Knox Grammar School


Knox Grammar School is an independent Uniting Church day and boarding school for boys, located in Wahroonga, an Upper North Shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1924 by the Presbyterian Church of Australia as an all-boys school named after John Knox. The school has since grown, branching out into a large Senior School and a Preparatory School, enrolling approximately 2900 students. The school also caters for approximately 210 boarding students from Years 7 to 12.
Knox is affiliated with the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia, the Junior School Heads Association of Australia, the Australian Boarding Schools' Association, and is a founding member of the Combined Associated Schools.

History

Knox Grammar School was established on Sydney's North Shore in 1924, by the Presbyterian Church. The school was named after John Knox, the 16th century Scottish reformer, who planned a network of schools in every church parish.
Knox opened as a Presbyterian Boys' School after founding members John Gilmore, William McIlrath, Robert Gillespie and Andrew Reid purchased the original property, 'Earlston', as the first school building. Now the Gillespie Heritage House, 'Earlston' was previously owned by Sir Charles Mackellar, was designed by architects Spain & Cosh, and built in 1908 for W. Moses Esq., Warrawee.
The school was officially opened by the Hon. Sir George Fuller KCMG, Premier of New South Wales, on 5 February 1924. Under the founding headmaster Neil MacNeil, a Rhodes Scholar, Knox grew rapidly and survived the Great Depression. From 1924 to 1939 when Neil Mcneil's time as headmaster ended the schools enrolment had risen from 28 to 300 students.

Headmasters

The first Headmaster of Knox was Neil McNeil, a Rhodes scholar from Victoria. During his time as Headmaster, Knox grew rapidly in academic achievement and educational possibility with the rapid expansion of the campus, greatly enhancing capacity and facilities available at Knox. McNeil guided Knox through the Great Depression which started during the initial founding years of the school. When the school opened, only 28 students attended Knox, by the end of Neil McNeil's time as Headmaster in 1939, the amount of students had risen to over 300.
In 1939, William Bryden FRSE took over the role of headmaster. As World War II broke out, around 370 Old Knox Grammarians served in the armed forces. 53 of them lost their lives and are now commemorated in the John Williams Memorial Hall, the School Chapel, the Old Students' War Memorial, and the original Science Building. The school's Pipe Band was established during Bryden's period as headmaster.
John Mill Couper, a Scot, became headmaster in 1953. Couper focused on broadening the School's education, with attention to music and art, however, problems culminated in Couper's departure from a divided Knox in 1955.
Dr John Couper succeed William Bryden becoming the third Headmaster of Knox. During this era of Knox, Dr. Couper greatly built on the school's concept of education. paying major attention to the performing arts and creative arts of the school. During his time as headmaster, Dr. Couper was able to develop the house system into what it is seen as today.
T. Ross McKenzie, former head of Brisbane Boys' College, replaced Couper.
Dr. Ian Paterson was the 5th Headmaster of Knox Grammar School and has been the longest serving headmaster to date during one of the most transformative eras of Knox history. Dr. Paterson played a major role in the modernisation and development of the school coming into the 1970s and 1980s. During his time as Headmaster he made many change to the school including a transformative building program which led to the construction many buildings such as the Reid Industrial Arts Building, the Lawson Sports Centre, and the Music Centre. This greatly changed the school building it into what it is today.
As well as construction and creation, Dr. Paterson also focused on the improvement and change of the existing educational structure of the school. Paterson played a major role in greatly improving the Creative Arts and Performing Arts areas of the school with the introduction of specialist teachers to improve and accuracy and quality of learning that students received. He also played a major role in starting many outdoor education programs.
During this period three teachers sexually abused students; these teachers were later convicted and it has been alleged that other teachers abused students. In 2015 Paterson told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that he had failed to protect students from abuse.
In 2018, Scott James, who was formerly the deputy headmaster became Knox's eighth headmaster, succeeding John Weeks.

Headmasters

Motto

Knox's school motto is a Latin phrase, Virile Agitur, which has been translated variously as being "Do the Manly Thing", "The manly thing is being done".

Campus

There are several locations throughout Sydney being part of Knox Grammar School, with the main two campus located in the suburb Wahroonga. The two main campuses are the Knox Grammar Senior School, located on the railway side of the Pacific Highway, and the Knox Grammar Preparatory School, located on Billyard Avenue. The smallest campus is Wahroonga Preparatory School, a small co-educational school located next to Wahroonga Park.

