong Grammar School (Geelong Church of England Grammar School) is a co-educational boarding and day-boarding public school with its primary campus at Corio, on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Australia overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners' Bay.

History

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The Geelong Grammar School, as seen from Corio Bay. The You Yangs are visible in the background.
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Sports day at Corio

The school was founded in 1855 as a private diocesan school with the blessing of Bishop Perry by The Ven. Theodore Stretch, Archdeacon of Geelong, with an initial enrolment of fourteen boys The school grew rapidly and in 1857 it was assigned £5,000 of a government grant for church schools by Bishop Perry, the foundation stone was laid for its own buildings, it was transformed into a public school. The school closed due to financial difficulties in 1860, only to re-open in 1863 with John Bracebridge Wilson, who had been a master under Rev. George Vance, as Head Master.

For many years Bracebridge Wilson ran the school at his own expense and through this time boarders came to compose the greater part of the student body. In 1875 James Lister Cuthbertson joined the staff as Classics Master, he was one of the most influential staff upon the boys of the school and was much admired and loved by them despite his alcoholism. Upon the death of Bracebridge Wilson in 1895, Cuthbertson became acting Head Master until the appointment of Leonard Harford Lindon early in the next year.

Lindon ran the school responsibly for 15 years, but was never full accepted by the old boys and lacked the personal warmth with the boys that had been seen with Bracebridge Wilson and Cuthbertson. By the turn of the century the school was outgrowing its buildings in the centre of Geelong and it was decided to move the school, and with the school council decided to open the Head Mastership to new applicants - Lindon re-applied, but was rejected. Rev. Francis Ernest Brown was finally chosen as the new Head Master.

Move to Corio

At the end of 1913 the school left its old buildings near the centre of Geelong for the last time to move to expansive new site at Corio. Brown put a greater emphasis on religion than his predecessors, and the new isolated location with its own chapel was ideal for this.

Upon Brown's retirement in 1929 the school council set out to find a 40 year old married clergyman as the next Head Master, they ended up choosing James Ralph Darling, a 30 year old layman and bachelor. This proved to be a most successful choice, ushering in an era of creativity, and massive expansion through the school purchasing the Geelong Church of England Grammar Preparatory School in 1933, Glamorgan in 1947, and starting Timbertop in the 1950s. Darling attracted many acclaimed in their fields to work as masters at the school including the historian Manning Clark, musician Sir William McKie, and artist Ludwig Hirschfeld Mack.

Thomas Ronald Garnett succeeded Darling in 1961 taking the school down a liberal path, most notably in early steps towards co-education with girls from CEGGS "TheHermitage" taking certain classes at Corio by the early 1970s, but also through acts such as making chapel non-compulsory (since reversed).

He in turn was succeeded by the Hon. Charles Douglas Fisher, under whom Garnett's co-educational ideas were achieved. In a staff meeting in which the votes for and against co-deucation were equal he cast the deciding vote that led to GGS accepting girls from 1973. In 1976, after a year of negotiations, GGS, CEGGS "The Hermitage", and Clyde School amalgamated. Fisher died as the result of a car accident on the way to Timbertop for an end of year service in 1978.

An interregnum of a couple of years followed until the appointment of John Elliot Lewis in 1981. Under the leadership of Lewis the school set about renovating the boarding and day houses to try and bring them up to somewhere near acceptable modern standards, and a focus on improving academic results for while the school had offered a generally rounded education its poor academic performance had earned it the tag of a "finishing school for idiots." The later years of Lewis' Head Mastership saw an effort (which has been largely successful) to make the school less hierarchical.

The period since Lewis has seen two brief Head Masterships by Lister Hannah and Nicholas Sampson, and in 2004 the appointment of the current Head Master, Stephen Meek, who has gained notoriety for his speeches on themes such "we will win at sport", "this is is best school in Australia", "spelling is at the centre of education", and "this is not your school".

Buildings at Corio

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The Chapel of All Saints
File:Ggsmusic.jpg
The Music School

Perry Quad Built in 1913 and extended in the 1930s the Quad is located at the centre of the school between the Dining Hall and the Chapel. It houses classrooms, school administration, the Morris Room (staff dining room), three staff residences (The Dovecote, The Eyrie, and the Vicarage), the Hawker Library, and until 1986 Perry House. The central quadrangle is grassed and there is a fountain in its centre. It is often used for assemblies and plays. The clocktower is on the eastern side of the Perry Quad.

Hawker Library Originally the school library, its decor dates from the 1940s. From 1979 it housed the History Library, and was in 2005 converted into the Michael Collins Persse Archives Centre and School Museum.

