St Andrew's Cathedral School

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St Andrew's Cathedral School
Motto	Via Crucis Via Lucis 'The Way of the Cross is the Way of Light'
Established	14 July 1885
Type	Independent all-male (K-9); co-educational (10-12)
Chairman	Rev Stuart P Robinson
Headmaster	Phillip Heath, BA (Hons), MA (Hons), DipEd, MACE, MACEA
Founder	Dr. Alfred Barry, Third Bishop of Sydney
Chaplain	Rev Tim Bowden
Students	1111 (projected, 2007, "Head of School Report 2006")
Grades	K–12
Location	Sydney, NSW Australia
Campus	15 acres + Grounds used at Sydney University
Colours	Blue and white
School Hymn	Hymn attributed to Headmaster M.K. Jones, with the centenary tune "Barry" composed by Michael Deasey in 1985.
Website	www.sacs.nsw.edu.au

St Andrew's Cathedral School is an Anglican day school (Years K-12) in the heart of the city of Sydney, Australia, with a co-educational Senior College (years 10-12). Recent developments though in the schools economic/strategic policy have revealed a plan to introduce full co-educational years from seven through to the last year of school in the near future, but at this present time there are only 6 girls currently enrolled in Middle School (by requests made privately to the school) . The school uniform is well known by people who reside or work in the Sydney CBD due to its notable inclusion of high-heels for female students - the only such school to allow this in the Sydney metropolitan area. It is a member of the Independent Schools Association (ISA).

Because the School was founded from the Cathedral traditions, St Andrew's is legally supervised by the Cathedral Chapter which appoints and approves members of the School Council which was formed in 1979. The Council is responsible for administering the School's policies and formulating its mission and vision as well as appointing successive Heads of School.

St Andrew's Cathedral School is a member of the international Choir Schools' Association.

Former pupils include aviator Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith; prominent musicians John Henry Antill, Former Wallabies coach Rod Macqueen, Barry Tuckwell, Nicole Vasilakis and Alexander Gavrilyuk; world-renowned pianist Simon Tedeschi; television celebrity Tim Harding; Liberal politician Dean Gillespie and academic Richard Grover.

Contents 1 History 2 Cathedral Choir 3 New entrance 4 School Musicals 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] History

St Andrew's Cathedral School was founded by the eighth Bishop of Sydney, Dr Alfred Barry. The School was opened on 14 July 1885 in the St Andrew's Schoolroom in Pitt Street, Sydney.

At the School opening, Bishop Barry stated that St Andrew's was established to provide 'the choristers with a high-class, free education on Church principles, in addition to a musical training'.

In 1997 the School Council decided that St Andrew's students would be better prepared for post-school work, study and lifestyle choices if the School became co-educational in Years 10, 11 and 12. Accordingly in Term 1, 1999 the first 76 girls commenced in the Senior College. St Andrew's had become the only co-educational school in the City.

In 1999 the School's Student Business Club formed a working partnership with the Sydney 2000 Paralympics Organising Committee (SPOC) to raise awareness of the Games. In addition the students conducted a range of events over a two year period that ultimately raised $130,000 to help stage the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games.

The School has a vibrant music program with a large number of students involved in musical ensembles and curriculum music classes. In 2001 there was an orchestral and choral tour to Italy and England, in 2002 a music tour to England and Ireland and in 2004 a music tour to the United States of America.

The Reverend Canon Melville Cooper Newth OBE, the 11th and longest-serving Headmaster of St Andrew’s Cathedral School, died peacefully on 21 October 2004. He was aged 90. Canon Newth served the School as Headmaster for 38 years.

2005 marks the School 120th years of education in the city. At the same time, Mr. Phillip Heath celebrate his 10th Anniversary year as the Head of School. Mr Heath started at St Andrew's Cathedral School on May 8, 1995.

2005 also saw the School Council confirm the decision to vacate the Leadership and Enterprise Centre at 495 Kent Street (fondly known as "495").

