St George’s Anglican Grammar School

ST GEORGE’S ANGLICAN GRAMMAR SCHOOL

1

THE CITY IS OUR CAMPUS

While most school grounds end at the gates, St George’s Anglican Grammar School students have an entire city as their campus.

Principal Tina Campbell said the city played a pivotal role in the life of the School.

“Our students and teaching staff see the city as part of their everyday school campus and utilise city facilities within their daily teaching schedules,” Mrs Campbell said.

“While many of our classes occur within the school building on William Street, our students study visual art at the Art Gallery of WA, visit Parliament House for Politics and Law classes, play touch rugby at the Supreme Court Gardens, train for cross country in Kings Park and paddle board on the Swan River.

“Students also attend a weekly chapel service at St George’s Cathedral and undertake study sessions at the Perth City Library. Our recent drama production was performed at the Heath Ledger Theatre.”

Mrs Campbell said the School also had valuable connections with a range of city businesses.

“Our Business Management and Enterprise students undertake a range of projects that gives them the opportunity to work directly alongside top city-based CEOs,” she said. 2

“All these activities complement the formal curriculum by extending student learning and engagement outside of the classroom.”

Humanities teacher Courtney Evans said the city was a visual classroom like no other.

“It’s wonderful to be able to take students out to further their learning in the HASS (Humanities and Social Sciences) area. Students are able to experience Parliament House or a range of rallies and demonstrations to deepen their understanding of the curriculum and world around them that most other students would be studying in the confines of a classroom,” Ms Evans said.

“At St George’s we can either walk or jump on the Cat Bus and experience firsthand aspects of city life that regularly bring History, Politics and Law, Economics and Geography to life.”

Mrs Campbell said the city-based location allowed St George’s students to learn from the variety of new experiences, new people, and new places that pop up within the city each day.

“By having their classrooms in the middle of the City of Perth, St George’s students have the chance to develop their life skills and experiences in the midst of the city, building social awareness skills, empathising with others and understanding more clearly the diverse

3 4

5

7

backgrounds and cultures that make up the City of Perth,” she said.

“They are also learning how to communicate with a broad range of people, whether it be the lady at the corner kiosk, the businessman standing at the crosswalk, the policeman guiding traffic on St Georges Terrace or the homeless woman asking for help. It is a life skills program outside of anything that can usually be taught within the classroom.”

St George’s also has a strong connection with the City of Perth. Mrs Campbell was recently announced as a member of the City of Perth forum, Brand Perth, which is looking at creating a vision for the future development of the City of Perth. Alongside some of St George’s students themselves, Mrs Campbell will provide a voice for young people and education in the city. 6

Images 1. Cross country in Kings Park 2. Year 11 Politics and Law at Parliament House 3. Year 9 English at Perth City Library 4. Year 9 Outdoor Education – Orienteering 5. Rowing on the Swan River 6. Year 11 Visual Arts at the Art Gallery of WA 7. Drama and Music at the State Theatre Centre of WA 8. Chapel at St George’s Cathedral ASC News 7