The Sydney Church of England Grammar School (commonly known as Shore or Shore School) is an independentAnglican school for boys located on Sydney'sLower North Shore, New South Wales, Australia. The school operates across two campuses, offering an early learning centre (ELC), primary and secondary education. The North Sydney campus has four boarding houses for Year 7-12 students, offering weekday and full-time boarding.
Established in 1889 by the Church of England,[1] Shore has a non-selective enrolment policy and serves approximately 1,800 students from ELC to Year 12, including 200 boarders from Year 7 onwards.[6] A separate campus in Northbridge provides co-educational classes from preschool to Year 2.[2]
The Sydney Church of England Grammar School was founded on 4 May 1889, and was the initiative of Bishop Alfred Barry of the Sydney Diocese of the Church of England, after the closing of the St James School in 1886.[11] The site of the school was chosen by the first Headmaster to be the Victorian mansion of the famed goldprospectorBernhardt Holtermann, a Germanmigrant who discovered the Holtermann Nugget in the Australian gold fields. He used his newfound wealth to build a magnificent home in North Sydney, which is now a boarding house of Shore. His sons were among the first students enrolled at Shore.
The St. James' School Compensation Trust Act (1886) provided for the foundation of:[12]
A school of the highest type, including departments of education for all classes of the community, in which the teaching shall be throughout in accordance with the principles of the Church of England, and which shall be placed under the direction of a governing body of clergy and laity to be elected by the Synod, the Bishop of the Diocese being the ex-officio president.
The school’s colours and diagonal stripes are drawn from Christ’s College, Cambridge, where the founding Headmaster studied. The school crest features symbols representing its values and affiliations: the Bible and the Southern Cross appear on the top row, alongside a shell, symbolising a connection to St. James' School, and a torch. The school motto is displayed beneath these elements. Moreover, the boater, a piece of uniform which has become closely associated with the school, was first encouraged to be worn in 1912, before becoming compulsory in 1924.[13]
The school has two official names: the Sydney Church of England Grammar School and the Shore School, although it is more commonly known as the latter. The name 'Shore' was formally adopted in the early 1990s to distinguish it from other institutions. This change was partially driven by the difficulty of chanting 'Grammar' at sports events, as Sydney Grammar School students were already using the term, and to avoid confusion with SCEGGS (Sydney Church of England Girls' Grammar School), Shore's sister school. The name 'Shore' also reflects the school’s location in Sydney’s North Shore region.
Campuses
The Sydney Church of England Grammar School is situated on two campuses:
North Sydney (including land formerly belonging to Graythwaite) (8ha)
Northbridge (9ha) – ELC to Year 2 and sports grounds
North Sydney
In the senior school, in addition to the administrative centres and classroom blocks there are:
War Memorial Chapel (1915)
The War Memorial Hall (1953)
Ken and Joan Smith Auditorium (1994)
BH Travers Centre, including the Boer War Memorial Library and Basketball Courts (2000)
The Benefactors Building, including the Bob Gowing Museum incorporating the school archives, mainly of the accomplishments of previous headmasters to school academic and extra-curricular achievement.
The Centenary Building, including the art department
Sporting facilities, including one oval, cricket nets and tennis courts. In 2016, the school announced plans for an updated gym, squash courts, basketball court, an indoor/outdoor 50 metre pool and new classrooms as a part of the Shore Physical Education Centre.[14] Construction began early 2018 and has been completed.
The Preparatory School, originally constructed in 1926, was completely renovated in March 2006.
Northbridge
An Early Learning Centre (ELC) for boys and girls in the two years prior to starting Kindergarten, as well as a Kindergarten to Year 2 learning facility for boys and girls, was opened at the Northbridge campus in 2003. With Long Day Care facilities, the ELC is open 48 weeks per year.
The school's main sports facility is also at Northbridge, on land bought in 1916. The school was given a choice of either buying the neighbouring Graythwaite property (the former home of Thomas Allwright Dibbs), or the land at Northbridge. The school chose the land at Northbridge as playing fields, of which the school was in desperate need. This campus now features six full-sized ovals, tennis courts, pavilions and dressing rooms. The grounds were opened in 1919 as a memorial to the 880 old boys who served, and the 122 who died in the Great War.
The grandstand and associated facilities were redeveloped in 2008 (officially opened on 11 November 2008) at a cost of $9 million .
Houses
Name
Colour 1
Colour 2
Year founded
Type
Anderson
Cy
Ye
2002
Day
Barry
Bl
Re
1939
Boarding
Burrell
Bk
Cy
2002
Day
Burns
Bl
Ye
2002
Day
Colebrook
Gn
Re
2002
Day
Dixon
Ye
Gn
2002
Day
Eldershaw
Ye
Bl
2002
Day
Emery
Re
Ye
2002
Day
Gilmour
Bk
Bl
2002
Day
Gillespie
Wh
Bl
2002
Day
Hodges
Bk
Ye
1939
Boarding
Mathers
Bl
Wh
2002
Day
Pascoe
Bl
Gn
2002
Day
Robson
Gn
Wh
1926
Boarding
Sawkins
Re
Wh
2002
Day
School
Cy
Re
1889
Boarding
Tiley
Re
Wh
2002
Day
Whight
Wh
Ye
2002
Day
Curriculum
Subjects
Shore offers a wide variety of subjects. Traditionally the school is most successful in Business Studies and Economics, producing 6 state rankings in the past 4 years including first in Business Studies in 2020. Shore has also produced strong performances in Mathematics - producing eighth in 2021, fifth in 2018 and third in 2017 in the Extension 1 course, and second and sixth in 2022 and first in 2017 in the Extension 2 course, in addition to Latin, where the school has produced 6 state rankings since 2016.[15]
Until the arrival of Headmaster R.A.I. Grant (1984–2002), the choice of sports available to students was very limited. For example, during the winter months, there was only rugby union unless a medical exemption was available. That changed after 1984, with sports such as tennis and soccer being made available to all students.
