Ipswich Grammar School
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Ipswich Grammar School | |
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Latin: Labore Honore (Work and Honour) | |
Denomination | Non-denominational[1] |
Established | 1863 |
Principal | Richard Morrison (Headmaster) |
Employees | ~90[2] |
Enrolment | ~1,700 (P–12)[2] |
Colour(s) | Red & white (sports) Maroon & white (academic) |
Website | www |
Ipswich Grammar School is an
Founded in 1863, Ipswich Grammar was the first
Ipswich Grammar School is affiliated with the Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA),
History
Background
Ipswich Grammar School was the first of ten grammar schools established under the
Despite these intentions of the legislation, it was the
Establishment
Unperturbed, the Roman Catholic community in Ipswich raised the full amount of £1000. On 20 August 1861, the first meeting concerning the establishment of a Grammar School in Ipswich took place. Around 200 people attended.
It seems that despite the drive of the Roman Catholic's to establish a school under their denomination, the majority of people did not support the establishment of a school where one religion would predominate. Trouble erupted when a resolution was put forward that members of each religious denomination be appointed to a committee to make preparations for the new Grammar School. A member of the Roman Catholic group suggested that they would withdraw their funds if they did not get their own way – and the meeting ended in turmoil, with a brawl taking place. In the week following this first meeting, newspapers reported clashes in the streets of Ipswich between Roman Catholics and the Protestants.
On 27 August 1861, one week after the initial meeting, a second meeting regarding the Grammar School was held at the Ipswich
It was in this turbulent spirit that a resolution for the establishment of IGS was passed, by 281 votes to 199. The Roman Catholic group promptly withdrew their financial support, and it would be March 1862 before the community of Ipswich would raise the £1000 required.
The first Board of Trustees, elected on 25 March 1862, called for plans and specifications to be submitted for the new school building. Architect Benjamin Backhouse made the only submission, and after a small problem with his initial design was overcome (he had forgotten to make provision for toilets), the plan was accepted. The original building (known as the Great Hall) was designed in a revival gothic style, and it was constructed by contractors John Ferguson and David McLaughlin.
Early years
IGS was opened on 25 September 1863 by
The first curriculum reflected the traditional Grammar School education – it included Latin and Greek classics, mathematics, the various branches of liberal English education and, when circumstances permitted, teaching of the German and French languages. Student numbers fluctuated during the initial years, but settled between 70 and 80 in the 1870s.
By the start of the 20th century, 36 students had graduated from IGS to various universities around Australia. In this time, a number of other Queensland grammar schools had opened, some under the auspices of the Grammar Schools Act – in the immediate region, these included
When competition with Brisbane Grammar commenced, Australian rules football was the chosen code. The first competitive match between the two schools was played in 1870 under these rules – the outcome was a draw. These early games were exceptionally long – the match between IGS and Brisbane Grammar in 1876 commenced at 10.30am and ended at 2.30pm, at which time IGS had scored 6 goals to Brisbane Grammar's nil.
Incidentally,
Competitions between the Grammar Schools in these years became more frequent. In 1878, the first Inter-Grammar School sports held for Athletics were held, with IGS prevailing over Brisbane Grammar School and Toowoomba Grammar School. IGS won two successive grammar school rowing regattas in 1891 and 1892, but floods in Ipswich destroyed the School's rowing shed and equipment and IGS has not competed in rowing competition since.
The first tennis match between IGS and Brisbane Grammar was played in 1893, with IGS emerging victorious. IGS also claimed victory in the first cricket match between the two schools – but the actual scores have been lost.
Middle years
By the time of the silver jubilee of IGS in 1913, attended by Sir William MacGregor, Governor of Queensland, the School had erected an Honour Board, new boarding facilities and a Science Block, leading to the teaching of physics and chemistry in a laboratory. The Chelmsford Cup series (the precursor to the GPS system, named after then Governor of Queensland, The Lord Chelmsford) was established in 1907 for competition between the existing Grammar Schools, and the inauguration of the Old Boys Association followed the next year. The University of Queensland was opened in Brisbane in 1909, improving student attendance.
The Chelmsford Cup series existed alongside the new Great Public Schools, or GPS, system from 1918 to 1938, at which time it was discontinued in favour of GPS. In 1925, the first sports ground at IGS was opened. The first game to be played on this field was a football match between past and present students – the result was a 3-all draw. IGS added
IGS produced three
Post-World War II
IGS grew notably following
More growth was to follow, with the Manual Training facilities and an on-campus hospital added in 1967, biology block opened in 1970, the R.G. Edmondson Memorial Open Air Theatre and the Gilmore Wilson Memorial School of Music opened and dedicated in 1977 and the
During the 1980s, the school constructed manual arts and science facilities, automated its library and other resources, purchased the 250-acre (1.0 km2) historic Woodlands estate in the nearby suburb of Marburg and signed a cooperation agreement with its sister school in Japan, Gifu Daiichi High School. The decade was to end in sadness, however, as Headmaster Alan Ladley died suddenly on the final school day of 1989.
