The Armidale School

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The Armidale School (abbreviated as TAS) is an independent Anglican co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school, located in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia. Administration of the schools is formalised as a company limited by guarantee that operates under the Corporations Act.

Founded in 1894 as the New England Proprietary School,[1] The Armidale School has a non-selective enrolment policy and currently caters for approximately 640 students, including 250 boarders from Years 6 to 12.[2] TAS has classes of students in Preschool (4 years old), Junior School for children in Kindergarten to Year 5 which offers the IB Primary Years Programme, a Middle School for those in Years 6 to 8 and a Senior School from Years 9 to 12 (18 years old).[3] In 1992, The Armidale School became the first school in Australia to provide internet access for its students.[4]

The school is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),[5] the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA),[6] the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA),[3] and is one of only three Round Square schools in the state of New South Wales.[7] TAS is also the only member of the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (AAGPS)[8] located outside of the Sydney metropolitan area.[9]

History

The Armidale School was founded in 1894 as a boarding school primarily for the sons of the gentry.[4] However the origins of the school can be traced to 1838, when Patrick Grant, a magistrate at Maitland, conceived the idea of a proprietary school for boys in the Hunter Valley.[1] This idea was taken over by prominent members of the Church of England in the northern districts of New South Wales, and 500 pounds was obtained from the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, as a result of the efforts of the first (and only) Bishop of Australia, William Grant Broughton. In 1840, a site for the school was purchased at Honeysuckle Point, in Newcastle.[1] Nothing more came of the plan until the appointment of William Tyrrell, as the first Bishop of Newcastle in 1846. The property was given on to Tyrrell, and in 1854 the land was resumed by the Hunter River Railway Company.[1]

By 1877, the school had still not been established, and Bishop Tyrrell began to push the matter further. Subsequently, a plan was drawn up and land was selected at Blandford, near Murrurundi. In 1881, it was determined that the plan to build the school at Blandford was unaffordable, and a suggestion was made that it should be built on the New England Tablelands at Armidale. The additional capital required, to the amount of 6,000 pounds, was raised by James Ross, Archdeacon of Armidale, and his leading laymen.[1]

On 5 June 1891 the New England Proprietary School Limited (NEPS) was incorporated with 100-pound shares, offered at 50 pounds each, allowing each shareholder to nominate one pupil for each share purchased. The directors purchased Script error: No such module "convert". in Armidale in September 1891, adding to the Script error: No such module "convert". obtained in 1889. The foundation stone of the main building, designed by noted architect Sir John Sulman, was laid on 22 February 1893, by the Governor of New South Wales, the Rt. Hon. Victor Albert George, Earl of Jersey. The Opening Ceremony was performed by the Rt. Rev Arthur Vincent Green, Bishop of Grafton and Armidale on 15 May 1894.[1]

The name of the company and School was changed in 1896 to The Armidale School (TAS). Also that year, TAS joined the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (GPS) in Sydney, and has remained a member ever since.[1]

In 1950, the school site was transferred to the trustees of the Church of England Diocese of Armidale, and was administered by a School Council comprising members from the Diocese, Old Boys' Union and P&F.[1] through to 2009.

On 1 January 2010, the school was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee under the Corporations Act with the name: The Armidale School.

In March 2015, the school announced it would commence full co-education, and began taking enrolments for Year 12 students, who would begin tuition in October 2015, and for Year 6–11 students, to begin tuition in 2016.[10] This expanded upon the Junior School which became co-educational in 1989,[11] and was announced following a nine-week consultation process.[12] The school started 2016 with 53 girls, including 14 boarders[13] and the first female students to complete their entire education at the school was achieved in 2022.[11] By the start of 2023, girls accounted for around 43 percent of total enrolments.

File:TAS first girls 2016.jpg
TAS admitted its first senior girls in late 2015 ahead of full co-education the year after.

