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| Sydney Grammar School | |
|---|---|
 | |
 'Big School' | |
| Location | |
 | |
| , New South Wales Australia | |
| Coordinates | 33°52′29″S151°12′47″E / 33.87472°S 151.21306°E /-33.87472; 151.21306 |
| Information | |
| Type | Independent,day school |
| Motto | Latin:Laus Deo (Praise be to God) |
| Religious affiliation(s) | None |
| Established | 1857; 168 years ago (1857)[1] |
| Founder | Laurence Hynes Halloran |
| Chairman | Professor Eric Knight[2] |
| Headmaster | Dr RB Malpass |
| Staff | 63 (Darlinghurst),[3] 15 (Edgecliff),[3] 21 (St Ives)[3] |
| Teaching staff | 153 (Darlinghurst),[3] 52 (Edgecliff),[3] 47 (St Ives)[3] |
| Gender | Boys |
| Enrolment | 1,152 (Darlinghurst),[3] 306 (Edgecliff),[3] 413 (St Ives)[3] (2011) |
| Colour(s) | Black and gold |
| Athletics | AAGPS |
| Alumni | Old Sydneians |
| School song | Carmen Sydneiense |
| Website | www |
Sydney Grammar School (SGS, colloquially known asGrammar)[4] is an independent, non-denominationalday school for boys, located inSydney,Australia.
Incorporated in 1854 by an Act of Parliament[5] and opened in 1857, the school claims to offer "classical" or "grammar" school education thought of as liberal, humane, pre-vocational pedagogy.[4]
As of 2006, Sydney Grammar School had an enrolment of approximately 1,841 students from kindergarten to Year 12, over three campuses.[6] The twopreparatory schools (K to 6), are located at Edgecliff in Sydney'sEastern Suburbs,[7] andSt Ives, on theUpper North Shore.[8] TheCollege Street campus caters for students from Forms I to VI (Years 7–12), and is located inDarlinghurst.
The school is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),[9]Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA),[10]Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference,[11] and is a founding member of theAthletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (AAGPS).[12]
As of 2025, Sydney Grammar School (senior) had an average annual school fee ofA$49,209 per student.[13]
TheSydney Public Free Grammar School was opened in 1825 byLaurence Hynes Halloran, bornCounty Meath,Ireland (1765–1831). Previously, Halloran had operated a private school inExeter, England, however fled in 1796 due to debts, after being accused ofimmorality. It subsequently emerged that hisdegrees (indivinity) were self-awarded. He eventually returned to Britain but was arrested for forgery and transported to the penal colony of New South Wales, arriving there in 1819. He was immediately granted a ticket-of-leave.[citation needed]
In 1854,Sydney Grammar School (SGS) was incorporated by anAct of Parliament[5] and acquired the land and building in College Street which had been temporarily occupied by the newly foundedUniversity of Sydney in 1852. It was opened on 3 August 1857, specifically as afeeder school for the university.