The 1990s saw IGS adopt a number of commercial activities – a common theme through a number of the GPS Schools. The Grammar Park Housing Estate was started in 1991 in a nearby suburb of Ipswich, and later the Grammar Park Sports Fields and a hospitality complex was added. IGS expanded its teaching into year 7 (traditionally a
The School, in conjunction with Griffith University, has developed a Learning Made Easy program to underline all aspects of the IGS education. The program is embedded in all curriculum areas, and has been marketed overseas.
In 2020, a new
Headmasters
Period | Details |
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1863–1868 | Stuart Hawthorne (School House) |
1869–1875 | John McCrae |
1875–1900 | Donald Cameron (School House) |
1901–1907 | Charles A. Flint |
1907–1915 | Bertram G. Lawrance (School House) |
1915–1945 | Richard A. Kerr (School House) |
1946–1951 | William G. Henderson (School House) |
1952–1953 | R.J. (Jim) Diamond |
1953–1958 | Charles E. Olsen |
1958 | Walter M. Douglas |
1959–1968 | Basil V. Heath |
1969–1989 | Alan M. Ladley (School House) |
1990–2001 | Igor Lapa |
2001–2010 | Denis Fredericksen |
2011–2015 | Robert Henderson |
2016–2024 | Richard Morrison |
Campus
The original school buildings from the 1860s still sit on the crown of Grammar School Hill, with the original building now known as the 'Great Hall'. These buildings are now listed by the National Trust of Australia. The school grounds themselves have undergone a notable transformation in recent years, with the most significant change being the introduction of the Igor Lapa Junior School. Now included within the Igor Lapa Junior School is a full indoor sand volleyball pit and some basketball hoops with cricket pitches marked out on them. Some further extensions have been made to the junior school due to the new attendance of prep to grade three. Recently[when?], the Board of Trustees approved expansion of the Prep buildings, and refurbishment of the remaining Tennis Court at Ipswich Grammar's main campus.
Due to this expansion of the Prep building over the Tennis courts, additional Courts have been made at the school's externally owned land in Brassall. This land is usually used for cross country, cricket, rugby and soccer in the appropriate seasons. Eight new Tennis courts were constructed at the Brassall grounds during the 2008 Christmas break for GPS competition and training for the students.
Ipswich Grammar School, recently occupied the services of Stonestreets Coaches and Doyles Coaches, to do the school's charter routes.
GPS membership
IGS is a member of the
Despite being among the smaller of the GPS Schools in terms of student attendance, IGS performs well in a number of GPS competitions, chief amongst them the annual Track and Field competition, which was claimed by Ipswich Grammar thirteen times in fifteen years from 1998 through 2012, only losing two premierships in this reign. Both losses were to
House system
As with most Australian schools, Ipswich Grammar School utilises a house system, whereby students are members of one of six houses for the purposes of intra-school activities. These houses, named after six of the longest serving Headmasters, are Hawthorne (yellow), Cameron (sky blue), Lawrence (red), Kerr (green), Henderson (black) and Ladley (royal blue). Students are allocated to a house on entry to the school and generally remain in the same house for their entire time at the school. Senior year students assist teachers in managing the students during events.
Alumni
Museum and archive
Ipswich Grammar School has a Museum and Archive, established to preserve the history of the school, students and faculty. The Museum operates onsite in The Great Hall and is open to the public during school terms.[11]
See also
- List of schools in Queensland
- List of boarding schools
References
- ^ "Boarding Schools Regional Queensland". Regional Australia - Boarding Schools. Regional Living Australia. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- ^ a b c "Commonwealth & State Reporting Requirements 2006" (PDF). Media. Ipswich Grammar School. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- ^ "Ipswich Grammar School (entry 600601)". Queensland Heritage Register. Queensland Heritage Council. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
- ^ "The grammar schools era 1860–1912". Education History. Queensland Government. 2007. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- ^ a b "Ipswich Grammar School". Queensland Schools. Australian Boarding Schools Association. 2007. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- ^ "JSHAA Queensland Directory of Members". Queensland Branch. Junior School Heads' Association of Australia. 2007. Archived from the original on 12 April 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- ^ "ISQ Member Schools" (PDF). School Lists. Independent Schools Queensland. 2007. p. 14. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- ^ "Queensland". AHISA Schools. Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. November 2007. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- ^ "GPS Code of Behaviour". Sport. St. Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace. 2005. Archived from the original on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 2 November 2007.
- ^ "GPS Track and Field Championship Points Table History". 2 November 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
- ^ "Museum and Archive". Ipswich Grammar School. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
Further reading
- Church, Sophie. (2013). The Story of Ipswich Grammar School 1863-2013. Ipswich Grammar School. 288 p. ISBN 978-0-646-57933-7