FROM THE ACTING HEADMASTER

Sydney Grammar School doesn’t change Headmasters very often. When he arrives next January, Stuart McPherson will be only the 13th headmaster in 168 years. It’s one reason for the School’s relative stability and consistency. But it also means that when a new Head is on the horizon, and when the prospect (and sometimes fear) of change is in the air, it’s perhaps timely for us to reflect on the sustaining values which underpin who we are as a school.

So today I’d like us to pause and reflect for a moment on our common purpose and the goals to which we as teachers commit ourselves, or at least as I see it. What is our purpose as a school? What are our values? In what ways is Grammar distinctive? We don’t often come together (by we, I mean the staff at all three schools) and during term it’s easy to forget the existence of each other, but days like today remind us that Grammar is one school, and that we work together with the common goal of the formation of the boys in our charge. So to our colleagues from the Preps, an especially warm welcome.

Most of you will be aware that Grammar was established by an Act of Parliament back in 1854, the preamble to which reads as follows:

‘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.’

‘For the better advancement of religion and morality.’ Broadly speaking that our ultimate purpose is the overall moral formation of young men. Men who will live a good life; men who will make good citizens, good husbands, good fathers; men with a strong sense of duty and service; men who will use the education and privilege they have been given to build up the world around them when they leave here. Let’s face it, the need for men and women of intelligence, imagination, good character and integrity to lead in every facet of life in this country and the world has never been greater. If we, as a school, can claim to have played our part, no matter how small, in meeting that need, then we will have much to be proud of.

But what about the words ‘religion and morality’? How do we reconcile ourselves with those words in 2025 Australia and at Grammar? In 1854 Australia defined itself as a Christian country so we should not be surprised by the inclusion of these words in the Act, and in fact for most of its life Grammar has been defined by a broadly Judeo-Christian ethic. It’s thought that the motto ‘Laus Deo’ (‘the praise belongs to God’) was chosen by Mr Weigall, and for many years Bible readings were the norm at assemblies alongside the singing of hymns.

Australia of course is now multi-faith and pluralistic, as is Grammar, and true to the preamble to the Act, we welcome boys of all faiths and of none. We may not claim to be a faith-based school, and we certainly don’t provide answers to the big questions based on doctrine or dogma. But we are a humane school, and we cannot claim to be unconcerned with the spiritual, or the search for deeper meaning in life. In our offering of pastoral care, a boy’s emotional life is as much our concern as anything else. We are a school with a signally strong arts programme, and we know that artistic creation and the appreciation of beauty often serve as pathways to spiritual insight and awareness. But I like to think that it is in the synthesis and distillation of everything a boy experiences at Grammar – the totality of what we offer here – what he learns here, what he does here, the people with whom he interacts with here – that may prompt in him the deeper questions: Who am I? What is my world view? What are my values? What is of ultimate importance to me? And thus to develop in him a sense of morality (as referred to in the Act) and, one hopes, an instinct for service to others.

As neither a government nor church school, Grammar can rightfully claim to be truly independent. Being academically selective (though not nearly to the same degree as selective state schools) entry to the school is by merit, not through right or privilege. And, as our scholarship and fee-assistance programme makes clear, the Trustees are committed to making a Grammar education available to as many boys as possible, regardless of their parents’ capacity to pay the fees.

And lastly, ‘the promotion of useful knowledge…(and) a regular and liberal course of education’. Grammar is a place where ideas matter. By liberal education we mean a broad, traditional curriculum drawing from multiple disciplines such as mathematics, the natural and social sciences, the arts and other humanities in order to foster critical thinking, creativity and communication skills rather than specialising in a single field or preparing for a specific career. In that sense it is also ‘pre-vocational’. As far as is possible within the mandated curriculum, we offer what is most stimulating and motivating for bright boys. The subjects we offer and the levels at which we offer them are worthwhile and rigorous. (I’m pleased to see that since I was last here, Drama is now on offer as an elective subject.) And we insist on breadth to the extent that boys must sit 12 units for the HSC, and thereby take at least one humanities subject besides English.

Summing up the ethos or character of a school is difficult, and it’s a brave man who attempts it. (Well, as I’m only here for two terms, I’m brave enough to give it a go!) Grammar’s character is distinctive but also nuanced and somewhat elusive – clearly felt, but not easily articulated. First, I think Grammar is a humane school in that it is balanced, respectful and compassionate. We are (or we should be) concerned primarily with the human dimension, with all aspects of the human personality: a boy’s intellectual, moral, physical and social development, and the interconnectedness of all these things. There is a mutual respect between boys and masters here, and by and large the boys quickly learn to appreciate each other’s gifts. I like to think that Grammar is genuinely inclusive and respectful, a school where quirky even eccentric boys can thrive, perhaps more so than in other schools. The boys make lifelong friends here. They receive good care from nurturing staff who take a genuine interest in them – classroom teachers, Housemasters, Tutors, and coaching staff. As Alastair Mackerras used to say, ‘The very best way to teach them is to love them’.

Second, Grammar has a strong sense of purpose, not just in the acquisition of ‘useful knowledge’, but a whole lot more besides. Boys at Grammar learn to appreciate what high standards are. And they learn to know what’s good, what’s genuine, what’s worthwhile. They know what good teaching looks like, good coaching, good mentoring. They know what it is to have the bar raised high and they prefer it that way. They learn what’s possible both in themselves and in others, and they like being stretched.

And finally, a word about sport. Anyone who knows me will know that I am a keen supporter of sport within the School. It is worth remembering that after classroom teaching and pastoral care, sport is the next biggest activity in the School. All adolescent boys have a need for physical activity, and as the research shows, the positive impacts on learning are clear: accelerated psychomotor skills, positive effects on cognition, perceptual skills, attention and concentration, social skills, self-esteem, and increased feelings of connection. The part played by sport in character-building – discipline, teamwork, reliance, community, selflessness, trust – may sound clichéd but, in my experience, is self-evident.

Grammar was a founding member of the AAGPS and our participation within it goes back over 150 years. Its long and proud sporting history is just as much a defining element of Grammar’s character today as anything else. Looking at the results across the board in recent years it’s clear that Grammar punches well above its weight within the GPS. However, competing in certain traditional sports presents challenges for a school like ours. The boys for whom sport is a passion and who face quite unequal competition week by week, yet whose efforts and commitment to the School remain undaunted, deserve our admiration and our support.

No-one is quite sure whether it was Aristotle or St Ignatius Loyola who said, ‘Give me a child until he is seven and I’ll show you the man’ (no pressure, Prep staff!). We should never forget the impact we as teachers, and the School as a whole, can have on boys. After their parents, we are their most significant adult role models. No matter if boys are in Kindergarten or Sixth Form, no matter what we are teaching them, no matter how frustrating that task may prove at times, we all share in that challenge. Shortly before he died, my father, who had been a lawyer all his life, told me he considered teaching the most noble thing you can do. It was a rare, if somewhat oblique, compliment from him. It is indeed both a challenge and a noble undertaking. But it’s also our privilege and acknowledged as such by all of us in this room.