Trinity Grammar School (Victoria)

Infobox Aust school private
name = Trinity Grammar School


motto = "Viriliter Agite"
(Latin:"Act Manfully")
established = 1902
type = Independent, Single-sex, Day & Boarding
denomination = Anglican
slogan = "Opportunity & Challenge"
key_people = Mr. Edward Richard Tudor (Headmaster)
Mr. Robert Utter (Chairman)
Rev. Christopher Leadbeatter (Senior Chaplain)
Rev. Peter Turnbull (Chaplain)
Rev. Matt Campbell (Chaplain)
fees = AU$11,228 - AU$17,332 p.a (Day)
AU$31,596 - AU$32,332 p.a (Boarding)cite web |url=http://www.trinity.vic.edu.au/docs/TGSFees2008.pdf |title=School Fees - 2008 |accessdate=2008-02-25 |format=PDF |work= |publisher=Trinity Grammar School ]
city = Kew
state = Victoria
country = Australia flagicon|Australia
coordinates = coord|37|48|33|S|145|2|4|E|display=inline,title
enrolment = ~1,250 (ELC-12) [http://www.schoolchoice.com.au/brose_by_region_Victoria?cid=12222&pid=1865720 Australian School Choice- Trinity Grammar School] (accessed:10-06-2007)]
num_employ =
revenue =
colours = Green & Gold color box|#008000color box|#FFD700
homepage = [http://www.trinity.vic.edu.au/ www.trinity.vic.edu.au] Trinity Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for boys, located across several campuses in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

The school was founded at a meeting of several high-ranking church figures on November 14 1902. It opened in 1903, operating out of a church hall. At one point, Trinity was the fourth largest school in terms of student population in Victoria.

Trinity is a founding member of the AGSV.

History

Trinity Grammar School was founded by members of the Holy Trinity Parish in 1902, and opened the next year. The school originally opened in the Parish Hall of the Holy Trinity Church, with 23 boys. Edward Taffs was the first headmaster, although G.M. Long soon succeeded him.

In 1906, the school purchased a property, "Roxeth" (now Henty House, the staffroom and other offices), a small distance to the south of the church, on the corner of Wellington Street and Charles Street. Trinity quickly built Arnold Hall, the first classroom block, completing it the next year. In the same year, Trinity was registered as a Public School of the Church of England. The school leased "Molina", a property on the other side of Charles Street, and the site of the former Kew High School, which is now further to the north, in 1908, and in 1909 the school built a science laboratory beside Arnold Hall.

Two years later, G.M. Long left the school to become Bishop of Bathurst, and Reverend A.W. Tonge was appointed Headmaster. A second classroom building was built, now used as the Technical Services Centre for maintenance of the student laptop computers. In 1917, Trinity again appointed a new Headmaster, Mr. Frank Shann, who would lead the school for the next two and a half decades. Under his tenure, the school grew to a total of 245 boys, and many buildings were built, including the now demolished War Memorial Library, the Junior School classroom building, and the "Health Pavilion". "Molina" was brought from its owner, John Henning, as well as neighbouring property "Elsinore". The properties were subsequently renamed in 1925, "Molina" becoming Merritt House, "Elsinore" Roberts House, and "Roxeth" Henty House. Frank Shann died in 1943.

Mr. Alfred Bright became headmaster upon Frank Shann's death. The school built a second storey for the Junior School in 1952, and in the following year, the Parents' and Friends' Hall, a multipurpose venue, was built between Merritt House and Xavier College. On Alfred Bright's retirement, John Leppitt was appointed headmaster. The school advanced greatly during his time as headmaster, the number of students reaching 812. The Robertson Science and Administration Building was opened in 1959 and extended later on, and two years later, the Junior School building was extended to almost meet Roberts House, providing art and music facilities. In 1968, the Shann Building was constructed between the Robertson Building and the old Arnold Hall, as well as a major sports facility, Cornell Gymnasium.

At the beginning of the 1970s, Trinity purchased land beside Lake Eppalock, near Bendigo, opening the Leppitt Outdoor Education Centre in 1973, named after the headmaster. Unfortunately, the site is now less used than initially intended, due to Lake Eppalock's extraordinarily low water levels, important to the water activities conducted by the school; however, it is still important to the Year Seven Outdoor Education program.