The school's boatshed and pontoon for its rowing club is at Gladesville on the north shore of Sydney's Parramatta River. Shore was the third Sydney school to take to the water (after Grammar and Riverview) and has been rowing in the GPS competition since the late 1890s, to great result.
Performing arts
Shore has a comprehensive performing arts program, including Music Ensembles and Drama productions. Music ensembles include two concert bands, two stage bands, an orchestra, three string groups and the Shore Chapel Choir, as well as a number of other smaller ensembles. The Shore Performing Arts Centre features a proscenium arch theatre with 500 seats as well as a hydroluic[clarification needed] orchestra pit, counterweight fly system and a state of the art[citation needed] lighting and audio control booth, and a multi-configurable black box theatre with seating arrangements ranging from 25 to 150 seats. The centre also boasts[citation needed] a wide range of orchestral rooms for both performance and rehearsals.
Recent musical productions include Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Oliver!,West Side Story, Anything Goes, A Peculiar People (World Premier), Les Misérables, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Recent dramatic productions include Our Town, Lord of the Flies and The Cherry Orchard.
Publications
The school has a weekly publication, The Shore Weekly Record, which, along with informing boys and parents of upcoming happenings and sporting fixtures and results, gives certain boys the opportunity to express their writing and artistic talents in their own section, usually the inner part of the publication. Over the years this variously-named "inside section" has fostered the satirical talents of Chris Taylor from The Chaser, and provided a unique[citation needed] perspective on the school and the wider world.
Other publications are the Shore Reports (quarterly) and the Torch Bearer (yearly).
Dr John Collier, the current headmaster, was appointed in 2022 and will retire at the end of 2025 after a distinguished career in education spanning five decades.
Dr Peter Miller, who taught at Shore from 1989-2001, will become the 10th headmaster starting from 2026.[16]
There are four deputy heads in the senior school; Mr Andrew Holland (Academic), Dr Andrew Mansfield (Operations), Mr Derek Champion (Pastoral Care) and Dr Luke Gilmour (Co-Curricular). The Head of the Preparatory School is Ms Natasha Mitchell.[17]
In 2001, the school was ranked seventh in the Who's Who of boys' school rankings in Australia, and second in New South Wales based on the number of alumni mentioned in Who's Who in Australia.[44]
Controversies
Fights
Two students at Shore were suspended in May 2023, after a video surfaced displaying a student throwing a table to physically attack a classmate. In a letter sent to parents, the headmaster John Collier stated that the school had taken "decisive action" after the incident took place, and that the police would work with the school to "educate students" about the inappropriateness of violent behaviour. It also stated that it was “utterly unacceptable and goes against the core values" instilled in students”. The fight wasn't a spontaneous act of aggression, but rather a "carefully orchestrated event" staged for voyeuristic purposes.[45]
TikTok Videos
In September 2020, students filmed a TikTok video showing off the campus’ luxury facilities, including a “recovery pool”, a “harbour view library” and a “$50 mill gym". After going viral, the school demanded that it was deleted.[46]
The same month, a TikToker who goes by the name of "Fonzie Gomez" interviewed students from Shore. The boys were asked to name the worst suburbs in Sydney, which arose controversy over the mocking of some of the poorest suburbs in Sydney. One responded "Blacktown", and another student added "Yeah, druggos". One claimed there were "Too many eshays" in the suburb. Another student stated that the worst suburb was "Mosman" because of the "Rich Kids" living there. The school didn't respond for comment, and the video was deleted.[47]
↑ "International Members". HMC Schools. The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. Archived from the original on 15 March 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
↑ "AAGPS History". Info. Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales. 2007. Archived from the original on 1 May 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2007.
↑ Rutledge, Martha, "Kater, Sir Norman William (1874–1965)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 23 June 2022
↑ Walsh, G. P., "Ashton, James Hay (Jim) (1899–1973)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 23 June 2022
↑ Bryden, William, "Flynn, Errol Leslie (1909–1959)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 23 June 2022
↑ Haskell, Dennis, "Slessor, Kenneth Adolf (1901–1971)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 23 June 2022
↑ Starck, Nigel, "Braddon, Russell Reading (1921–1995)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 23 June 2022
↑ Moolenschot, Catherine (2019). Jim's book: the surprising story of Jim Penman, Australia's backyard millionaire. Queensland: Milton, QLD: John Wiley and Sons Australia, Ltd, 2019. pp.6–9. ISBN9780730368151.
↑ Weeks, Phillipa, "Owen, Sir William Francis (1899–1972)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 18 October 2022
↑ Fricke, Graham; Sheller, Simon, "Williams, Sir Dudley (1889–1963)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 18 October 2022
↑ Greenwood, John, "Mansfield, Sir Alan James (1902–1980)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 18 October 2022
↑ Edwards, John, "Phillips, Sir John Grant (Jock) (1911–1986)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 18 October 2022
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