GGS acknowledges the traditional owners of the lands that are used by the School, including the Wadawurrung, Wurundjeri and Taungurung people. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging. We are deeply committed to providing a supportive environment that empowers the Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander young people in our care to be successful, recognising that education is the vehicle to inspire positive change.
Playing and learning on CORIO CAMPUS:
A new chapter for Geelong Grammar School
Junior School, Corio Campus
A place of learning, through and with nature
From our Principal
WELCOME TO A NEW CHAPTER
Shaped by global inspiration yet deeply grounded in the light blue traditions that guide us, our vision for the new Junior School at Corio Campus celebrates a unique learning environment. This exceptional environment embodies Geelong Grammar School’s strategic pillars of Adventure Education, Positive Education and Creative Education.
For more than 70 years, our remote Timbertop campus has been a transformational experience for our students. Timbertop is an immersive, nature-based programme that fosters confidence, independence and growth beyond the classroom. This same spirit of experiential learning, with and through nature, lives at the heart of our purpose-built Junior School.
Our aspiration is to create and optimise places for learning, teaching and being that encourage inquiry, nurture curiosity and creativity, and engender a responsibility for supporting a sustainable environment. Bringing our youngest learners to Corio for the first time in the School’s history will broaden their experiences and deepen opportunities for connection and holistic development. Their presence at our Corio Campus will also be a gift to those of us who will learn alongside them.
We are eager and delighted to welcome you to this new chapter for Geelong Grammar School, sharing in meaningful beginnings and a wondrous learning adventure.
Yours in anticipation,
Rebecca Cody Principal
Our Philosophy
Our purpose centres on the pursuit of shaping a better world. For us, this means enabling wisdom within ourselves and others, so that each of us can make a positive difference in the world around us.
As a School, we have earned a reputation for pioneering and progressive choices in education. Such choices are founded upon a balanced and holistic education for young people; optimising student academic agency and efficacy is aligned with appreciating how essential it is to support each learner athletically, creatively, emotionally, intellectually, morally, socially and spiritually. Ultimately, we want to energise the gifts within every child so that they are engaged in the world in a personalised and meaningful way, purposeful in their own pathway and confident in their capabilities.
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Educational Pillars
An education at Geelong Grammar School is shaped by three guiding pillars: Adventure Education, Positive Education and Creative Education. Together, these pillars foster dynamic learning experiences and opportunities that underpin our commitment to an exceptional education.
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Adventure Education
Experiential learning through and with nature
Adventure Education builds on the lessons of the School’s transformative Timbertop programme, which helps our students develop confidence and competence in practical ways, promoting independence, self-reliance and resilience.
Positive Education
Placing wellbeing at the heart of our learning community
Positive Education brings together the science of positive psychology with contemporary teaching to encourage individuals, schools and communities to flourish. Positive Education focuses on specific skills that assist students to strengthen their relationships, build positive emotions, enhance personal resilience, promote mindfulness and encourage a healthy lifestyle.
Creative Education
Cultivating the skills of communication, collaboration, critical thinking, problem posing and problem solving
Creative Education teaches the skills and attitudes to be creative in any context. Creative Education prioritises educators as facilitators, coaches and collaborators in the classroom and moves away from the silos of knowledge-based, exam-based, standardised learning to an education that recognises the common skills which lie between subjects.
A Junior School Designed for Connection and Discovery
The new Junior School at Corio Campus has been carefully designed to create a seamless connection between learning, nature and community.
Upon arrival, students and parents will walk from the carpark, passing a nature-based play space before arriving at the heart of the school—a distinctive, north-facing building with sweeping roofline that nestles harmoniously into the landscape.
The site design encourages movement, exploration and interaction with the natural world, featuring meandering pathways, open green spaces and playing fields to support a diverse range of outdoor learning experiences.
As we transition from Bostock House to our new setting, we are committed to fostering a strong sense of belonging and place, where each student feels known, supported and connected as they embark on this new learning adventure.
Artist's impression
Artist's impression
Our Learning Spaces
Capitalising on the site's significant scale, the design integrates an eastern learning hub, a western administrative core and a central breezeway.
Flexible teaching and learning spaces line the eastern side, catering to students from Prep to Year 4. This area also houses the library and art studio, creating a dynamic and engaging environment for exploration and creativity. On the western side, administration, staff spaces and a nutrition kitchen provide essential support for the daily operations of the School.
