Christ Church Grammar School - History

History

Christ Church Grammar School opened on 7 February 1910 as the Christ Church Preparatory School. The founder, Canon W J McClemans, was the rector of Christ Church Claremont. The School opened with a single classroom and an enrolment of nine day boys.

In 1917, the status of Christ Church was raised from preparatory school to university junior examination level. During this year, the Old Boys’ Association was established. During the same year, legislation by Synod brought Christ Church and Guildford Grammar School under the control of one representative council. Christ Church did not have any representation on the Council until 1920, and during this time, financial difficulties put the existence of the school into jeopardy and under threat of closure by the council.

From the 1920s through to the 1940s, the school continued to grow. However, financial hardship and uncertainty continued and led to the resignation of several headmasters. When Christ Church gained its own school council in 1950, it was considered a turning point in the history of the school.

In 1951, PM Moyes became headmaster and throughout the post-war period, Christ Church boomed. Enrolments increased from 259 in 1951, to 853 in 1966. During this period, a large number of buildings and facilities were built and two houses were purchased. A block of land, next to the Claremont campus, was acquired as well as 20 acres in Mt Claremont for use as playing fields.

The students began to experience academic and sporting success. In 1956, the school was invited to join the Public Schools’ Association (PSA); in 1957, the school was awarded its first General Exhibition; in 1958, the school won the Head of the River race for the first time; and in 1967, Peter Edwards became the school’s first old boy to be awarded a Rhodes Scholarship.

Moyes retired in 1981 after serving for 31 years as headmaster and was succeeded by AJ de V Hill in 1982. The next five years included significant developments in the school curriculum and system of pastoral care. The outdoor education centre at Kooringal, near Dwellingup, was extensively redeveloped and its courses became an essential part of each student’s education.

Financial support from parents and old boys enabled the school to spend over $2 million on new facilities in less than three years. A major appeal in 1984 yielded $850,000.

Hill served for six years as headmaster and was followed by JJS Madin in January 1988. Madin, whose leadership approach was innovative and team-based, managed the next major projects in the school’s development. These included a new science block and the redevelopment of the Senior School – a $4 million project that commenced in June 1987.

Madin resigned at the end of 2000 and in 2001, GE Wynne took over as headmaster. In his first year, the council introduced the school mission – ‘Boys educated to know, to do, to live with others and to be’ (UNESCO 1996). The school mission together with the school values, published in 2006, have shaped the culture of the school to meet the needs of today’s school community.

Under the leadership of Wynne, there has been significant development in the school’s buildings and grounds, as well as an increase in the student population and continued high levels of success across academic, sporting and co-curricular activities.