From the Principal 

Triple Crown for College in more ways than one!

It has been a good week for the College on three counts.  First, we were notified last Friday that College was shortlisted as Boarding School of the Year.  The Australian Education Awards, now in their fourth year, recognise and celebrate the outstanding achievements of the country’s top performing schools.  We are one of eight finalists and this is an enormous honour for the school, reflecting most favorably on our recent boarding initiatives. I congratulate our Director of Boarding, Mr Andrew Monk and his dedicated team on accomplishing such a feat.   

Second, is the equally exciting news, that we are one of seven finalists for the Best Remote Learning Program.  As one Board member commented to me, it suggests ‘we had the intelligence, experience, training and resources to implement a radical new learning system at short notice and make it work.’ I compliment Deputy Principal, Teaching and Learning, Mrs Susan Bradbeer, Miss Kristen Waldron, Deputy Principal Wellbeing and Head of Junior School, Mr Stephen Nelson, the Teaching and Learning Executive and all the teachers involved. Final awards will be announced in late September and I am just delighted that the College’s practices have been acknowledged on the national stage, not once but twice. To read  more about these coveted awards, please click here Revealed: Australian Education Awards 2021 Excellence Awardees | The Educator K/12 (theeducatoronline.com)

To perfectly finish the trifecta; our College Cross Country Team, led by Grace Austin, won the Glenelg District Cross Country Championship during the week.  In wet and miserable conditions, we produced some outstanding results that ensured our second Triple Crown (i.e. winning the GD swimming, athletics and cross country). It is a rare feat for any school to achieve this milestone since the inception of the competition in the 1950s and one that requires enormous cohesion and a huge team effort. I congratulate Director of Sport, Mr Leigh Alexander, all our coaches and the magnificent College athletes involved in all three championships.   Citius, Altius, Fortius!

Dr Andrew Hirst