Diversity integral to Brisbane Grammar School

Brisbane Grammar School graduates have used their broad liberal education to pursue diverse careers. Old Boys have taken the fight to animal poachers in Africa; reported from the war-torn Middle East; and saved lives as doctors. They have played leading roles in politics, law, sport, the arts, and academia.

The School’s secular tradition and its legacy of offering bursaries has created a culture that promotes diversity. A diverse school community understands and accepts that each person is unique, and individual differences build the collective strength of the whole school.

Executive Director - Educational Innovation, Jacqui Zervos, said the School focuses explicitly on the practical importance of diversity to prepare students for life. “At BGS we consciously nurture diversity both within the community and throughout the curriculum,” she said.

“We deliver a curriculum that reflects and explores diverse history, politics and culture within Australia and around the world. It is more than just teaching a holistic view of the world; it is encouraging students to feel empowered and to act on matters of importance to them.”

“We want students to be exposed to the ideas, challenges, priorities and values of others to understand and appreciate their behaviours and perspectives. An individual’s beliefs can change because of this exposure to diversity. It’s powerful.”

BGS has strived to promote diversity since its foundation. In this respect, the colony of Queensland’s first leaders, Sir Charles Lilley among them, were ahead of their time. The Grammar Schools Act 1860, passed a year after Queensland was proclaimed, aimed to keep secondary schools open to all religions and classes of people.

At the time this emphasis on inclusivity was significant. The early European colonists had brought their religious prejudices with them to Australia, and NSW and Victoria education was fought over by Church factions. Diversity was encouraged by the School’s first Headmaster, Thomas Harlin, who identified a need to provide scholarships to deserving students from all social classes and backgrounds.

Boys from all around Australia and the world have proudly worn the light dark blue. During 2018, the overall student population was drawn from Brisbane, regional Queensland, interstate and overseas. Almost 70 students were from other countries, the majority being temporary or extended residents of Australia.

The Bursary Fund has seen financially disadvantaged boys, including rural, Indigenous and refugee boys, benefit from a BGS education. The importance of bursaries extends beyond assisting individual bursary recipients and enhances the culture of the School.

Women are significantly represented across teaching and professional staff at the School, and on the Senior Leadership Team and Board of Trustees. BGS established the Gender Respect Committee in recent years to raise awareness about discrimination and foster respect for women, LGBTQI and other minority groups.

As part of the School’s Public Purpose program, members of the Gender Respect Committee are currently raising awareness and funds for charity Share the Dignity, which supports women escaping domestic violence.

Year 12 student, School Vice Captain and member of the Gender Respect Committee, Noah Rosemann, said diversity played an important role in connecting BGS boys with the world. “During my time in Middle School, we created a collective map of where we and our parents were born with small stickers, and those stickers covered much of the globe,” he said.

“We have a very diverse student body and every member of our community contributes to our success as a school in a unique way.”

BGS seeks to develop a boy’s intellect, imagination and ethical reasoning to deal with a complex, diverse and changing future. Boys need to develop a strong sense of personal character, social responsibility, moral reasoning and public purpose.

“Central to each of these points is exposure to and acceptance of diversity,” Ms Zervos said. “At the heart of the School’s new Effective Thinking Cultures curriculum sits an inquiry approach to learning. Diversity is needed to promote curiosity, questioning, creativity and innovation.”

“Diversity is one of Brisbane Grammar School’s greatest strengths.”