Canberra Grammar School


Canberra Grammar School is a co-educational, independent, day and boarding school located in Red Hill, a suburb of Canberra, the capital of Australia.
The school is affiliated with the Anglican Church of Australia and provides an education from preschool to Year 12 for boys and girls. In October 2015, the school announced that it would extend co-education to all years, commencing in 2016 with an intake of girls in Years 3 and 4. By 2018, the school became fully co-educational.
The school was founded in 1929 when the existing Monaro Grammar School was relocated from Cooma to Canberra. The foundation stone was laid on 4 December 1928 by Prime Minister Stanley Bruce. Initially, it was attended by only 63 students, but the school has grown considerably since the early 1950s to a total attendance of 1,749 students as of June 2015.
The school has educated one Australian prime minister, Gough Whitlam, and has a long list of notable alumni.
The school consists of 5 main campuses: Red Hill Southside, Red Hill Primary, Red Hill Senior, the Early Learning Center and Northside Campbell.
WWW cgs.act.edu.au

Curriculum

In the primary school, the Australian Curriculum and Early Years Learning Framework requirements are incorporated through International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme.
In the senior school, from years 7 to 10, the school follows the Australia Curriculum and the ACT Every chance to learn curriculum framework. Unlike other schools in the Australian Capital Territory, Canberra Grammar School does not follow the ACT Year 12 Curriculum. Instead, it is the only school in the ACT where students in years 11 and 12 have the option to study either the New South Wales Higher School Certificate (HSC) or the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. In 2012, Canberra Grammar became an International Baccalaureate World School.

Co-curricular

Canberra Grammar School is a member of the Associated Southern Colleges. The school offers many activities outside school hours. These include sport, music and other activities.
Many of the Senior School ensembles have done numerous tours overseas over the years.
The school also holds a major musical every two years. Previous productions have included:
Grease, Chess, The Pirates of Penzance Barnum and Guys and Dolls.

Houses

List of houses

As with most Australian schools, Canberra Grammar utilises a house system. The Senior School consists of ten houses:
HouseColourMascot
Burgmann Lion rampant
BlaxlandSwan
Garran Bull
GarnseyDove with olive branch
Eddison Eagle
Hay Murray cod
JonesDragon
Sheaffe Pegasus
EdwardsKookaburra
MiddletonStag

The school also has three Year 7 houses:
HouseMascot
ClementsAgnus Dei
BurgessKangaroo
SnowHorse

The Junior School has six houses introduced in 2022. These houses were named after local flora and fauna using the traditional Indigenous language of the Ngunnawal people:
HouseColourFlora / Fauna
DhiriwiriIronbark
BuruKangaroo
GuginyalKookaburra
NamarangWattle
MulleunWedge-tailed Eagle
BarinyStringybark

The Junior School's original four houses, in place till 2021:
HouseColourMascot
EdwardsGreenDragon
RadfordRedLion
GarnseyBlueEagle
CJ ShakespeareGoldTiger

Most of these houses are in the upper years.

Notable alumni

;Academia
;Business
  • Kerry Packer, publishing, media and gaming tycoon
  • Rowan Dean, advertising executive
  • Terry Snow, Executive Director of the Canberra Airport Group, Australian businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist
;Media, entertainment and the arts
;Politics, public service and the law
;Sport
;Other