| The Scots College | |
|---|---|
 | |
 The Scots College, as viewed from Victoria Road, Bellevue Hill | |
| Location | |
 | |
Bellevue Hill,Eastern Suburbs, Sydney Australia | |
| Coordinates | 33°52′30″S151°15′11″E / 33.875012°S 151.252961°E /-33.875012; 151.252961 |
| Information | |
| Motto | Latin:Utinam Patribus Nostris Digni Simus (O that we may be worthy of our forefathers[1]) |
| Denomination | Presbyterianism |
| Established | 1893; 133 years ago (1893)[2] |
| Chairman | Rev Glen Pather |
| Principal | Dr Ian Lambert |
| Chaplain | Rev Conrad Nixon |
| Employees | c. 300[3] |
| Years | K–12 |
| Gender | Male |
| Enrolment | c. 1,800[3] (2007) |
| Campuses | |
| Colours | Gold and blue |
| Nickname | Scots |
| Alumni | Scots College Old Boys |
| Website | www |
TheScots College is an independent primary and secondaryday andboarding school for boys, predominantly located inBellevue Hill, aneastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is affiliated with thePresbyterian Church of Australia.
Established in 1893 atBrighton-Le-Sands,[1] Scots has a non-selective enrolment policy[4] and currently caters for approximately 1,800 students aged from three to eighteen, including 250 boarders.[5][2]
The college is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia,[6] theJunior School Heads Association of Australia,[7] the Australian Boarding Schools' Association,[2] theHeadmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference,[8] and is a founding member of theAthletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales.[9]
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The college was formed in 1893 by three men, Archibald Gilchrist, William "Fighting Mac" Dill-Macky, and Arthur Aspinall. Gilchrist devised the schoolmotto of"Utinam Patribus Nostris Digni Simus", which may be translated fromLatin as "O that we may be worthy of our forefathers".
Arthur Aspinall, who became the firstprincipal, wasminister ofForbes parish from 1874 to 1887. An educated man himself, with a love of learning, he saw the need to educate the sons of thepastoralists of the area. The Presbyterian Church was not happy with the proposal to start the school. Aspinall became the guarantor, advancing the capital required, while the possibility of starting the school was still a matter of bitter contention within the Church hierarchy. Thus Scots opened as aprivate enterprise. Once the school was established and functioning, the Church Assembly saw no reason to continue to oppose the idea of the school. In 1906 Aspinall sold the college to the Church for 7,000 pounds and so it became part of the Presbyterian education system in New South Wales.
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The college was originally established atLady Robinson Beach, now renamedBrighton-Le-Sands, near the shores ofBotany Bay. The initial school building was the modified, de-licensed New Brighton Hotel on The Grand Parade, near Bay Street. The renovations to the hotel were done by Arthur Aspinall's brother,Albert Aspinall. The first Principal, the Rev Arthur Aspinall, remained in this position until his retirement in 1913. The school was officially opened 28 January 1893 by theGovernor of New South Wales, theRight Honourable Victor Albert George, Earl of Jersey. Villiers Street,Rockdale was named in honour of this occasion. There were ten-day students and 25 Boarders.
The period when the school opened was during a time ofdepression. The first few years for the school were difficult. There were 55 boys enrolled at the school when, in 1895, (soon after a racecourse had opened nearby) the school moved to its current location in Bellevue Hill.
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The school occupied St Killians, the former home of Judge Josephson. Before he retired, Aspinall had added new buildings to the school and developed playing fields.
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James Bee, a New Zealander, continued the growth and expansion of the college. When he retired in 1934 there were 450 enrolled students. Alexander Knox Anderson, also a New Zealander, saw the Depression end only to be followed four years later byWorld War II. During World War II, Scots and its student body relocated to a purpose built campus atBathurst, to the west of theGreat Dividing Range. This was due to the proximity of the Bellevue Hill campus to the coast, and the fear ofJapanese navalbombardment, a fear justified in May 1942 with the Japanesemini-subattack on Sydney Harbour.
The Bathurst campus remained part of the school for a short period after the war, before splintering off and becoming the independentThe Scots School, Bathurst.