The preamble of the Sydney Grammar School Act 1854 states:
It is deemed expedient for the better advancement of religion and morality and the promotion of useful knowledge to establish in Sydney a public school for conferring on all classes and denominations of Her Majesty’s subjects resident in the Colony of New South Wales without any distinction whatsoever the advantages of a regular and liberal course of education.[14]
The act provides that thetrustees of the school shall consist of twelve persons, of whom six shall be persons holding the following offices respectively:
The act also provides that theGovernor of New South Wales shall be the officialvisitor of the school.[15]
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Sydney Grammar School is the oldest school still in use in theCity of Sydney, and is historically the site on which the University of Sydney began. The school buildings also contain examples of early building materials and techniques inpre-Federation Australia.[16]
The site was founded as The Sydney College in 1830, and the following year began operations in a new building inHyde Park designed by Edward Hallen. It consisted of a single large room (now known as "Big School") with basement rooms beneath. Sydney College continued despite financial difficulties until 1853, when it was taken over by the fledgling University of Sydney until such time as the present Grose Farm site was ready for occupation. The site was then sold in 1856 to the trustees of the newly incorporated Sydney Grammar School, which had been established and endowed with a building fund byAct of Parliament.Edmund Blacket was commissioned to design extensions to the south and north of the Hallen building (now the North and South Blacket rooms), which were completed in 1856 and 1857 respectively. The "Big School" building became central to the Colonial Architect,James Barnet's vision for the cultural focus of Sydney Town.[17][non-primary source needed]
TheWar Memorial wing, named for its position behind Big School'smonument to theGreat War, was built at the northern end of Big School in 1953 by the Scott brothers, at the cost of its double staircase. In 1876, the main building was extended to the east by Mansfield Brothers, and this extension was itself extended to the north and south in 1899 by John W Manson. The Science classrooms on Stanley Street were built in 1889–90. Other early buildings on the site, now demolished, included the Sergeant's Lodge, an ablutions block (known as the "White House") onStanley Street, and a formerpostal sorting office on Yurong Street (now the Palladium building).[citation needed]
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Sydney Grammar is a private school.[18] Each year up to 26 full scholarships are offered to students who show academic promise and who perform well in the scholarship examination. It is also regarded for its strong academic results: for example, in national government testing ('NAPLAN' testing), it is one of the best performing private school nationwide,[19] and a high performer in the New South Wales Higher School Certificate with over 50% of graduates receiving a 95 ATAR ('Australian Tertiary Admissions Ranking') or higher between 2009 and 2023.[20]
Sydney Grammar is located near theSydney central business district. The campus is compact and consists of multi-storey buildings (of up to eight floors) in a concrete landscape setting. Sydney Grammar is situated on the eastern side of Sydney'sHyde Park, next to theAustralian Museum, and extends from College Street to Yurong Street. The designs of the school's buildings illustrate many different architectural eras: "Big School" (dating from the early 19th century colonial era), the Blacket buildings (annexed onto either side of "Big School" and completed in the 1850s), the original Science building (1891), the Science laboratory block (1960s), the Palladium building (an example of 1970sModernist architecture), the Stanley Street building and Alastair Mackerras Theatre (1980s), and theA. B. 'Banjo' Paterson Library (1990s).
Weigall, the school's sportsground (named after former HeadmasterAlbert Bythesea Weigall), is located atRushcutters Bay next to the Edgecliff Preparatory School and includes tennis courts,cricket nets and three fields for cricket, rugby and football. It is routinely used for Saturday sports matches, physical education and as a recreational area for Grammar's Edgecliff Preparatory School next door. There is also a large gymnasium at College Street and full rowing facilities at the school's boatshed atGladesville.[21]
In May 2005, HeadmasterJohn Vallance announced that the school would lead a consortium to purchase 30 Alma StreetPaddington, known asWhite City, from Tennis New South Wales, thus extending the Weigall grounds substantially.[22] In 2006, development applications to subdivide the White City tennis courts (numbered DA 20/2006 and DA 302/2006) were lodged withWoollahra Council to develop the site to accommodate more tennis andbasketball courts; these were subsequently passed.[citation needed]
On 14 June 2008 the new field now known as Weigall 4 was opened with a range of guests includingFrank Lowy, president ofFootball Federation Australia.[citation needed]
In 2009, the school began the construction of a new, underground multi-purpose hall featuring a seating capacity of over 1,500 seats, now called the John Vallance Hall (formerly The New Hall from its opening until 2017).[23] Completed in August 2011, it was primarily designed to accommodate the entirety of the current students and teaching staff under one roof while being acoustically sound for orchestral performances.[citation needed]The hall was officially opened by the headmaster on 18 August 2011 with a celebratory concert featuring performances from a large number of Grammar boys past and present. The John Vallance Hall is now used by the two preparatory schools as well.[citation needed]
The current headmaster of Sydney Grammar School is Richard Malpass, who replaced John Vallance when he resigned on 7 April 2017.