2006 was the centenary year of the Old Andreans' Association (OAA) which is the alumni organisation of St Andrew's Cathedral School. The OAA was orginially the Old Boys' Union, with the name being changed with the entry of girls to the Senior College. The OAA was established by the School's third Headmaster, the Reverend Percy Simpson in 1906. The first president of the then Union was the Hon Mr Justice Webb, a judge of the Industrial Relations Commission of NSW. He held office for over 40 years. In the last five years, the OAA has become an incorporated entity, and has improved its governance arrangements greatly. It continues to provide a means of maintaining contacts between Old Andreans and their school. Some other distinguished members of the OAA include Mr Ken Tribe AC, Lt-Gen John Grey AC as well as Simon Tedeschi, Sir Charles Kingsford-Smith, composer John Antill and Paralympic swimmer Matt Levy.

On 13 March 2006, Her Majesty The Queen, His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh and the Earl of Wessex, with representatives of Commonwealth nations, and Australian community leaders were present at the Commonwealth Day Observance in St Andrew’s Cathedral. The invitation came from the Prime Minister and Mrs Howard, and the Dean and Chapter of St Andrew’s Cathedral, Sydney.

The Choristers from St Andrew’s Cathedral School sang at the service, which was led by the Dean of Sydney, the Very Rev. Phillip Jensen, who designed and wrote the service, including special prayers. The Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Rev. Dr Peter Jensen preached the sermon. The Prime Minister and the Premier of NSW read the Bible passages. The music at the service was under the direction of Ross Cobb, the School’s Master of Choristers.

The School was also privileged to be asked to carry flags of the 53 Commonwealth countries into the Cathedral before the service began. These students were chosen from the 250 people in the Senior College who volunteered for the task. In addition, the School Captains enjoyed the special treat of attending the refreshments at Admiralty House representing the School.

St Andrew's has for the last few years had considerable success in the Mock Trial Competition, organised and operated by the Law Society of New South Wales, participated in by both public and non-government schools throughout NSW. In 2004, the team came Runners-Up to Mereweather High School, and in 2005 the school team comprised of Year 11 students went on to become winners of the competition. In 2006, an elite selection of that team took part in an International Mock Trial, and once again was victorious.

On September 22, 2006, the school celebrated the opening of its new front entrance by Archbishop Sir Marcus Loane. The school's address changed from 474 Kent Street, Sydney 2000 to Sydney Square, Sydney 2000. This event was attended by the Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, as well as many parents and friends of students.

Later that night, the school had their first middle school (Years 7-9) social. The night was a big success for everyone. The school invited various female schools from around Sydney including Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College and Pymble Ladies College

St Andrew's Cathedral School contains eight houses, each named after an English cathedral or abbey with a choir school. The houses are Canterbury, Durham, Hereford, St Paul's, Salisbury, Westminster, Winchester and York.

2007 The school's plans to build a school for Indigenous students, named "Gawura", meaning "Whale" has been well underway despite many rejections from buildings which were mostly because of racial disagreements. However, it has been announced that the school will build its Gawura campus in an area within their Kent Street building (otherwise known as St Andrew's House).

[edit] Cathedral Choir

The Cathedral Choir can trace its origins to the consecration of St. Andrew's Cathedral in 2006 and this establishes this group as one of the oldest continuously active choirs in Australia. The choir comprises choristers and choral scholars from St Andrew's Cathedral School as well as a group of men, known as lay clerks who sing the lower parts.

Through overseas tours and recordings St Andrew's Cathedral Choir has won an international reputation and has accepted invitations to deputise for the resident choirs in such places as St Paul's Cathedral, London, York Minster and many other important centres of Anglican worship. In 2002 the choristers appeared before HM the Queen at a Golden Jubilee concert in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle and also made a significant contribution to the ANZAC day service in Westminster Abbey.

A number of choristers participated in the 2004 music tour to the USA although this tour differed from previous UK music tours because of the liturgy expectation in cathedrals visited by the School. In addition a number of cathedrals, including the Washington National Cathedral, offered mixed gender chorales so numerous female singers from St Andrew's also contributed to uplifting church choral music at these locations.