The Cloisters Linking the Quad and Chapel the Cloisters are the school's main war memorial. There are plaques commemorating OGGs who died in the First and Second World Wars at either end. The ANZAC Day service is held around the Cloisters every year. Silence is to be maintained at all times in the Cloisters.

Chapel of All Saints Built in stages between 1914 and 1929 the Chapel is at the spiritual centre of the school. All students must attend a weekday service and boarders must also attend on Sundays. The 3 manual organ was originally built by Hill in 1909 and was expanded in 1958 by J. W. Walker.

Dining Hall Built in 1913 and extended in 1933 the Dining Hall is where all Senior School students take meals. There are paintings of all former Head Masters of GGS, as well of some of the school founders, and some the Headmistresses of The Hermitage and Clyde.

Darling Hall Built in the 1960s the Darling Hall serves as the Middle School Dining Hall and Examinations Hall. At its East end is the sanctuary that was originally in the Assembly Hall of The Hermitage.

Music School Built in 1938 and standing out as one of the few buildings at Corio not constructed with red bricks, the Music School contains many small practice rooms, a band room, and the Music Hall, which is used for many concerts by students, staff, and visiting musicians.

Art School Built in 1937 the Art School served as the only centre for art in the school until the construction of the Sinclaire and Hirschfeld Mack Centres in the last 5 years. It remains at the centre of art in the school, being used mostly for painting and drawing.

Fisher Library Built in 1979 and renovated and extended in 2005 the Fisher is now Senior School's sole lending library, now incorporating the collections of the former History Library.

Bracebridge Wilson Theatre Opening in 1978 (replacing the 1890s Bracebridge Wilson Hall, which burnt in 1976), the "BW" is where most school plays and school assemblies are held. It seats approximately 300 people in fixed seating.

Cook Quad Built in stages until the 1930s the Cook Quad houses most of the school's Science Department.

Campuses

  • Corio Years 5-8 and 10-12, boarding and day.
  • Bostock House Years P-4, day.
  • Glamorgan Years P-6, day.
  • Timbertop Year 9, Fulltime boarding only.

Houses

Senior School

  • Allen (Day, Co-ed., 1914, originally Geelong)
  • Clyde (Boarding, Girls, 1976, nominal successor to Clyde School)
  • Cuthbertson (Boarding, Boys, 1914)
  • Francis Brown (Boarding, Boys, 1937)
  • Fraser (Day, Co-ed., 1976)
  • Garnett (Boarding, Girls, 1982)
  • The Hermitage (Boarding, Girls, 1976, originally Jennings, nominal successor to CEGGS "The Hermitage")
  • Manifold (Boarding, Boys, 1914)
  • Perry (Boarding, Boys, 1914)

Middle School

  • Barrabool (Boarding)
  • Barwon (Boarding)
  • Connewarre (Boarding)
  • Highton (Day)
  • Otway (Day)

Bostock House

Originally the houses of CEGGS "The Hermitage"

Mottoes in brackets

  • Austin (Honour above honours)
  • Morres (The chain is as strong as its weakest link)
  • School (Play up, play up, and play the game)
  • Volum (Non sibi, sed toti)

Head Masters

  • Very Rev. Dr. George Oakley Vance 1855–1860
  • John Bracebridge Wilson 1863–1895
  • Leonard Harford Lindon 1896–1911
  • Rev. Dr. Francis Ernest Brown 1912–1929
  • Sir James Ralph Darling 1930–1961
  • Thomas Ronald Garnett 1961–1973
  • Hon. Charles Douglas Fisher 1974–1978
  • John Elliot Lewis 1980–1994
  • Lister Wellesley Hannah 1995–1999
  • Nicholas Sampson 2000–2004
  • Stephen Meek 2005–present

Notable alumni

Well known Old Geelong Grammarians (OGGs), and old girls of The Hermitage and Clyde School:

School Journal

The Corian is the journal of the Geelong Grammar School. Published as The Geelong Grammar School Annual (1875-76), The Geelong Grammar School Quarterly (1877-1913), and The Corian (1914-). Published quarterly since 1877 it reverted to an annual in 1992.

School Song - Carmen Coriense

Salve schola te pia laude efferamus,
pueri et pullae usque te amamus,
O Corio praenitens ludo et labore,
floreas virtutibus, floreas honore.

Amne campo litteris praemium merendo,
corde mente corpore pariter valendo,
sic Corio praenitens laude non carebit,
floreat ut floruit, ut floret florebit.

References

Bate, Light Blue Down Under, O.U.P., Oxford, 1990
Collins Persse, Well-Ordered Liberty, Cliffe, Melbourne, 1995
Corfield, Geelong Grammarians: A biographical register, G.G.S., 1996
Geelong Grammar School Quarterly 1877-1913
The Corian 1914-2004

See also

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