The learning spaces are arranged sequentially to foster collaboration and adaptability, with the flexibility to be linked or separated as needed, creating dynamic learning environments.
At the heart of the design is a central breezeway, extending north to south and serving as a multi-functional internal hall. This space is activated by learning spaces at its four corners and will become a vibrant hub for student assemblies, performances, showcases and community connection.
The over-scaled northern verandah serves as an extension of the learning spaces, providing a sheltered space for group outdoor learning and all-weather activities.
Artist's impression
Artist's impression
Our Play Spaces
Thoughtfully integrated into the landscape, the Junior School play spaces will encourage active exploration, imaginative play and social interaction.
With natural materials, winding pathways and interactive play elements, these spaces will support movement, collaboration and problem-solving. Quiet areas will provide moments for reflection, while dynamic structures will invite adventure and challenge.
Whether climbing, balancing or observing the changing seasons, the adventure and nature based play spaces are designed to enrich the daily rhythm of Junior School life.
Artist's impression
Artist's impression
Artist's impression
Connecting to the Corio Campus
The Junior School community, including students and families, will have the opportunity to engage with the exceptional facilities and landmarks that the Corio Campus has to offer.
These include the Handbury Centre for Wellbeing, with its swimming pool, indoor courts and playing fields.
The School of Performing Arts and Creative Education (the SPACE) will provide opportunities for creative exploration in the performing arts.
Beyond these facilities, students will also connect with the School’s rich heritage through visits to the Chapel of All Saints, the cloisters and experience other historical landmarks of significance.
While connected to the broader campus and its many resources, the Junior School will cultivate its own unique identity and sense of place.
Students transitioning from Junior School to Middle School in Year 5 will be familiar with the surroundings and learning environments, fostering a sense of confidence and continuity as they take the next step in their learning journey with us.
The PYP Framework in Action
Our School has been an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School since 1997.
In 2024, we became authorised to offer the Primary Years Programme (PYP) at our Geelong-based Primary campuses. The PYP draws on research and best practice from a range of national systems and is designed to stimulate curiosity and inquiry in order to foster a spirit of discovery and enjoyment of learning.
As we envision learning within the new Junior School, we eagerly anticipate the enhanced inquiry that will naturally emerge from our unique campus setting; whether through studying ecosystems firsthand, growing and harvesting food on-site or taking action to solve real-world environmental challenges.
Students will be encouraged to take appropriate risks, extending and challenging themselves physically, socially, and academically while exploring new ideas, navigating their environment and deepening their curiosity about the world around them.
Our students will be immersed in a landscape alive with natural activity and exploration.
Nurturing the Whole Child
We believe that a meaningful education is one that engages a child’s hands, heart and mind. Our students experience a broad range of positive learning opportunities; music, drama, language, arts, sport, leadership, cultural, social and community-based activities, allowing them to feel connected, engaged and challenged in ways that extend beyond core academics.
LEARNING FRAMEWORK
We believe in the powerful ways the PYP connects our students to the vibrant world of learning, supporting them to deeply investigate their world, encouraging critical and creative thinking and promoting active citizenship with global perspectives.
Through the PYP, the subject areas of maths, language, science, social studies, information technology, the arts, physical education and library are integrated into ‘transdisciplinary themes’, helping students make connections between the subjects, thereby facilitating more effective learning.
LEARNING COMMUNITIES
As a PYP school, we bring a contemporary structure to our teaching and learning that is growth orientated and supports every young learner to develop and pursue appropriate learning goals. Each child is unique and different in development, maturation, personality and ability. To cater for this, we have three learning communities that allow us to move students between individual work and group work, as well as among fluid and diverse groupings, in response to student needs and the requirements of inquiry-based learning. The learning communities are:
- Early Years Learning Community (Prep)
- Year 1 and Year 2 Learning Community
- Year 3 and Year 4 Learning Community
Each learning community is made up of a team of educators who work alongside each other in collaborating for shared units of inquiry and other learning opportunities.
Collaborative planning and teaching practices between year levels and across diverse groupings ensure that all students are supported and extended. Through a differentiated learning approach, our students can experience the satisfaction of challenge and achievement, which leads to enhanced motivation and engagement.
Primary Years Programme (PYP)
The PYP is designed to nurture and develop young students as caring, active participants in a lifelong journey of learning.
