Deputy Principal - Teaching & Learning 

On Scholarship

An extract of a speech delivered the Senior School Leavers' Assembly 

Scholarship is not just an award that you receive. It is a way of thinking, a way of working, and ultimately, a way of being in the world.

To be a scholar is to take learning seriously. Not as a means to an outcome, not for the grade, or the ATAR, but as a discipline in itself. As Socrates reminds us, 

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” 

True scholarship begins not with certainty, but with courage: the recognition that your knowledge is always incomplete, and that there is always more that you can know. A good scholar shows intellectual courage. You ask difficult questions. You challenge assumptions - your own as much as anyone else’s. You are willing to sit with uncertainty. In A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf insists, 

“There is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.” 

Scholars protect that freedom fiercely. They don’t just rely on AI to give them the answers - they think independently, even when it would be easier to just get the answers.

Scholarship also demands resilience. High achievement does not come on the back of uninterrupted successes. In fact, mistakes are not a sign that learning has failed; they are often proof that learning is happening. As Samuel Beckett famously wrote, 

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” 

A good scholar does not fear failure, they study it, learn from it, and use it to their advantage, to refine their thinking. This matters because growth is forged through difficulty. Speaking at Harvard, J. K. Rowling reflected, 

“Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way.” 

The capacity to reflect honestly on mistakes – to ask why something didn’t work, and how to improve – is one of the defining habits of an excellent mind.

Scholarship is also ethical. It is choosing integrity over shortcuts, depth over speed, and learning over convenience. Knowledge carries responsibility. Academic honesty, especially when the pressure is high, is a form of courage.

Finally, a scholar understands that excellence is not diminished by generosity. You share ideas. You support others. You recognise that learning is not a competition to be won, but a community to be strengthened. The best scholars raise the intellectual standard of every room they enter. I speak now to our Year 12 girls: you are not each other’s competition, you are in fact, each other’s greatest support mechanisms, and together, you are only as strong as the weakest link. This works metaphorically, in that you all take care of each other, but it works literally, too. VCAA will reward the cohort for the whole group’s lift.

As scholars you are entrusted with opportunity, but also with responsibility. To work hard. To think deeply. To learn from your mistakes. And to use your education not only to succeed, but to contribute.

Be scholars who are curious, resilient, and principled.

Not flawless, but fearless in learning.

That is what it truly means to be a good scholar.

Ms Lisa Hanlon

Deputy Principal - Teaching and Learning