Mr PG Barr Acting Headmaster
Welcome to our School
A very warm welcome to our website.
It is an honour to be returning to Grammar as Acting Headmaster in Terms III and IV as we await the arrival of the School’s thirteenth Headmaster, Mr Stuart McPherson. Having served here for thirty-nine years (ultimately as Master of the Lower School) I have had the privilege of watching generations of boys flourish and grow as the result of a Grammar education. It has been doubly rewarding to watch the countless and diverse ways in which they have impacted on the world around them since they have left.
Grammar is a vibrant community bound by a strong sense of history, purpose and values. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1854, the preamble to which reads, ‘Whereas it is deemed expedient for the better advancement of religion and morality and the promotion of useful knowledge to establish in Sydney a public school for conferring on all classes and denominations of Her Majesty’s subjects resident in the Colony of New South Wales without any distinction whatsoever the advantages of a regular and liberal course of education’.
The School remains committed to those aims today.
‘The better advancement of religion and morality…’
Our ultimate purpose is the formation of young men of good character, to instill in them a strong sense of service and gratitude, an instinct to exercise moral leadership and to use their gifts for the betterment of the world around them. Although Grammar is unaffiliated with any faith tradition, enduring values and the search for what is ultimately meaningful in life are implicit in all we do.
‘A liberal course of education…’
High academic standards, hard work, a love of learning, and a respect for things of the mind more generally, are the trademarks of a Grammar education. Our curriculum is broad and draws from multiple disciplines in order to foster critical thinking, creativity and communication skills. It is also pre-vocational in the sense that we are not preparing boys for a specific career. Our success in NAPLAN tests and the HSC are matters of public record. But if those things alone were all we achieved in our boys, then we will have fallen short. A Grammar education is not simply about mastering what needs to be known, but pursuing what is worth knowing for its own sake.
‘All classes and denominations…without any distinction whatsoever…’
The School is independent of both church and state. Entry is based on merit. The Trustees are committed to ensuring, by way of its scholarship and fee assistance programme, that no boy who qualifies for entry is prevented from doing so because of an inability to pay the fees. Given its city location, Grammar draws boys from all over Sydney, of all faiths and of none. The mix of boys here is an education in itself. Travel to and from the School each day also teaches boys independence and confidence and gives them exposure to the world beyond their local environment.
As an academically-focused school, learning is at the heart of all we do. But our understanding of learning goes well beyond the short-term aim of success in examination results. Our hope is that a Grammar education will instill in boys not only broad, worthwhile knowledge and transferable skills, but a strong sense of values and an instinct for service in the world beyond. At Grammar we believe in a wide-ranging and enriching programme of extra-curricular activities – sport, music, debating, drama and cadets to name but a few of the many on offer – as equally formative experiences in discerning values and developing character. As he moves through the School, we hope each Grammar boy will not only form lifelong friendships, but begin to discover what is ultimately fulfilling in life and what brings him joy.
Mr Philip G Barr
Acting Headmaster