In 1975, a fire gutted the school's Assembly Hall, resulting in a major reconstruction and renovation of school facilities. The fire was deemed to be caused by an "electrical fault" but the word at the time was that it was caused by students playing with fireworks on the stage. A small rocket was set off and got stuck high up in the curtain, setting fire to it.[citation needed] The fire spread rapidly over the curtain and up into the roof. There were no injuries.[citation needed]
In 1988, the school opened its outdoor education campus, "Glengarry", in theKangaroo Valley. Attending Glengarry is compulsory for all Year 9 boys, who live on site in one of five dormitories for six months. A residential academic and outdoor education team deliver a wide range of carefully developed personal development programs that enhance academic motivation and learning, and emphasise discipline, care, respect and curiosity. The year group is split into two intakes, they attend in terms 1 and 2, and terms 3 and 4 respectively. The Glengarry adventure now finishes with a 'Long Journey Home', which involves the intake to ride, hike and canoe their way back to Sydney from Glengarry.[citation needed]
Most of theCouncil members are elected by theGeneral Assembly of thePresbyterian Church of Australia in New South Wales.
In August 2017, the school was forced to cancel the HSC Trial Physics exam when two CSSA papers were stolen in a late night heist.[10] The culprits were never found.
In March 2018, the College celebrated their 125th anniversary and opened a new campus, Brighton Preparatory School at Dolls Point, near its original site at Brighton-Le-Sands.[11]
The following individuals have served as Principal of The Scots College:
| Ordinal | Officeholder | Term start | Term end | Time in office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TheRev.Arthur Aspinall | 1893 | 1916 | 22–23 years | |
| 2 | James Bee | 1917 | 1930 | 12–13 years | |
| 3 | Alexander Anderson | 1931 | 1955 | 23–24 years | |
| 4 | Allen McLucas | 1956 | 1965 | 8–9 years | |
| 5 | Guthrie Wilson | 1966 | 1980 | 13–14 years | |
| 6 | Graeme Renney | 1981 | 1993 | 11–12 years | [12] |
| 7 | Dr Robert Iles | 1994 | 2006 | 11–12 years | |
| 8 | Dr Ian PM Lambert | 2007 | incumbent | 13 years |
The Scots College has five campuses: Bellevue Hill, Mansion Road, Brighton (Brighton Le Sands), Glengarry (Kangaroo Valley), Bannockburn (Shoalhaven River), Rose Bay (Carslie St)
| Name | Years used | Usual Classes held |
|---|---|---|
| Main building | 1899, 1977 | Design and Technology, Visual Art, Film and television, Digital Media, Photography, History, Geography. |
| John Cunningham Student CenterArchived 27 February 2020 at theWayback Machine | 2025 | None, Used primarily as a student and staff centre. |
| Graeme Clark Centre for Innovation in the Sciences (Science Building) | 2008 | Sciences, Sport Sciences, Sport Acceleration, Mathematics |
| Centenary Centre | 1992 | Christian Studies, Music |
| Lang Walker Business Centre (Business Centre) | 2017 | Commerce, Economics, Business Studies, Legal Studies |
| Anderson Building (Anderson Hall) | Unknown | Year 11/12 study space, Chapel |
| Ginaghulla Campus | 1982, 2009 | Languages, English, Year 5 Classrooms, Year 6 Classrooms |
| Mansion Road Campus | 1928, 2009 | Year 2 Classrooms, Year 3 Classrooms, Year 4 Classrooms |
| Horsham House/ELC | 1954, 2009 | Transition Classrooms, Kindergarten classrooms, Year 1 Classrooms |
| Brighton Campus | 2018 | Transition Classrooms, Kindergarten Classrooms, Year 1 Classrooms, Year 2 Classrooms, Year 3 Classrooms, Year 4 Classrooms, Year 5 Classrooms, Year 6 Classrooms |
| Glengarry (Year 9 Only) | 1987 | Outdoor Education, All Mandatory Subjects for year 9, Leadership |
| Bannockburn | 2018 | Outdoor Education, Geography, Agricultural, |
The Main Building houses theAuditorium and main schooladministration, main building also contains the Harry Triguboff Auditorium (Opened 2021) and college uniform shop.