In 1975, the Boarding House, which had been run in Merritt House, sadly closed after more than sixty years of offering students the option of living at the school during school terms. The War Memorial Library was demolished in favour of a new classroom building, the three storey Tonge Building, the library relocated to one floor of the Shann Building. Several years later, in 1979, John Leppitt retired.

The new headmaster, Mr. Don Marles, continued the development of the school. The swimming pool was opened in 1980, but unfortunately it was (and still is) an outdoor pool, although it did have heating. The original science laboratories, which Shann Building had been built on top of, were renovated and renamed the Bright Laboratories. Merritt House, which had Boarding House had run from, was converted into a Music School.

Due to the large number of buildings constructed over the last few decades, Trinity now had a shortage of outdoor sport facilities, and the only true oval, Birrell Oval, was far too small for the large number of sports the school offered. To solve this problem, the school brought land in Bulleen, near the Yarra River, and opened the Marles Playing Fields there. It continues to be widely used today, with students being sent there by buses for training on some weekdays. The advantageous position of the Playing Fields, near the Yarra, and on low ground, has ensured a secure water supply, even through the current drought of southern and eastern Australia.

In 1989, yet another classroom block was built, the Poynter Building, currently the building housing the Year Twelve common room, lockers, and classrooms. The Tuckshop, the original canteen, was closed in 1990, and the Cafeteria opened on the ground floor of the Shann Building. Two years later, the school finally built a dedicated chapel for weekly services. (Previously, students had to attend services at the Holy Trinity Church, where the school began.) Don Marles retired the same year, replaced by Mr. Peter Crawley.

The school was interested in the new technology of notebook computers, and in 1994, laptops were introduced to the school curriculum for years 5 through to 12. Presently, the laptops are used in many classes (but not all, as the school still requires standards of reading, writing, drawing etc. from students).

In 1996, the school found itself in need of yet another building, and bought the former Kew Municipal Offices when the City of Kew was amalgamated into the City of Boroondara. Two years later, it opened as the Centre for the Arts, and the subject areas of Music and Art were moved there. Parts of the building are also used for functions, among other uses. Peter Crawley then resigned in the same year.

In the next year, the current headmaster, Mr. Richard Tudor, was appointed. In the same year, the co-educational Early Learning Centre was opened. In the next year, the computers began using wireless technology, and in the following year, the school decided to construct the Science, Design and Technology Building to replace the ageing Bright Laboratories, which opened in 2003. In 2002 and 2003, the school celebrated its centenary. The school opened a new gym, the Peter McIntyre Sports Centre, to complement the old Cornell Gym, and another block of forested land was purchased at Licola, to complement the Outdoor Education Centre at Lake Eppalock. The school also purchased the Stillwell Showroom in 2005, on the corner of Charles Street and Cotham Road, which is currently used as a multipurpose venue, with impending development of the site in the future.

Trinity Grammar School currently has just over 1200 students, and dozens of staff. It has developed a reputation as a high-achieving school in the VCE and is known for a well-balanced approach to single sex education. In recent years, Trinity and its sister school, Ruyton Girls' School, have conducted co-educational classes for VCE year levels. Trinity Grammar School will continue to develop in years to come.

Headmasters

House system

The school is divided into eight Houses, named after significant figures in the school's history - Arnold, Henty, Merritt, Roberts (and since 2004) Cowen, Hindley, Kent-Hughes and Sutton. The junior houses are Friedn, Henderson, Inglis and Summers.

Outdoor education

The Outdoor Education program at T.G.S. is called the Leppitt Outdoor Education program, despite most camps now being held away from the school's Leppitt facility in Lakeless Epalock. In the Senior School, from Year 7 to Year 10 there is one compulsory camp a year. However, boys in Year 10 then get the option to participate in the Outdoor Education Leadership Extension Program. This involves training in skills for managing Year 7 and Year 8 boys, physically and emotionally.

The yearly locations of camps, vary depending on drought and bushfires in rural areas. In 2008,
* Year 7 camps will take place, as always, at the Leppitt Centre, and water activities from the Waranga Basin. These camps are for a full school week, from Monday to Friday.
* Year 8 camps will take place at the school's Lake Nilacootie property, and the adjacent Strathbogie Ranges. These camps are for a full school week, from Monday to Friday*.
* Year 9 camps will take place, subject to Bush Fires, at the school's Licola property. These camps are for the full seven day week, with two camps from Monday to Sunday, and two from Saturday to Friday. Generally, the first two camps overlap, and the second two camps overlap.
* Year 10 camps will take place, as in previous years, in the Grampians. These camps are for 8 days, and start/ finish on the same day a week apart.

