4 minute read
PRINCIPAL’S PERSPECTIVE
PRINCIPAL’S PERSPECTIVE
Adventurous Horizons
“Surely, of all the wonders of the world, the horizon is the greatest.” – Dame Freya Stark, explorer
In March, we joyously announced a new horizon for Geelong Grammar School (GGS). After almost three years of contemplation, scenario planning, market research and design iterations, we were excited to share how we are planning today for tomorrow’s adventures.
Our vision is of a unique learning experience that embodies Geelong Grammar School’s Strategic Pillars of Adventure Education, Positive Education and Creative Education. We are inspired by others, both in Australia and around the world, yet our most significant inspiration is homegrown. Timbertop is not just a campus. It is a distinctive and innovative approach to learning and teaching that develops confidence and competence in practical ways, and prioritises growth and development in experiences beyond the classroom: “It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” – Sir Edmund Hilary, mountaineer
Building upon the lessons of our transformational Timbertop programme, our definition of Adventure Education is experiential learning with and through nature. The expansion of our Corio Campus with a new, purpose-built primary school utilising our natural environment – fields, native grasslands, forests, wetlands and coast – is a contemporary expression of Exceptional Education. Our ambition is to create places for learning, teaching and being that provide our primary-aged students with flexible spaces to encourage inquiry, nurture curiosity and creativity, and engender a responsibility for supporting a sustainable environment. Enriching the inquiry-based curriculum of the Primary Years’ Programme of the International Baccalaureate, our design concept has three key elements:
· The Greenhouse – a flexible and communal campus hub;
· The Field Stations – modular spaces for exploration and discovery, each with unique identities informed by the natural environment; and
· The Spaces Between – integrated landscape experiences inviting our learners to engage with their environment and connect with each other.
The Greenhouse, Field Stations and Spaces Between represent a new home of learning for ELC to Year 6, whilst enlivening the environment and opportunities for our Middle and Senior School students.
– Sir James Darling (Headmaster 1930-61), Speech Day report, 1951
‘Changing form’ through a relocation of Bostock House to Corio will see, for the first time in our School’s history, an ELC to Year 12 learning community sharing and connected to the same campus. This innovation leverages new environments as we ‘preserve our true spirit and tradition’.
Part of our ‘spirit and tradition’ is understanding that effective learners require strong foundations in literacy and numeracy, yet within and of themselves this is not enough. It is what you do with your literacy and numeracy skills that will determine your effectiveness as a learner. These new environments at Corio Campus will encourage students to challenge themselves physically and socially, apply their thinking and problem solving with and through nature, and fortify their tolerance for responsible risk taking. Ultimately this supports their capacity to shed the fear of making mistakes in learning; an outcome that shapes more academically buoyant and resilient young people.
In communicating this thinking and the design concepts with our 2022 School Prefects, I was humbled to witness their capacity to be energised by the possibilities ahead; equally, I was inspired by their genuine enthusiasm for the next generations of Corio learners. It was a mature mindset and generosity of spirit that enabled individuals to quickly acknowledge that their experiences (eight or more years ago) were not diminished by these changes, just different. Of course, there were questions and suggestions about how best to honour the history of Bostock House and a dawning that new legacies must also be born if we are to continue to earn our reputation of being a progressive school.
Similarly uplifting has been our current Bostock House students’ contribution to the planning. For example, our ELC students’ drawings (on the next page and below) highlight the advantages of open spaces. At the existing Noble Street location, we simply cannot create the ‘giant slides, sandpits, swings in trees and forests’ that our current ELC architects envisage. For those curious about Lizzie (featured in Zoe’s drawing below), she is a local lizard! As adults supporting and respecting young people, it is a privilege to learn together, and to engage student voice and choice with this significant strategic endeavour.
This Geelong Grammar School vision is a bold and timely re-imagining of Adventure Education. It grows our heritage, anchors our future sustainability, and expands and enriches our Corio community. Please help us plan today for tomorrow’s horizon… adventure awaits!
Rebecca Cody Principal