In 2005, St Andrew's Cathedral Choir has been invited to deputise for the choirs of Westminster Abbey and Canterbury Cathedral, sing at All Souls' Langham Place and also in Holy Trinity Pro Cathedral in Brussels from 27 March 2005 to 16 April 2005.

The choir has made several recordings and the latest CDs are 'Fairest Lord Jesus' and Choral Evensong. The latter was produced from a service broadcast throughout Britain on BBC Radio 3 at the time of the Sydney Olympics.

During the school terms the choir sings at the morning Sunday service at 10.30am and at Evensong on Thursdays at 5.30pm. The choristers also sing a service of Morning Prayer (Matins) each Wednesday at 8.00am, sometimes augmented to full choir status by the inclusion of the lower parts.

The Girls' Vocal Ensemble sings Matins on Tuesday mornings.

Michael Deasey, the Master of Choristers was appointed to this post in 1981 following extensive experience in Canada. He has given organ recitals and conducted choirs in many countries throughout the world and has been a featured organ recitalist at Westminster Abbey. Deasey resigned his position as Master of Choristers in mid 2005, and Ross Cobb was appointed as his successor. During the transitional period part-time directors included Samuel Blanch, Greg Platt, and Huw Belling.

[edit] New entrance

On 22 September 2006 a new entrance to the school was opened. The entrance was opened by former Archbishop of Sydney, the Most Reverend Sir Marcus Loane, KBE. The entrance is directly opposite the west door to St Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney Square. This entrance is spacious and has a contemporary design.

[edit] School Musicals

The school put on its first major musical production with West Side Story in 2003, which was performed in Sydney's Footbridge Theatre. The musical was directed by the Head of School, Phillip Heath, with the school's Head of the Music Department Chris Belshaw acting as musical director. It was performed over three days, with three evening performances and one matinée performance. The show was a roaring success in the school community, as well as outside.

This was followed up in 2005 with Godspell, performed in St. Andrew's Cathedral. The building was judged to be ideal for the material, although several technical difficulties had to be overcome, and viewing angles were limited. Again, Phillip Heath served as director, and ex-music teacher Robyn Carter served as musical director.

Making musicals an annual tradition was the school's 2006 performance of Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance. Performed at the Seymour Centre in its Everest Theatre, Pirates attracted an average of 500 people to each of its four performances, and was a great critical success, regarded by many to be funnier than Opera Australia's performance of the same show later in the year. Phillip Heath once more served as director, with music teacher Samuel Blanch the musical director.

The school's most audacious attempt yet has been its 2007 production of Les Misérables. Unable to perform it in a professional theatre due to performance rights issues, the school elected to perform it in the Chapter House adjoining St. Andrew's Cathedral. Due to its limited capacity of only 250-odd seats, the school elected to double the number of performances - eight over two weeks (Thurdsay, Friday and Saturday evenings and Saturday Matinées). The hard work of Director Phillip Heath, Assistant Director Amy Perry, Musical Director Ralph Wilcock, Assistant Musical Director Huw Belling, Producers Jillian Workman and Vicki Fraser as well as a stellar all-student cast and a student and parent-led crew paid off: all were sell-out performances. Universally praised was the quality of the cast's voices, the simple set transitions (the show usually requires mechanical transitions and a revolving stage: not so here), the astounding costumes and make-up, the student orchestra, the sound mixing and imaginative lighting. The production opened and closed to standing ovations, and has become the standard by which all future musicals at St. Andrew's will be judged.

[edit] See also

• List of Non-Government schools in New South Wales

[edit] External links

• St Andrew's Cathedral School Website
• SACS Gifts from the heart Website
• St Andrew's Institute:CityEd
• St Andrew's Cathedral Website
• St Andrew's Cathedral Choir Website
• SACSWiki

Members of the Independent Schools Association in Sydney, Australia
Central Coast Grammar School | Chevalier College | Kinross Wolaroi School | Oakhill College | Oxley College St Andrew's Cathedral School | St Augustine's College | St Patrick's College | St Pius X College | St Spyridon College | St Stanislaus' College