The John Cunningham Student Centre (Opened 2025) houses the Zylstra Library, the Black Watch Café, a range of staff offices and the Hyder Theatre.
The Centenary Centre contains the school's primary Lecture room, the Coote Theatre and various music facilities andmusical instruments.
The collegequadrangle finished reconstruction in 2007 to provide additionalchange rooms andwheelchair accessible facilities such as anelevator for the Main Building, as well as vastly improving the aesthetics of the College 'quad'.
A new Mathematics/Science building named the Graeme Clark Centre, as well as aerobics room (Bottom Level – the same level as the current pool and weights room) was constructed from early 2007 to late 2008. Classes began on Monday 17 November 2008 and the building was opened on Friday 27 March 2009.
In 2007 the new 'Ginahgulla' classrooms were completed. These classrooms house years five and six located at the Senior campus, Victoria Rd. The upper floors were renovated in 2008 and became new Languages and English classrooms. The college Pipes and Drums Band Room is also located on the Ginahgulla Campus.
The Lang Walker Business Centre (Opened 2018) is used primarily for Business Economics lessons and functions hosted by the college. The college archives and Old Boys function room are both located in the Business Centre.
The Glengarry campus (Opened 1987) is used for outdoor education by year 9 students only. The year is divided into 2 intakes which are sent for 6 months each. The boys experience rights of passage during their time at “Gaz”, by boarding in 5 dorms of up to 20 boys; Alpha Dorm (Green), Bravo Dorm (Yellow), Charlie Dorm (Blue), Delta Dorm (Red), Echo Dorm (Purple) and Foxtrot Dorm (Black) - Intake 1 only. On their return, boys do a 6 day hike from Kangaroo Valley to Bellevue Hill, called “The Long Journey Home.”
The college was able to fund an altitude training chamber in the high-performance centre. Such a device is able to alter the levels of oxygen present during sport training sessions and PD lessons. While providing benefit to the college's leading athletes, the benefit of such equipment for the institution as a whole has been publicly questioned.[13]
As a testament to itsScottish heritage, the school has apipe band: The Scots CollegePipes and Drums, established in 1900.[citation needed]
Like most Australian schools, The Scots College uses ahouse system. Scots has 13 student houses, of which 5 are boarding houses. Each year the houses participate in multiple academic and sporting competitions, spread across the school year, and are awarded points according to their placings. This point system determines the winner of the House Championship each year (announced at a final assembly). The day boy houses contain between 90 and 95 students each, whilst the boarding houses have between 50 and 65.
The school's thirteen houses are as follows:
| House | Colour | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Brandt | Established 1947 – Senior Day Boy House | |
| Anderson | Established 1947 – Senior Day Boy House | |
| Fraser | Established 1986 – Senior Day Boy House | |
| Armstrong | Established 1936 – Senior Day Boy House | |
| Gilchrist | Established 1986 – Senior Day Boy House | |
| Bruce | Established 1986 – Senior Day Boy House | |
| James Bee | Established 1936 – Senior Day Boy House | |
| Macky | Established 1986 – Senior Day Boy House | |
| Aspinall | Established 1895 – Senior Boarding House | |
| Royle | Established 1938 – Senior Boarding House | |
| Kirkland | Established 1926 – Senior Boarding House | |
| Fairfax | Established 1950 – Senior Boarding House | |
| Macintyre | Established 1920 – Junior Boarding House | |
| Carruthers | Established 2018 – Senior Day Boy House |
Former students of The Scots College are known as Old Boys, or alternatively Old Scotsmen, and may elect to join the school'salumni association, The Scots College Old Boys' Union (OBU). The OBU was formed in 1900, and today supports the school with financial assistance, while working to facilitate communication and interaction between the College and its Old Boys through events and activities, such as alumni and sporting reunions. Reunions are also held in various states of Australia and overseas.[14]
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Available in the library ofThe Society of Australian Genealogists, Sydney, State Library of New South Wales and in the library of The Scots College.
