Fights to Win

The text below records the speech given by staff member and Old Girtonian, Ms Lynden Francis-Wright (Aherne 1996) to Girton students during the 30-Year Anniversary Assembly.

It’s the line in our school song which has caught many poor unsuspecting guests off guard and given them the fright of their lives. It’s the line which is sung with the greatest diction and conviction, and certainly the line which evokes the greatest anticipation within the student, and perhaps staff, body. “Fights to Win.” 

I always enjoy watching the anticipation in the room build as we near that now-famous line in the school song. Junior students share sideways glances and secret nods as a signal that they will take part in the stamping of the feet and thuggish chanting. 

There’s often a quick lesson that can be seen between an existing student and a poor, unsuspecting new one to ensure they don’t miss out on the fun. Older students stand up tall and uncross their ankles, freeing up their right foot to thump the ground in unison. 

I love too the sympathetic looks and the hidden understanding for the student who gets it wrong and thinks he/she is to emphasise that second line in the very next verse only to discover that “fights to win” is the only line in the song worthy of such energy! 

Each time we sing it, however, I wonder how many of you know why that line is so special and sung with such gusto. To the many who don’t know the story behind tradition in our school song, I’m sure that the emphasis on this line seems out of place and perhaps even in poor taste.

I was a Year 8 student at Girton College when we were called to a special assembly. With great excitement we skipped off to assembly expecting a special guest, perhaps even someone famous, as special assemblies were unheard of. We arrived to find no special guests, only to be told that at the end of the school year, some short few months away, our beloved Girton College (located on the site of the now Kennington Primary) would close. 

A wave of emotion swept through the student and staff body. Collectively we glanced at each other in disbelief. Where would we go to school? What would happen to our friends and friendships? What would happen to the Year 11 students who were about to start their final year of school? What would happen to the staff? Where would they work? What would happen to the many international students who lived in the boarding house? Who would get to use our beautiful school, its surrounds and buildings? How could this have happened?

Disbelief quickly turned to sadness and anger. I was heartbroken. There were many tears and people were genuinely upset by the news. Most upsetting, however, was the directive that the school song was no longer to be sung. In addition to the sad news of the pending school closure, came the break in a very long school tradition. The school song was always sung at the end of assemblies, every week, and on each formal school occasion. The song unified the students and staff, and the words highlighted what we stood for as young men and women striving to be our best.

As the Headmaster left the assembly and an awkward, heavy silence filled the room in place of the joyous school song, one lone voice began to sing. It was a male voice from the back of the student body, a Year 12 student. As he sang the first two lines of the school song, some of his friends quickly joined in and for a moment there was a most amazing small male choir. As we all looked at each other, unsure of whether we, too, should defy the directive that had been given, the rest of the student body and some staff joined the choir. There was no piano, just voices.

Those boys stood tall and proud at the back of the hall. When it came to the second verse, those large, burly, senior boys, fuelled with emotion, stamped their feet and initiated the “fights to win”. The emotion, pride and courage that were shown in this simple act spread quickly throughout the school. 

Unable to accept the fate of Girton and its long history, an amazing group of parents, including my own, banded together. They worked tirelessly to build a new Girton so that their children and the other children of Bendigo would not be denied the opportunity to attend a wonderful independent school. They met in community halls in Bendigo and surrounding areas to gain community support for the new school. At many of these meetings, students attended to assist and the school song was sung. “Fights to win” had passed through the walls of Girton and into the community.

This group of parents and community members worked their usual jobs by day and met at night to rally support from federal, state and local governments for funding to repurchase the McKenzie Street site to ensure Girton would continue. Many of these founders later formed the original Board of the school.

With the purchase of the McKenzie Street site, Girton returned home. Back to where Girton began as a private school for girls generations before. Countless working bees were held with parent and community support to clean up the site, which had been left derelict for many years. The community worked tirelessly in readiness for the start of the new school year so that Girton students were able to continue their education without disruption. Local businesses offered assistance and goods in support. The fight had been won.

As you sing “fights to win” today, remember that you are a part of something great and that you are the legatees of a very powerful history and tradition. With the stamping of the feet, our voices will unite and pay tribute to the fight that was fought to save our school and maintain a very strong community tradition of a first-rate education in Bendigo. Be proud to be a member of a fine school that celebrates a long history and 30 years as Girton Grammar. Girton is not just a school to many of us, it is a home.