Christ Church Grammar School

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Christ Church Grammar School is an Anglican private school for boys located in Claremont, Western Australia. The school accepts boys from pre-primary to high school. Vocational education courses and nationally accredited structured workplace learning opportunities are provided for boys seeking Technical and Further Education (TAFE) entry or apprenticeships.

[edit] History

Christ Church Grammar School opened on 7 February 1910 as the Christ Church Preparatory School, on a site at the corner of Queenslea Drive and Stirling Highway in Claremont. There was one classroom and an initial enrolment of nine day boys. The founder, Canon W. J. McClemans, Rector of Christ Church, ran the School as well as carrying out his parish duties. Enrolments gradually increased and boarders were accepted. At first they lived in the Rectory, but later a Boarding House was built. In 1915 Canon McClemans resigned his headmastership to join the Royal Australian Air Force as a chaplain to serve in World War I. By this time the School had an enrolment of 120 boys of whom 35 were boarders.

[edit] The School Arms

The Arms of the School were adopted in their present form in 1923. Before this, the Arms were a slightly modified form of those used by the Diocese of Perth. Without using technical terms, the Arms are a shield in the School colours, navy blue and gold. The Crest above the Shield is a Mitre. This feature, retained from the original Arms, symbolises the connection between the School and the Perth Diocese. On the shield is the red cross of St George, the patron saint of the Diocese, and the black swan of Western Australia. Between the red cross and the navy blue shield is a silver ground; this is to conform with the heraldic requirement that a colour must be next to a metal and not to another colour. On the red cross are two small letters which look like a lower case i and a capital X. These are a device from the arms of the Cathedral Priory of Christ Church, Canterbury (more widely known as Canterbury Cathedral), the Metropolitan See of the Anglican Church. They represent, in Greek lettering, the name of Jesus Christ, and form one of the oldest Christian symbols. Under the shield is the Latin motto Deus Dux Doctrina Lux. The literal translation of this is 'God is our leader, learning is our light'.

[edit] Activities

Students engage in an inter-house competition, known as the Beatty Cup which involves competition in six areas: Water Sports (Swimming), The Arts (Debating, Public Speaking, Chess and Music), Cross-Country, Winter Sports (Australian Rules Football, Hockey, Rugby, Soccer), Athletics and Summer Sports (Basketball, Speedball, Badminton, Tennis, Volleyball). Houses are also involved in community projects, such as assisting Parkerville Children's Home, Guide Dogs for the Blind, and Anglicare.

An Arts Festival has student participation and involvement as its major objective. All Houses offer administrative roles as well as major leadership roles such as House Captain, Vice-Captain and Prefectships.

[edit] Cadet system

In year 9, all students select to do a certain activity on Friday afternoon. For year 10, the options are Army cadets, Surf Live Saving cadets, or Environment and Community Cadets [ENCOMM]. The Christ Church Cadets unit is the largest cadet unit in the state, having been awarded Best Cadet Unit 5 years running. In year 11, the selection expands. You can either continue doing you year 10 activity, or other options, such as photography, umpiring or music workshop.

[edit] Houses

Senior School There are 8 houses in the Christ Church Senior School. Originally there were 10 houses but the two boarding houses McClemans (Purple) and Walters (White) were removed in 2005, with boarders being integrated into the other 8 Dayboy houses:

• Craigie (Yellow)
• Hill (Orange)
• Jupp (Light Green)
• Moyes (Dark Green)
• Noake (Brown)
• Queenslea (Red)
• Romsey (Navy Blue)
• Wolsey (Sky Blue)

Preparatory School The Preparatory doesn't use the same 8 houses as the Senior School. Boys are however similarly split up into 4 houses:

• Stirling (Red)
• Dale (Yellow)
• Giles (Light Blue)
• Forest (Green)

[edit] Notable alumni

• John Annear - AFL Footballer. Inaugural Vice Captain of West Coast Eagles.
• Robin Bell - 2005 West Australian ANZ Sports Star of the Year (for Canoeing) alongside Ben Cousins.
• Jamie Brooksby - Winner of Big Brother 2006.
• Andrew Browne - AFL Footballer (Fremantle Dockers).
• Hal Gibson Pateshall Colebatch - Author of 'Caverns of Magic', 'Man-Kzin War X', 'The Wunder War', 'Man-Kzin Wars XI and 'Steadfast Knight'.
• Jaxon Crabb - Sandover Medalist 2005 and Captain of Claremont Tigers.
• Rod Eddington - former CEO of Cathay Pacific, Ansett Australia and British Airways.
• Bill Kirby - gold medallist and world record holder in the 4x200m freestyle relay at the 2000 Summer Olympics. He now teaches swimming at the Christ Church Grammar School.
• Chris Lewis - AFL Footballer (West Coast Eagles). Premiership Player '92 and '94 and member of Team 20.
• Stuart MacGill - Australian Cricketer.
• Wayne Martin - Chief Justice of Western Australia since 2006.
• Tim Minchin - comedian, actor, composer, songwriter, etc.
• Liam Beford - AFL Footballer (Geelong Cats).
• Eric MacKenzie - AFL Footballer (West Coast Eagles).
• Luke McPharlin - AFL Footballer (Fremantle Dockers).
• Jason Webb - Author of 'The Ghost of Che Guevara'.

[edit] External links and references

• Official website
• Have a virtual walk through the school