| Years | Sydney College |
|---|---|
| 1825–1827 | Laurence Hynes Halloran |
| 1835–1841 | William Timothy Cape |
| 1841–1846 | Thomas Henry Braim, MA |
| 1847–1849 | David Patterson |
| 1850 | Charles Woodward, LLB |
| Years | Sydney Grammar School |
| 1857–1866 | William John Stephens, MA |
| 1867–1912 | Albert Bythesea Weigall, CMG, MA |
| 1913–1920 | Henry Newman Penrose Sloman, MC, MA |
| 1920–1923 | Arthur Henry Shakespeare Lucas, MA, BSc |
| 1923–1939 | Herbert Stanley Dettmann, MA, BCL |
| 1940–1950 | Frederick George Phillips, MA |
| 1951–1964 | Colin Oswald Healey, OBE, TD, MA |
| 1965–1968 | Samuel Peter Truman Houldsworth, MA, DipEd |
| 1969–1989 | Alastair MacLaurin Mackerras, AO, MA |
| 1989–1999 | DrRalph Douglas Townsend, MA, D.Phil. |
| 1999–2017[24] | Dr John Taber Vallance, MA, PhD |
| 2017– August 2025 | Dr Richard Malpass, BA, DipEd, PhD |
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SGS has won theAMEB Music Shield 23 times in the past 25 years.[25] Two-thirds of pupils in the school play amusical instrument or are involved with music in some way. SGS has scores of musical groups in mostlyclassical,chamber andjazz styles. The School Orchestra engages in both national and international tours. Grammar's choir program involves hundreds of students, old boys, and parents, participating in its many annual concerts. The school's seniora cappella group is known as The Grammarphones and is composed of the besttenors,basses andbaritones in the senior years. The school's seniorbig band, the Sydney Grammar School Big Band, is a regular feature at the Manly Jazz Festival.
SGS embarked on a five-year program entitled "Bach: 2010", in which all the known choralcantatas ofJohann Sebastian Bach were performed in a series of concerts between 2005 and 2010.[26] Sydney Grammar is one of the few institutions in the world that has engaged in such an exercise and was aided by theMander organ in the Big School.[27] A performance has been held every year since by head of practical music studies, Robert Wagner, on the Bach's birthday.[28]
Under the current Head Master, an organicrock-&-roll movement has emerged and is currently thriving. The end of 2004 saw the consummation of years of practice in the firstGrammarpalooza rock concert, which included the musical style of Old Boy band,Dappled Cities Fly.
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Sydney Grammar School is a member of the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of NSW (GPS), Australia's oldest school sporting association. GPS sporting events include rugby union, football, cricket, tennis, volleyball,cross country, basketball, rowing, swimming, athletics, rifle shooting, and debating.[29][30] The school also competes in fencing andchess[31] competitions.
Grammar participates in the annual Tri-Grammar competitions, a series of cricket competitions between the Firsts teams of Sydney Grammar School,Melbourne Grammar School andBrisbane Grammar School. Sydney and Melbourne Grammar School also compete for "The Bat" in the same competition. The Sydney–Melbourne match dates back to 1876, and in 1976, to mark the centenary of this rivalry, a "Bat" was struck, with the winner of the annual match taking possession. The bat was donated by John Crawford, the father of the captain of the 1976 premiership winning side Andrew Crawford.
The school launched its rowing program in 1878, and has maintained it since.[32] Competition inrowing culminates in theRiverview Gold Cup for Junior Crews and theHead of the River for Senior Crews. Grammar's boatshed is on theParramatta River atGladesville.