The PYP provides an ideal foundation for children to become successful, lifelong learners by developing their:
- international mindedness
- social and emotional wellbeing
- independence, as they take responsibility for their own learning
- understanding of the world and their ability to function effectively within it
- attitudes and dispositions for learning
- ability to take mindful, appropriate and sustainable student-initiated action
- language skills; all students study an additional language from the age of seven.
THE IB LEARNER PROFILE
The attributes of the learner profile represent a broad range of human capacities and responsibilities that encompass intellectual, personal, emotional and social growth. The development and demonstration of these attributes are foundational to learners becoming internationally minded, active and caring community members who respect themselves, others and the world around them. The learner profile and ethos behind it applies to all of us, for we are all continually learning. Parents are encouraged to attend curriculum information evenings to learn more about the PYP.
Learning at Junior School
Our holistic, student-centred philosophy provides individualised support and exceptional opportunities for every child to grow in confidence and explore their unique talents and interests.
ENGLISH
MATHEMATICS
SCIENCE
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
THE ARTS
The knowledge, skills and conceptual understandings outlined in the Australian Curriculum will come to life at the Junior School through globally relevant units of inquiry that enable students to apply themselves in new and meaningful ways. Co-curricular experiences offer additional opportunities that shape a student's confidence, self-image and capacity to excel in an ever-changing world.
Language is our major means of thinking and communicating. It is fundamental to engaging with the world; it underpins and permeates the whole curriculum. The development of fundamental language skills entails not only learning language, but also learning about language and through language. We nurture an appreciation of the richness of language, including a love of literature.
Mathematics is an integral part of daily life and all students endeavour to develop mathematical thinking skills in order to understand relevant concepts and strengthen their ability to transfer these into practical situations at home, school and in daily life. We want students to become confident users of the language of mathematics and look upon mathematics as a way of thinking, analysing and solving problems. Mathematical understanding of numbers, measurement, data handling, space and shape, and pattern and function are developed through exploration and activities that are physical and realistic.
Science is embedded within the PYP units of inquiry and develops the students’ curiosity for the natural world and its phenomena. It builds the students’ skills and confidence to inquire into the world’s behaviour whilst learning about important scientific principles.
Through investigation, students are involved in processes where theories are tested and opinions or hypotheses are challenged. This develops their critical and analytical thinking, whilst also nurturing their open-mindedness and sense of wonder.
Our technology-rich world now demands that we adapt, collaborate and work with a variety of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Students learn about technology as well as learn through technology and have access to devices such as iPads and laptops. Promoting responsible and ethical digital citizenship is a fundamental part of the students’ learning.
The Arts are a fundamental means of expression and communication in all societies. Drama, Music and Visual Arts are offered to all students as part of the curriculum. Students learn ways of experiencing, developing, presenting and understanding ideas, emotions, values and cultural beliefs. They learn to take risks, be imaginative and develop self-confidence.
To celebrate growth in the Arts, students participate throughout the year in drama productions, music performances and exhibitions of their artwork.
Individual music tuition is also offered for students, led by specialist music tutors.
SOCIAL STUDIES
LANGUAGE
Through Social Studies, students learn about people in relation to their past, their present, their future, their environment and their society. Social Studies encourages curiosity and develops an understanding of a rapidly changing world. They develop the skills and knowledge needed to actively participate in their classroom, their school, their community and the world, to understand themselves in relation to their communities.
CHINESE
Additional language learning is a fundamental part of our curriculum and forms part of the overall language programme. The Chinese curriculum is constructed with two main intentions: to develop a love of an additional language through understanding and developing the skills needed to decode and interpret language, and to build cultural understandings associated with the study of the Chinese culture and lifestyle.
Through Physical Education, students work to increase their knowledge and develop skills, positive beliefs, attitudes and values about physical activity. Students are provided with opportunities to learn and practise skills and behaviours that support a healthy and active lifestyle.
PERCEPTUAL MOTOR PROGRAMME
The Perceptual Motor Programme (PMP) is a movement-based programme that helps younger students improve their eye/hand and eye/foot coordination, fitness, balance, locomotion and eye-tracking skills. Students in Prep and Year 1 participate in weekly PMP sessions.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
FUNDAMENTAL MOTOR SKILLS PROGRAMME
All students from Prep through to Year 4 take part in the Fundamental Motor Skills programme. Fundamental motor skills include throwing, catching, kicking, striking, bouncing, running, leaping and jumping. All students participate in skill sessions and activities on a weekly basis.
