Newcastle Grammar School

Newcastle Grammar School
Newcastle Grammar School logo Latin: Spectemur Agendo Let us be judged by our actions
Location
Hunter Region Newcastle, New South Wales, 2300 Australia
Coordinates
Information
Type	Independent, Co-educational, Day school
Established	1859
Status	Open
Chairman	Keith Lynch
Head of school	Erica Thomas
Teaching staff	>90
Years offered	Pre-school – Year 12
Enrolment	>740
Campus	Park (Pre-school to Year 4) Hill (Year 5 to Year 12)
Campus type	Urban
Houses	Hunter      Macquarie      Shortland      Tyrrell
Colour(s)	Blue & Burgundy
Slogan	"Towards a Brighter Future"
Website	www.ngs.nsw.edu.au
200px Entrance to Newcastle Grammar School at Hill Campus
200px Newcastle Grammar School Hill Campus

Newcastle Grammar School is an independent, co-educational, non-selective, non-denominational, Anglican-affiliated day school in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.

Established in 1859 as the Newcastle Boys' Grammar School, Newcastle Grammar School is now one of the longest established schools in the region and the leading independent coeducational day school with over 800 students and staff from Pre-school to Year 12. Students attend Newcastle Grammar School from all over the Hunter Region, with a small contingent from country New South Wales and overseas.

Newcastle Grammar is affiliated with the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle, the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA), the Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales (AISNSW) and Hunter Region Independent Schools (HRIS).

Heads of school

Headmaster/Headmistress	Duration
E K Yeatman	1859–1862
HS Millard	1865–1896
M E Lawrance	1918–1932
Z E Martin	1933–1951
M Roberts	1952–1959
E Heath	1960–1964
L Thompson	1965–1967
K Stewart	1968–1976
D Lloyd	1977
R H Morgan (Executive Principal)	1977–1991
A Coombes	1978–1985
B L Charlton	1986–1988
A Green	1989–2014
E Thomas	2014–present

Campuses

Newcastle Grammar School is situated on two campuses.

Park Campus – Cooks Hill (Pre-School – Year 4)

Located 2 km (1.2 mi) from the Hill Campus, this Campus features a Pre-school that caters for children in the year before Kindergarten, library, music room and computer rooms. The Sandi Warren Performance Centre is used for musical and dramatic productions, assemblies, physical education lessons, lectures and dinners.Park Campus is on Union and Corlette street and is across from a national park which has many sports facilities like netball/basketball courts.

Hill Campus – The Hill (Years 5 – 12)

Located on The Hill overlooking the city of Newcastle and the beaches, this campus caters for students from Years 5 to 12 in a mix of historic and modern buildings. Students at this campus are offered the best possible facilities including Holland House opened in 2007, houses wonderful Technological and Applied Studies facilities, including a commercial kitchen. The Industrial Technology Faculty has woodwork facilities and iMac computers which can run both Apple and Microsoft Windows programmes. The building also incorporates new facilities for Drama, PE change rooms, a student terrace, general classrooms, a Year 12 common room and a staff common room.

The Holland building hold two lockers rooms, for Tyrell and Shortland, while Parnell holds Macquarie and the canteen area holds Hunters.

In year 5&6, there is a music program where students are allowed to try various Brass and woodwind instruments, including the French horn, trumpet, clarinet, flute and saxophone or can continue the string instruments learned in year 3&4, at the park campus. If students wish to continue these instruments, the can get private lessons in the music basement, during school or after school, by professional music teachers.

Curriculum, co-curricular and extra-curricular activities

Students have the opportunity to participate in a range of subjects including, English, Mathematics, Science, French, Japanese, Geography, History, Visual Art, Music, Technology (Bridge Design, Engineering, Digital Media, Textiles, Food Technology, Wood Design, Robotics), PDH & PE, Dance, Divinity and Drama. HSC electives include English Advanced, Extensions 1 and 2, Mathematics General, Extensions 1 and 2, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Modern History, Ancient History, History Extensions, French Continuers, Japanese Continuers, Drama, Economics, Geography, Visual Arts, Music 1 and 2, PDH & PE, Business Studies, Legal Studies, Studies of Religion, Design and Technology, Hospitality and Information Processes and Technology. Students are required to participate in a variety of co-curricular activities, including Musical Groups, Debating, Drama Productions, Tournament of Minds, Mock Trial, Young Achievers, Lions Youth of the Year Quest, Duke of Edinburgh Scheme, Service and Adventure Training Unit and various team sports. Students are involved in community service and support charities in their work.

Students are expected to participate in a minimum of one co-curricular activity from Years 5 to 12. These activities include sporting activities, such as tennis or touch football, or musical such as Concert Band or symphony orchestra. Students can perform in any sporting event, but for symphony orchestra, the student must audition to show that they are a suitable level to perform in that band.

House system

Upon entry to the School, each student is allocated, according to age and gender, or family tradition, to one of the four houses:

•      Hunter (green) – named after John Hunter
•      Macquarie (red) – named after Lachlan Macquarie
•      Shortland (gold) – named after John Shortland
•      Tyrrell (sky blue) – named after Bishop Tyrrell.

On the Hill Campus, each House is divided into two sections – Stewart (Years 5 to 8) and Berkeley (Years 9 to 12) – with each section composed of small, vertically streamed, single sex Mentor Groups. The Mentor, supported by the House Coordinator, monitors students’ overall progress and wellbeing and establishes a long term, caring relationship with them. Mentor groups meet twice each week and also sit together during Chapel and Head of School’s Assemblies.

At Park Campus (Pre-School to Year 4), the roles of the House Coordinator and Mentor are undertaken by the Class Teacher and the Assistant Head of Park Campus.

Recently, the two leading house have appeared to be Hunter (green) and Macquarie (red). This seems to be the larger amount of students in these houses over the other two houses. For four years in a row, Hunter has won the Stewart swimming carnival, the most recent being extremely close to Tyrell, winning by under ten points.

Student wellbeing

The Student Wellbeing programme reflects the overall educational philosophy of Newcastle Grammar School. The programme aims to foster resilience, promote respect for each other and ourselves and cultivate the relationships with one another. Staff strive to ensure that each student is known and valued as an individual, experiences a sense of belonging and feels safe. In this way the social and emotional wellbeing of each student is promoted.

The wellbeing of the students is one of the prime concerns of the School. A focus on the holistic wellbeing and progress of the students is ensured through:

• the explicit integration of the principles of positive education into the School’s curriculum
• the philosophy, structure and practices of the House and Mentor system on the Hill Campus
• the explicit teaching of targeted wellbeing programmes
• the care shown by Staff in their daily interactions with students.

See also

• List of non-government schools in New South Wales

References

• Sydney Morning Herald article "The way ahead: sit where you like and keep the same teacher"

External links

• Newcastle Grammar School homepage