Facilities

Knox's senior campus includes the Great Hall and Aquatic Centre, sports facility, gymnasium, squash and weights rooms, music and drama centres, two boarding houses and the new performing arts academy. Knox owns several major sporting fields including one on campus at the Senior School, two on campus at the Prep School, and two off campus in Warrawee and neighbouring North Turramurra.
Since 2006 the school has been actively involved in the Future Problem Solving Program.

Building projects

Knox has in recent years completed new buildings at both the Senior and Prep Schools. The Senior School's KG1 Building opened in 2007. The KG1 Project The Prep School's K-2 Centre, opened in 2004, provided new classroom, library, art and music facilities for Years K-2 students.
The new Boarding Centre was finished in September 2010. The Great Hall and Aquatic Centre project, was finished in August 2011 and won design awards in 2012.
Construction for the new Knox Senior Student Academy began in 2014, with construction continuing to August 2015 and the academy being officially opened in October 2015. The building houses the lockers of Year 11 and Year 12 students, as well as featuring a cafe, classrooms for Science as well as Finance and Legal classrooms, a Senior Library and a Lecture theatre.
In 2016, Headmaster John Weeks announced that Knox Grammar School would commence construction of a new Performing Arts Centre and Junior Secondary Academy in February 2017, known as the Junior Performing Arts Centre. It was completed in early 2019.
The Senior School's construction for a new locker area for Years 7–10 as well as a basketball court, which is in the process of refurbishing the KG1 Building for the new Middle Academy, was completed in early 2020.

House system

Boarding

Knox Grammar School provides boarding facilities for approximately 200 boarders. Boarding facilities have been available since the School's opening, in 1924
  • Gillespie – the original school house and is named for Robert Gillespie, a founder and benefactor of the School, and chairman of the School Council. It was later converted into a Boarding House, now known as "Gillespie Heritage House".
  • Boarding Centre – opened in September 2010.

    Other Houses

  • MacNeil – originally MacNeil House was an expansion to Gillespie House, completed to add room to the new school. It is named for Neil MacNeil, the first headmaster of the School.
  • Adamson – John Adamson – a long-serving chairman of the School Council.
  • Angus – Rev Samuel Angus – a Professor of Theology at Sydney University and former member of the School Council.
  • Bryden – Dr William Bryden – the second headmaster of the School. Also known as the cultural house. House mascot is the 'Bryden Squid'.
  • McIlrath – William McIlrath – a founder and benefactor of the School and a long-serving council member. His widow contributed 50,000 pounds for the construction of the School chapel in 1960, which contains a Baroque organ by Ronald Sharp.
  • McKenzie. Dr Ross McKenzie – fourth headmaster of the School.
  • Montgomery – Ross Montgomery – a School Council member and benefactor of the School. His major gifts included the Montgomery Building and Gilmore House.
  • Murdoch – AM Murdoch – a long-serving School Council member and chairman
  • Reid – Andrew Reid – a founder and benefactor of the School. A business leader, sole proprietor of James Hardie in 1912, he made many financial contributions to the School; he also built the Margaret Reid Home for Crippled Children in St. Ives, in memory of his late wife.
  • Sinclair – George Sinclair – a school council member and chairman.
  • Turnbull – Alex Turnbull – a founding member of the School Council, serving 1923 to 1947, and an elder at St Margaret's Church in nearby Turramurra.

    Co-curriculum

Army Cadet Unit

The Knox Ravenswood Army Cadet Unit comprises up to 2000+ members, ranging from recruits to Cadet Under Officers. The KRACU is an army cadet unit within the 26th Battalion of the NSW 2nd AAC BDE. Participation is compulsory from the start of Term 4 Year 8, through to the end of Term 3 Year 9 for attendees of Knox Grammar School, and offers voluntary participation for attendees at the Ravenswood School for Girls from Term 4 Year 8. After the completion of basic recruit training in their first year, cadets may decide to either discharge from the Unit, or attend a Promotion Course to attempt to attain a higher rank and/or continue into a Senior or Recruit company.
The Unit participates in combined Annual Field Exercise at the end of Term 1, and holds its own Junior, Senior, and CUOs Promotions Courses during August each year. Additionally, the KRCU holds ceremonial parades for the Old Knox Grammarians Association, an ANZAC Day Parade to commemorate ANZAC Day, and a Passing-Out Parade at the end of the cadet year to farewell the Year 12 members at the conclusion of their service to the Unit.
The KRACU was formerly called the Knox Grammar School Army Cadet Unit, but was renamed to its current name in 2024 to "acknowledge and formalise the deep and lasting partnership between Knox and Ravenswood School for Girls".