From the Deputy Principal

It is no secret that prices for just about everything are rising, and none of us are unaffected. For those of us with mortgages, the recent interest rate rises are beginning to bite, and the cost of living seems to spiral endlessly upwards. This has been exacerbated in recent weeks with record increases in petrol prices; I paid about a dollar more per litre this week than I did just a month ago!

The truth is, however, that the impact of these price rises are experienced differently by people within our community. While no one enjoys price rises, there are those in our community who are less able to absorb their impact than others. 

As a school, we pride ourselves in serving our entire community and believe that every child deserves a BMGS education. Blue Mountains Grammar School has always had both a robust and a generous scholarship program. Most recently, we have offered Open Door Scholarships, a means-tested scholarship program making a BMGS education available to a limited number of children in each grade for whom enrolling with us would normally be a financial impossibility. These children have already made an outstanding contribution to the learning and growth of their peers in classes, on the sports field, and in every other aspect of our community’s life. I am confident that they will continue to do so. 

Challenging times such as these are when our BMGS community matters the most. For some of our families, providing growing children with the many items needed to begin their time with us can be hard. In partnership with our wonderful Parents & Friends Association, I invite families who have disused or outgrown uniform items at home to consider donating these items for redistribution either by being re-sold at reduced rates or simply gifted to children entering the School through Open Door Scholarships, or whose families are otherwise working hard to make ends meet. Where items are sold, funds will be used for the benefit of our children and young people through the activities of the P & F. 

For more than a century our children and young people have been the beneficiaries of a tradition of generosity from our community. Coorah House and the land on which our school is built, the Sports Centre, the Chapel, the John Cunningham Centre, the ornamental gates, and even some of the trees that grace our campuses have been generously donated by past generations. Of the many traditions of Blue Mountains Grammar School, this is the one I find most inspiring. 

Uniform items should be clean and in wearable condition, and blazers should be dry-cleaned. Items may be donated through our Campus Receptions. 

Owen Laffin

Deputy Principal