little things...

Things grew quickly, and by 1974 there were 70 girls enrolled at Corio (with others being turned away because the Senior School was full). By 1975, co-ed spread to Timbertop, with the first 14 girls arriving in Term 3, followed by 14 more at the beginning of 1976 as part of an accelerated programme as the campus shifted from Year 10 to Year 9. In 1976, The Hermitage and Clyde School amalgamated with GGS, building on the strong family connections that existed between the three schools. Across the next three decades, the School moved progressively towards an equal number of girls and boys.

In 2010, came the opening of Elisabeth Murdoch House at Corio, providing the School with the capability to cater for equal numbers of girls and boys in Senior School boarding, complementing the two co-ed day houses. Shortly after, Timbertop moved to equal numbers of units available for girls and boys. For the past three years, Timbertop has had a 50/50 gender balance, and has also trialled co-ed campsites and co-ed hike groups. Amidst the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, our Middle School boarding houses were restructured and now offer boarding house beds on a 50/50 basis. In celebrating 50 years of co-education, I’m confident that the aspiration of Tommy Garnett (Headmaster 1961-73) was to see GGS provide a truly co-educational experience, which has remained an absolute goal for all subsequent Headmasters and Principals, with Charles Fisher (Headmaster 1974-78) playing a particularly pivotal role in growing co-ed during those early years.

How bold and perceptive Tommy Garnett was, having the foresight to fully integrate girls into an all-boys’ school, and in particular a boarding school as world famous as GGS (thanks to the enrolment of King Charles in 1966). GGS was very much a pioneer of co-education amongst independent schools in Australia – The Geelong College followed in 1974, Wesley College in 1978, Carey Baptist Grammar School in 1979, Caulfield Grammar in 1981 and Haileybury College in 2000. How positively has educational thinking and practice evolved and advanced from that initial seed planted 52 years ago. As GGS likes to describe these types of developments, the School had a “Timbertop moment”! It was a natural, positive milestone in our proud history.

Paddy Handbury (M’72) Chair of Council