Headmaster's

Message

A Valuable Treasure

Different school communities grow different types of young people. The nature of the community, the culture, determines in large part, the type of people it produces. At Blue Mountains Grammar we are aspirational for the type of young people we are growing; people with hope in their hearts, purpose in their minds and courage in their lives. All that we do is designed so that our students develop high ideals, a strong sense of identity, tenacious grit and a suite of character traits and capabilities that will enable them to flourish in life.

Part of our aspiration is that our students will exhibit extraordinary growth in these areas. To do so, young people need a High Growth Culture at School and at home. Such a culture presents young people with substantial challenges along with high expectations of their effort, engagement, growth and achievement. Such a culture also provides them with appropriately high levels of support from every side of the cultural triangle.

The common ways communities deviate from such a culture, whether intentionally or not, are by reducing expectations or withdrawing support. If expectations are lowered and support maintained at high levels, a young person’s life is void of challenge. On the other hand, if expectations are kept high and not matched by appropriately high levels of support, young people can flounder. Both errors undermine the development of character and capability and so, at BMGS, it is crucial that those on every side of the cultural triangle seek to avoid making these mistakes.

The first side of the cultural triangle consists of School staff. The School’s educators are very intentional in creating the type of School culture that grows the character traits and learning dispositions itemised in our Ad Altiora Framework for Learning and Life. This involves designing challenging learning activities for our students to experience in classrooms, co-curricular programs and School camps. Our staff are then very careful not to remove or reduce the challenge as they provide support to our students. Their focus is on growing capacity and capability, rather than solely on the students’ achievement. The younger the student, the more the focus should be on the development of capability and the more peripheral achievement should be.

The second side of the cultural triangle consists of parents. We are very fortunate at Grammar, that our parents’ vision for their children is very similar to that of School staff. Building on our common vision, the real power comes when the efforts of parents and staff are underpinned by a High Growth Culture, constructed on a common philosophy. This makes it much more likely that the efforts of staff and parents will align and coordinate. To explore this very topic, our Ad Altiora Parent Workshops provide parents the opportunity to discuss with each other the ways they align their efforts with their vision and with the work of teachers and other BMGS staff. I find these times profoundly satisfying and continue to encourage all parents to attend.

The third side of the cultural triangle consists of each student’s peers and classmates and we know that we get the best outcomes when the efforts of students align with those of their parents and School staff. Again, we are very fortunate at BMGS that the vast majority of our students, in the vast majority of ways, embrace the culture articulated by their teachers and School leaders. This is not the case in every school. Here at Grammar, our students understand their role as co-creators of School culture, and take it seriously. 

Where this is not the case; where a young person’s aspirations are different from those of our community or where they are actively working against their parents, their teachers or the students around them; the adults in their lives must work with them to draw them in. Where a student lowers their expectations of their self or others, staff and parents must respond. Similarly, where they behave in ways that are unsupportive of those around them, staff and parents must respond. Like every other challenge in their lives, we must do all we can to support them.   The adults in our community are not the only ones who should respond when our culture is under threat. Students are the co-creators and shared-custodians of our School’s culture and they must do everything they can to promote it, propagate it and protect it. They can promote it by speaking positively to their peers about the benefits of our School’s culture. They can propagate it by supporting their peers and classmates in every possible way. They can protect it by discouraging countercultural behaviour from other students and seeking help from adults if necessary. 

This School’s culture is the only thing that sets us apart from every other school. Our culture is what makes Blue Mountains Grammar School unique. Our culture is the most beautiful facet of the jewel that is our School. It is the responsibility of every one of us to promote, propagate and protect our culture. Of course, to do so requires reflection, courage and perseverance; the three character traits that emerge from and sustain a life of integrity. So, let’s treasure our School culture.

Mr Ian Maynard

Headmaster