In Pursuit of Excellence

A tagline only works if the organisation understands, supports, and lives it. What does In Pursuit of Excellence mean to BGS staff? Find out in these responses from staff members across a variety of areas.

"Excellence, like the destination of a literary quest, is not where the rewards are found. Rather, we enrich our experiences by finding a way through the difficulties, over the stumbles and beyond the mistakes to pursue the best of ourselves and each other. In English, pursuing excellence means embracing the possibilities of ‘better’ to achieve one’s best. Is there a better word? Is there a better example? Is there a better way of achieving my purpose?" – Greg Howes ’98, Head of English

"The pursuit of excellence is characterised by our History students who develop understanding by reading widely and testing their ideas and arguments through robust discussion. Students painstakingly search for the best sources and evidence, write original interpretations and are prepared to rewrite their work. Excellence is achieved by accepting the challenge to give nothing but your best effort." – Chris Price, School Historian and Archivist

"The BGS Library is committed to the pursuit of excellence in everything we do by providing specialised instruction and academic resources to enrich boys’ research and literacy skills, engaging book collections, lessons and events to promote reading for pleasure; vibrant and welcoming spaces to support student learning, collaboration, and wellbeing; and a dynamic website and social media presence to engage with the wider BGS community." – Cathy Oxley, Director of Information Services

"In the Finance team, we don’t want to just be good compared to other schools. We look at best practice across industries and pursue excellence in those areas of high impact to our people and families. For example, we’ve recently expanded and simplified our online payments systems for parents, following precedents set by banks and utilities companies. A financially robust school is one that is primed to invest in exciting projects such as the STEAM Precinct, Boarding upgrade, and the Digital Transformation Program. The pursuit of excellence requires us not to rest on our laurels; it necessitates a relentless yearning to sustain our great school’s exceptional legacy." – Brett Walker-Davies ’04, Director of Finance

"Robotics requires iterative improvements. Our boys research, design, plan, engineer and test each component of their robots to make them as good as possible. Once that process is complete, they repeat it. Working collaboratively to achieve team objectives means the pursuit of excellence is a shared experience. Each robot and team becomes greater than the sum of its parts." – Simon Canfield, Head of Robotics