From the Principal
Dear Blue Mountains Grammar School Families,
The Influence We Leave
This week, we celebrated and said farewell to our Year 12 students. These occasions matter because they remind us that schooling is about far more than lessons, examinations and results. It is about connection, formation and the influence we have on one another.
At our Valedictory Dinner last night, I reflected on the difference between attention and influence. Our world often measures influence through followers, visibility and recognition. The Christian story offers something quite different. Jesus began with twelve ordinary people. He accumulated no wealth, sought no celebrity and never monetised his influence. He served others, gave his life, defeated death and rose again. More than two thousand years later, his influence continues because it was built through truth, love, sacrifice and service.
Our Year 12 students leave their own influence upon this School. It can be found in the friendships they formed, the younger students they encouraged, the teams and ensembles they joined, the questions they asked and the moments when they quietly made life better for someone else. They may never fully know the reach of those contributions, but that does not make them insignificant.
Thank you to everyone who made our Year 12 celebration so special, including our staff, families and students. I particularly want to acknowledge our Junior School staff and students, who once again formed a beautiful guard of honour for our departing Year 12 students. This tradition almost always brings our students to tears.
Perhaps that is because, in that moment, they understand something important. They are not simply leaving a school. They are leaving people with whom they have shared a significant part of their lives.
Connection matters. It shapes us, sustains us and reminds us that none of us becomes who we are alone.
To the Class of 2026, thank you for the contribution you have made to our School. As you leave BMGS, do not become preoccupied with being noticed. Concentrate instead on noticing others. Live with courage, serve generously and use your influence well. Your time here may have ended, but the influence you leave behind will continue.
As the term draws to a close, thank you to our students, staff and families for all you have contributed to the life of our School. The coming break gives you time to slow down, reconnect with the people who matter, and enjoy some genuine rest. I wish everyone a safe, restful and relaxing holiday, and I look forward to welcoming our community back next term.
Warm regards
Steven Coote
Principal
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