SPORT
Students in Year 3 and Year 4 participate in weekly Sport sessions that involve applying their physical education skills in game situations. Local sporting facilities and the facilities at Corio Campus will be used for these Sport sessions. All students participate in annual sporting events such as swimming lessons, House sport events, and the Whole School Athletics Day.
The Library provides a warm and welcoming environment, fostering the love and use of literature for a variety of purposes.
LIBRARY
RELIGIOUS AND VALUES EDUCATION
Students develop information skills, strategies and an appreciation of language and literature that will assist them to become informed decision makers and lifelong learners. Therefore, our Library programme is a central component of the PYP. Information Literacy sessions enable students to develop research skills, which enables them to question critically and evaluate relevant material for Units of Inquiry. Students are also supported to develop an awareness of cyber-safety.
The Library enhances learning throughout the year by providing students with access to an extensive, contemporary literature collection, ‘Browse and Borrow’ sessions and experiences with visiting authors.
Christian values and concepts such as love, honesty, friendship and sharing are incorporated into all aspects of our daily life. These are also explored through discussions relevant to real-life experiences and children are encouraged to articulate their thoughts and feelings, and to respect others. Students will visit the Chapel of All Saints at Corio Campus throughout the year.
Student Leadership
Students across all year levels are provided with opportunities to assume roles of responsibility.
Opportunities to develop leadership can include: in assembly, in the classroom, in the buddy programme, and in sport, music, drama and other daily activities. Through this, students begin to develop a deeper understanding of the School's core values of courage, compassion and curiosity, and develop confidence in their ability to manage challenges and contribute within the School community.
ACTION AND SERVICE
Action is a key element within the PYP. It is the core of student agency and is integral to the PYP learning process and to the programme’s overarching outcome of developing international mindedness. By taking individual and collective action, our students come to understand the responsibilities associated with being internationally minded and to appreciate the benefits of working with and serving others for a shared purpose. When students see tangible actions that they can choose to take to make a difference, they see themselves as competent, capable and active agents of change.
Culture and Environment
At GGS, we champion a strong culture of community, inclusivity and belonging.
We are committed to nurturing an equitable and inclusive community, and wholeheartedly embrace the diversity and myriad of learning opportunities that every child and every family brings with their unique identity, life experience and background.
BUDDY PROGRAMME
The buddy programme in Prep and Year 4 is a wonderful opportunity for children of different ages to come together and learn from each other, meeting, connecting and engaging in a range of shared activities. By incorporating buddies into our school, we help to facilitate a happy and connected student community.
CONNECTION TO THE ENVIRONMENT AND INDIGENOUS CULTURE
We place strong emphasis on supporting children to become environmentally responsible and develop a connection to their natural world. We also acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional owners and custodians of these lands and recognise our responsibility in educating our children about Australia’s cultural heritage and Indigenous perspective.
Our educators work closely with our First Nations Student Coordinator to provide meaningful learning in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, traditions, histories and experiences. This can encompass all subject areas through a combination of classroom learning, projects, incursions, excursions and co-curricular activities.
Navigating the Junior School
The Junior School is positioned on the northern side of the existing Corio Campus, overlooking fields to the north, Limeburners Bay to the east, and the well-established Corio Campus to the south.
A new ring road will provide a safe and efficient connection for vehicles entering Corio Campus via School Road, leading to the Junior School entrance. This area will include dedicated parking and access for cars and buses.
Walking paths will be introduced to enhance connectivity, ensuring safe and easy movement between the Junior School and key areas of the Corio Campus.
Junior School
Wetland
Coastal Grasslands The
Limeburners
The Start of a Lifelong Adventure
We are delighted that you are considering Geelong Grammar School for your family. For more than 170 years, our School has been a lighthouse of Australian education, inspiring generations of young people.
Our students belong to an international community. They come to us from all over Australia and from around the world, enriching our experiences and widening our perspective. The sense of community among students, parents and past students is one of our greatest attributes and enables bonds well beyond the schooling years.
We trust this insight into our Junior School has given you a sense of the dynamic learning environment that we are creating, the strong community and the breadth of opportunities that define the Geelong Grammar School experience.
We look forward to sharing this exciting new chapter with you.