Staff on the Year 7/8 Camps include the appropriate Form Teacher, the director of Outdoor Education, trained Leppitt Assistants, and trained student Leaders from the extension Leadership program. Year 9/10 Camps follow a slightly different structure, with trained Group Leaders (such as Leppitt Assistants), the director of Outdoor Education, (sometimes a Logistics Manager), and occasionally teachers from the school's main campus in Kew.

Year 7/8 camps involve being taught many physical skills including Knots, First Aid, Camp Cooking, Birdwatching, Sailing and Canoeing. Year 9/10 camps use all physical skills learned from Year 7/8 camps, in a hiking environment.

The school also offers additional Outdoor Education programs including Sailing, and Bushwalking

Campuses

* Main campus located in Kew, VictoriaThe campus covers three of four sides of the Wellington and Charles Street intersections in Kew. The Centre for the Arts is located further north on Charles Street; the school has recently purchased the former Stillwell Ford site on the corner of Charles Street and Cotham Road, to be used as a multi-purpose site until development in the future.
* Sports fields located in Bulleen
* Outdoor education centre at Leppitt Lake Eppalock
* Outdoor bush area in Licola
* Lakeside property at Lake Nillahcootie

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of Trinity Grammar School include:
* Burwyn Eric Davidson, Prominent state politician and salesman.
* Jim Higgs, Australian test cricketer and former Australian selector.
* The Honourable Clyde Holding, a former Victorian State Opposition Leader
* Graham Shardalow Lee Tucker, Respected academic, air force officer, airman and economics historian at the University of Melbourne
* Ross Stevenson, Melbourne Radio Anchor
* Harold Bolitho, Leading academic
* Frank Shann Junior, Headmaster of Essendon Grammar
* George Wood, headmaster of Yarra Valley Grammar.
* Thomas Mayne, Inventor of MILO
* Gerald Patterson Former World Number 1 in tennis; won 4 grand slams including Wimbledon
* Todd Goldstein, Australian Rules Footballer listed at the Kangaroos
* Josh Gibson, Australian Rules Footballer listed at the Kangaroos
* Phil Anderson (1969-1975), Cyclist
* Kenneth Thorn Henderson, First headmaster at Trinity Grammar School (New South Wales)
* Bishop Kenneth Leslie (1923-1928), Anglican Bishop
* Professor Peter McIntyre (1933-1943), Architect
* John Perceval (1934-1939), painter, potter, and sculptor
* Sir Arthur Rylah (1917-1927), Politician and Attorney-General
* Robert Timms, businessman and founder of Robert Timms Coffee
* Ronald Millar, artist and writer for The Age
* Ray Weinberg (1940-1944), Olympic athlete and coach
* Andrew Gilmour (1943-1944), Award winning actor, antique collector and communitarian
* Allan Skertchly (1944-1946), Polymath, educationist, positive psychologist
* Wayne Schwass, Australian Rules Footballer for the North Melbourne Kangaroos and Sydney Swans
* Luke Power, Australian Rules Footballer and co-captain for the Brisbane Lions
* David Mackay, Australian Rules Footballer at the Adelaide Crows
* Jamshid "Jumps" Khadiwhala (1993-1998), Musician (The Cat Empire)
* Sam Power, Australian Rules Footballer
* Ian Johnson, Managing director of Channel Seven Melbourne
* Bib Stillwell, Car dealer and famous motor sport racer
* David Mansour, weightlifter
* Wilfrid Kent Hughes, Politician
* Martin Boyd, Famous author, member of the prolific Boyd Family
* George Wilfred Lambert Townsend, AIF officer, patrol officer, public servant and soldier
* Arthur William Dodd, Notable AIF army officer.
* Gavin Merrick Long, Renowned academic, book editor, journalist, literary critic, military historian and war correspondent.
* Anton William Rutherford Vroland, Education reformer, school principal, school teacher and trade union official.
* William Scott Herbert, Music conductor, music conservatoriam instructor, singer, tenor.

References

ee also

* List of schools in Victoria
* List of high schools in Victoria
* Victorian Certificate of Education
*List of schools in Victoria, Australia according to 2006 VCE results
*List of boarding schools

External links

* [http://www.trinity.vic.edu.au Trinity Grammar School website]