From the Principal

Over the past weeks, several people have asked me what I believe about schools of the 21st century. I have responded, in short, by stating that the 21st-century School must reflect the fluidity and liquid nature of today’s learners .............. let me explain. 

As adults, we notice the world changing exponentially. This fast-paced, hyper-dynamic context has become the new ‘norm’ for our young people. Now more than ever before, we know that change is ongoing and will happen either because of us or despite us. The BMGS motto, “Per Ardua Ad Altiora,” translates as ‘through effort to higher achievement’. I love this because it reinforces that anything worthwhile takes time, effort, patience, and grit. In such a fast-paced world, the old-fashioned ability to hold your nerve is still as critical as ever to experience success. 

Who could ever have imagined the future and context in which Blue Mountains Grammar School would now find itself in 2023? A time in history of such fast-paced, exponential change. It is a time for educators worldwide to engage in conversations about possibilities, futures and new ways of designing learning so that our young people are appropriately equipped to step into their future confidently. In a rapidly changing, hyper-connected world, the need to understand things that exist beyond ourselves continues. Directly, more than ever before, we must convey that education is not a means in itself. 

How do educators engage in conversations that allow us to explore new levels of academic function that extend deeper into belonging, attachment, contribution and personal spiritual formation? Blue Mountains Grammar School is a school that values learning and responds by innovating to ensure that students are not just simply receivers of knowledge but are producers of it. BMGS’s willingness to confront the challenges and opportunities of the 21st-century educational landscape with innovative learning models serves our students into their future. As educators and parents, we have a profound responsibility to provide excellence in pedagogy, pastoral programs, and high expectations for our young people. 

With this in mind, my educational philosophy is about the next 20 years for Blue Mountains Grammar School. It takes the courageous intent of the School’s founders and creates a research-based, innovative approach to establishing and promoting the distinctive that will see our School continue to lead excellence in a new and creative way. 

The best schools grow people. The next 8-10 years shape as a fascinating time because we now find ourselves in a global conversation about bold new visions for lifelong learning in education. There is a clear and noticeable shift taking place globally in education, and it is redefining what learning must look like. What has traditionally been an industrial-era experience must now shift to a much more relevant, contextual and perpetually changing model of schools to properly engage with and within the third millennium. 

More than ever, our teaching and learning culture must be informed by global trends, expectations, perceptions, technological capacity and organisational structures. The greater the experience of these exponential changes, the greater the need for outstanding, relationship-focused teachers becomes apparent. This will ensure the future of connected, transformative and relevant schools. Educators of the 21st century need to define the unique strands in our DNA that distinguish us from the past and secular thought alone.  

Schools must become more flexible, adaptable and innovative in a world of ever-increasing change and complexity. The best teachers understand this well. Anglican Schools such as ours must know that we are a legitimate ministry of the Church, excelling at academic pursuits but also reaching into who we are and why we exist. We must focus on being “.....the aroma of Christ to those who are lost and those who are being saved.” (2 Cor 2:15). 

We must always model being agents of curiosity, contemplation and rationale, and we as adults must also model what it is to be successful learners in the 21st century. In order to honour the school motto, “Per Ardua Ad Altiora”, we must focus on the heart of our mission - to bring young people and their families to an understanding of their place in a bigger story. As we create our model, the hope of making world-class learners must be the centre of our conversations and decisions. 

Mr Steven Coote 

Principal