On 2 April 2011, Sydney Grammar School first eight won the Major Rennie Trophy at theAAGPSHead of the River.[33] This marked the first victory for the school since 1978. In its history, Grammar has won the race sixteen times, the most after theShore School. Many rowers have gone on to row in Varsity Crews at a university level.[34] In the 2014–2015 Harvard University rowing roster, Sydney Grammar had the most rowers out of any high school globally and two Sydney Grammar rowers were in Harvard's top crew (First Varsity Eight).[35]
The school operates academic extension programmes in both sciences and humanities, which includes olympiad programmes and hosting visiting scholars who spend time teaching and giving a public lecture. Notable scholars have included metaethicistSimon Blackburn, science and medical historianSir Geoffrey Lloyd, zoologistAndrew Parker, astronomer and 1999Young Australian of the YearBryan Gaensler, historianSir Christopher Clark, professor of EnglishDame Marina Warner, professor of GreekRichard Hunter, and composerRobin Holloway.[36]
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As part of an academic extension activity, a group of year 11 students attempted to prepare the medicationpyrimethamine (sold as Daraprim) in 2016. Pyrimethamine is on theWorld Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, the most important medications needed in a basichealth system, for both adults[37] and children.[38][39] It is used to treattoxoplasmosis,[40]cystoisosporiasis, andmalaria (in combination withsulfadoxine).[41] It received significant attention when its manufacturer in the United States was acquired byTuring Pharmaceuticals, and its CEOMartin Shkreli decided to increase the price from US$13.50 to US$750 a dose.[42][43] Hence, a group of year 11 students from Grammar, supported byMatthew H. Todd from theUniversity of Sydney and theOpen Source Malaria consortium, have preparedpyrimethamine.[44] The students started with 17 g of (4-chlorophenyl)acetonitrile (which is available fromSigma-Aldrich for $36.50 per 100 g) and prepared 3.7 g of pyrimethamine, which is about US$110,000 at Turing's prices.[45]
Their work has attracted attention from around the world, being reported inThe Independent,[46] theDaily Telegraph,[47] andBBC News[48] in the United Kingdom, theWashington Post,[49]New York Daily News,[50] andU.S. News & World Report[51] in theUnited States, among others.[52] By replacing expensive chemicals with alternatives available in a high school laboratory, they demonstrated that the synthesis can be carried out fairly simply and safely, and at a cost of approximatelyA$2 per dose.[53] Business magazineForbes described the work as figuratively "punch[ing] Martin Shkreli in the face" and as raising questions about pharmaceutical companies which do not do substantial amounts of research.[54] Unfortunately, as a consequence of the closed distribution model which Turing employs in the United States, any competing company seeking to market a generic alternative to Daraprim (including using the approach the boys developed with their teacher) would need to compare their product with a sample of Daraprim provided directly by Turing; if Turing refuses to provide that sample, the competitor would need to undertake a complete new clinical trial,[47] which creates a prohibitive barrier to entering the market. The boys are quoted making comments highly critical of Shkreli's and Turing's behaviour,[44][48][53] and have been applauded on social media with comments that their work highlights Shkreli's greed, though he has minimised their achievement.[49]
Shkreli subsequently posted a video about the achievement, declaring his "delight" about students entering theSTEM field, describing them as "proof that the 21st century economy will solve problems of human suffering through science and technology", and stating that "[w]e should congratulate these students for their interest in chemistry and all be excited about what is to come in the STEM-focused 21st century."[55] The students presented their work at theRoyal Australian Chemical Institute's NSW Organic Chemistry symposium alongside students atfourth-year undergraduate andpostgraduate levels, as well aspostdoctoral researchers.[45]
The school has numerous clubs and societies for students. Notable examples include:
A number of boys also assist in editing the school's yearly almanac,The Sydneian,[56] over 400 editions of which have been produced since 1875.
Alumnus of Sydney Grammar School are commonly referred to as Old Boys or Old Sydneians,[59] and may elect to join the schoolsalumni association, the Old Sydneians' Union (OSU).[60][61]
Grammar is notable for having educated many Rhodes Scholars,[62][63][64] High Court judges (Australia's highest court) and the equal highest number of Australian Prime Ministers, out of any school in Australia. Its alumni also include influential figures in business, international sport, science and medicine, and the performing arts, likeDavid Gonski (leading Australian philanthropist, chairman of the Future Fund, chancellor of the New South Wales) and Rowan Gillies (former international president of Médecins Sans Frontières).
Notable alumni also includeSir Edmund Barton, the firstPrime Minister of Australia (1901–1903),[65]Sir William McMahon, 20th Prime Minister of Australia (1971–1972),[66]Malcolm Turnbull, 29th Prime Minister of Australia (2015–2018),[67]Bruce Gyngell, first person to appear on Australian television,[68]Andrew "Boy" Charlton, anOlympic gold medallist swimmer,[69] and alsoBanjo Paterson – bush poet and balladist, and author of "The Man From Snowy River" and "Waltzing Matilda," and who now has the school library named after him.
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