Somerset College
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| Somerset College | |
|---|---|
| Deo confidimus (In God we trust) |
|
| Established | 1983 |
| School type | Private/Independent |
| Denomination | Non-Denominational |
| Slogan | Deo Confidimus |
| Key People | Dr Barry J. Arnison |
| School Fees | $10,000+ (per annum, 1 child family) |
| Location | Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia |
| Enrollment | 1,160 |
| Employees | 200+ |
| Colours | Blue, Green and White |
| Homepage | www.somerset.qld.edu.au |
Somerset College is a non-denominational Christian school located in Mudgeeraba, Gold Coast, Australia.
Contents |
History
Somerset College, one of Australia's top academic schools, was opened on 27 January 1983 with 158 pupils, ranging from Years 1 to 8. The first headmaster was Rod Wells. The current headmaster is Dr Barry J. Arnison who was appointed in 1986. The current deputy head of the Senior School is Mrs Beverly Gallus, and the current head of the Junior School is Mrs Virginia Lamb. The first Year 12 students graduated in 1987. Somerset College is celebrating its 25th year in 2007.
School Structure
The school is divided into the Junior School (Preschool-Year 7) and the Senior School (Years 8-12). Both have their separate administration centres; however, Dr B J Arnison is headmaster of the entire school. The Junior School is further subdivided into Preschool, Lower Primary (Years 1-3), and Upper Primary (Years 4-7).
In Years 1 to 6, students in a class have the same teacher for all subjects except for Physical Education, Art, Music and Language classes, which are conducted by specialty teachers. Year 7 is seen as the transition year from Junior School to Senior School and, in preparation for the structure of Senior School, the students in this grade have each class with different teachers. They also have the Year 7 Dinner, similar to a ball, at the end of the year to celebrate their transition. In Senior School, the students then move around to different classrooms for their classes.
Students at Somerset College are separated into five competitive houses: Andrews (yellow), Franklin (purple), Laver (green), Starkey (red), and Veivers (blue). Each year, the school has three major inter-house sporting events: the Swimming Carnival, the Cross-Country Carnival and the Athletics Carnival. In addition, an inter-house chess competition is held annually. The different sections of the school conduct their own carnivals: one for Preschool and the Lower Primary, one for the Upper Primary, and one for the Senior School.
Within the school, the student body is led by a series of student leaders and school captains from year to year. Students may also be awarded with half colour, full colour or school honours for extra-curricular or non-academic based achievement. These awards are presented at various evenings, such as the school's annual Sports Awards Night or the annual Cultural Collages evening.
International Baccalaureate
Somerset College is the Gold Coast's only International Baccalaureate World School accredited to offer the IB Diploma Programme. It also offers the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) and the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP), for which it received accreditation in 2006.
Event Highlights
Celebration Of Literature
Each year in mid-March, Somerset College hosts their annual Celebration of Literature week. The festival, which lasts for 5 days, features notable authors and poets from around Australia. Past authors include: Paul Jennings, Geoffrey McSkimming, Kate Forsyth, Andy Griffiths, Andrew Daddo and Terry Denton. Other schools also partake in the festival by enrolling their students for sessions conducted by various authors.
Other Event Highlights
In June 2006, Somerset College hosted the Asia-Pacific International Baccalaureate conference. The conference had a number of keynote speakers, all of whom were accomplished professionals in their field within Australia and Asia. Some included: Associate Professor Evian Gordon (CEO of the Brain Imaging Reasearch Unit), Nick Earls, Peter Goldsworthy, Don Cameron (Neuroscientist at Flinders University) and many others.
Drama and Musicals
Somerset College has an extensive dramatic arts program. Each year the school begins with its House Plays evening. Following this, the school then begins preparations for the senior and junior school musicals. In Term 3, preparation is undertaken for the Senior, Intermediate and Junior entries in the Gold Coast Drama Festival. The Junior play is often directed by Year 11 pupils, the Intermediate play by Year 12 pupils and the Senior play by one of the senior school drama teachers. For many years, these performances have been rewarded with both acting and overall awards by the adjudicators of the festival.
Graduate Highlights
Somerset College also scores consistently high in the OP tertiary entrance rank system. In 2005, Somerset College received 10 OP 1s (the highest OP band available) -- in comparison, the Queensland state average was 2.7 OP 1s. Over the 1992-2005 period, Somerset College has averaged receiving 6.9 OP 1s each year.[1]
In 2005, 90% of OP-eligible students at Somerset College gained an OP between 1 and 15.[2]
Active Student Committees
Wordsmith Committee/Wordsmith Club, formerly Creative Writing Club
The Wordsmiths Committee's purpose as a committee is to assist with organization of Wordsmiths workshops and the Celebration of Literature. The main highlight of the Wordsmiths calendar is the annual Wordsmiths Retreat, where the group travels up to Mt Tambourine for a weekend of writing sessions with teachers from the English department, and performing of written pieces.
Technical Services Committee
This committee is responsible for the management of sound and lighting during all important events at Somerset College. The students in this committee regularly maintain the technical systems of the Performing Arts Centre.
Environmental Committee
For several years this committee has been monitoring Somersets environmental state, and has been helping Somerset and the surrounding creek area to sustain stability by planting trees and reducing litter and pollution. Within 2006, the committe were responsible for the 'Save the Koala' appeal as well as their annual Plant A Tree event.
House Committees
These committees represent each house and organise decorations and support for competitors in sporting events such as the inter-house swimming, x-country, and athletics carnivals. They also organise special events held by each house: the Andrews Air-Guitar competition, the Franklin House 'Purple Faces' competition, the Laver House Jeans for Genes day fundraiser, the Starkey Fashion Parade and the Veivers House Milkshake stalls.
International Committee
This committee is run by both International and Australian born students. It aims to develop an international awareness amongst the school community. The committee is also responsible for special occaisions such as Wish for Peace Day, Harmony Day, etc.
Inkspot Committee
Inkspot is Somerset College's newspaper. It is published once a term and written completely by those students involved with the committee.
Functions Committee
The Functions Committee consists of a group of students, who waiter in special annual events. Events include dinners such as 11/12 dinner, Cultural Collage, Sports Dinner, Valedictory Dinner and others.
Science Committee
This committee is run by students, a teacher, a committee leader and a secretary. The committee helps run science related events, such as science week. Along with this the committee continually assist the younger year levels of the school in science-related experiments from the field of chemistry right through to physics and geometry.
Sporting Traditions
Somerset College participates in the APS season in both summer and winter, allowing its students to experience a variety of sports. Certain teams are honoured above others, and playing as a member of these teams is considered a great honour and display of sporting ability. These teams include the Somerset 1st XVs (Rugby), Somerset 1st XIs (Soccer), Somerset Open B's (Volleyball), Somerset 1st XIs (Cricket).
References
- ^ Arnison, B J. 2005 Matriculation Results. Retrieved on 2006-11-24.
- ^ State Distribution of OPs and FPs (PDF). Queensland Studies Authority. Retrieved on 2006-11-24.
- Somerset College 2006 Yearbook
- Somersetonian 2005
