Scotch College

Scotch depends on its family

Whilst the School is genuinely appreciative of a recent government grant, ‘there can be no doubt that the School will again be counting on its community to ensure that it continues to provide the best possible education for our boys in the future’.

Previous chairmen and I have used this forum to articulate that Scotch is an independent organisation that has relied, and will continue to rely, on its community to exist. It relies on the parents of the day to fund the recurrent budget associated with delivering their children’s education. It then relies on its current parents, its former parents, its former students and other friends of the School to deliver the infrastructure required to support the provision of a Scotch education. Currently, any Government funding, both federal and state sourced, is directly credited to the school parents’ accounts by the School. This transparent policy ensures that Scotch is not reliant on the government to deliver the recurrent school educational programs.

Over the past twenty-five years the School has undertaken a number of physical developments which have enriched the educational and personal development opportunities for our boys. The Glenn Centre, opened in 1983, was one of the first physical education centres of its type and has been a forerunner for like developments at other schools. The Lithgow Centre (1997) provides our boys with an outstanding library and computer centre and our Senior School teachers with a well-resourced staff centre. The extension to the Junior School in 1990 made available enhanced teaching facilities for staff and students alike. The Language and Culture Centre (1995) has allowed the School to resource properly the vital teaching of languages (English and otherwise). In the Randall Building (2000), the School gained a centralised Administration Centre. The Cardinal Pavilion (1994) has allowed our rowing program to flourish, as well as providing an idyllic setting for many Scotch Family functions in the Boykett Room. The most recent development, the James Forbes Academy (2001), provides the Scotch boys of today and tomorrow with state-of the-art spaces to practise and perform musically and theatrically. The importance of the performing arts to a well-rounded education is expressed elsewhere in this edition of Great Scot.

These developments, which appropriately complement the original buildings at Hawthorn such as the Memorial Hall and Quadrangle, have all occurred as a result of the generosity of the Scotch Family – not through Government funding.

The only developments of note at our Hawthorn campus that are not a result of the generosity of the Scotch Family are the General Science and Maths–Science Buildings. These facilities were the product of the Menzies Government’s vision for Science in the 1960s and led to federal government science grants of $140,907 in 1967 and $132,000 in 1976–77. These facilities, whilst somewhat tired today, have served generations of Scotch boys well for nearly 50 years.

This year the School will again be the beneficiary of Government investment as part of the Rudd Government’s ‘Building the Education Revolution’ initiative. This Federal Government initiative is designed to stimulate both the economy and the education sector. Both public and independent schools were invited to apply for funding to develop infrastructure to support their educational programs. In order to apply, schools needed to have projects that were scoped and planned. For some time Scotch had been investigating the possibilities of converting the Junior School quadrangle into an undercover expansion of the assembly hall. Having provisional plans in place for this development, we applied for a ‘Building the Education Revolution – Primary Schools for the 21st century’ grant. The School also applied for funds under the ‘Building the Education Revolution – School Pride’ section to provide improved access for visually impaired students and staff around the campus, for funds to develop the School’s non-potable water irrigation program as well as for funds to complete some minor landscaping works in the area outside the Senior School Tuckshop. The School’s applications were successful, and $3.2 million in funding has been forthcoming to resource these enhancements. The School is grateful to the Government for its support and shares its view that education is a vital ingredient to an engaged and progressive society. All of these enhancements are works in progress, and more can be read about them in this edition of Great Scot.

The Principal, in collaboration with Council and key staff, is currently drafting the School’s education vision for the future. From this vision the School’s strategic plan will be developed. This plan will identify areas which require additional resourcing, both in terms of staff and facilities. There can be no doubt that the School will again be counting on its community to ensure that it continues to provide the best possible education for our boys in the future. GS