Headmasters

Period Details[1]
1894–1906 Rev W A Fisher, MA (Cantab)
1906–1910 Rev A H Reynolds, MA (Cantab)
1910–1912 Ven Archdeacon T K Abbott, MA (Oxon)
1913–1918 Rev F T Perkins, MA (Sydney)
1918–1919 Rev Canon J Forster, BA (Melbourne), ThL.
1919–1926 Rev Canon H. K. Archdall, MA (Cantab), ThSoc
1927–1934 Rev H Sanger, MA (Cantab)
1936–1939 Rev H P Young, MA (Cantab), BLitt
1940–1961 G.A. Fisher, B.A., BSc (Queensland), MACE
1962–1982 A H Cash, MA (Oxon), DipEd, FACE
1982–1986 G C S Andrews, MA (Cantab), DipEd, DipEdAdmin, FRGS, MACE, MIBG
1987–1997 K Langford-Smith, BA (Sydney), MA (Western Australia), ACP
1998–2019 Murray L Guest, BA (Sydney), MComm Hons (UNSW), Grad Dip Ed (Sydney)
2020–2021 Alan Jones, BA (Sydney), Dip Ed, Dip Law (BSAB) (Head of School)
2021–2024 Dr Rachel Horton BSc (Hons), PhD (Bristol, UK); Grad Dip Ed (Sec) (Griffith) (hereafter the role known as Principal)
2024 - Mr Ray Pearson, BEd (USQ), MEd (USQ)

Campus

File:Memorial Windows TAS War Memorial Assemlby Hall.jpg
Napier Waller historian Dr Bronwyn Hughes inspects the Memorial Windows in the TAS Assembly Hall.

The Armidale School is situated on a single Script error: No such module "convert". campus in Armidale, a university city on the New England Tablelands of New South Wales, midway between Sydney and Brisbane.[4] The school features a mix of historic and modern buildings, all of which reflect design elements of the outstanding original building designed by noted architect Sir John Sulman in 1892. Other notable buildings are the 1902 Chapel, designed by Cyril Blacket, and the War Memorial Assembly Hall, which features three large stained glass windows designed by Napier Waller.

The facilities of the school include the Michael Hoskins Creative Arts Centre, which incorporates a 240-seat performing arts theatre, drama classrooms and visual arts studios. The centre is used by various local and visiting performing arts organisations including as the 'home' of the Armidale Drama & Music Society. Other facilities include a heated indoor swimming pool, rifle range, cattle stud, chapel, gymnasium, library, music centre, computer rooms,[9] climbing wall, weights room, an indoor cricket centre, several indoor and outdoor basketball courts, seven tennis courts, rugby and soccer fields, and cricket wickets.

File:TASdorm1898.jpg
TAS dormitory, 1898

Boarding

TAS currently has six school boarding houses, named Abbott, Croft, Dangar, Tyrrell, White, and a currently unnamed 64-bed girls' boarding house, which opened its doors in 2018.[1] The senior boys' boarding houses (Abbott, Croft and Tyrrell) each accommodate up to 60 students, with 10 to 15 boys in each year group. In the lower years boys are accommodated in dormitories, and as they progress through the school are moved into private study/bedrooms. Middle School boys are accommodated in White House, while Middle School girl boarders reside in Dangar House, the school's original primary school.[14]

Co-curricular Activities

Co-curricular activities available to TAS students include: Debating and public speaking, drama, band, orchestra, choirs, art, photography, Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, and a school Poll Hereford stud which exhibits cattle at local and regional agricultural shows.[9] Annual theatrical productions are staged in the School's Hoskins Centre theater; previous productions include The Addams Family (2018), Oliver! (2019), Wizard of Oz (2019), Sweeney Todd (2020), Rhinoceros (2022) and Legally Blonde (2023).[15]

Community service

It is an expectation of TAS that all students must commit to at least 20 hours of community service per year, both in the local and wider community.

Year 8 students may volunteer for a service trip to St Christopher's orphanage in Fiji, where they participate in the upkeep and daily maintenance of the orphanage and establish friendships with the children.[4] In the past, a similar Christian service trip has been offered to Year 10 and 11 students to Thailand, assisting at the McKean Leprosy Rehabilitation Centre and the Agape AIDS Orphanage near Chang Mai. Other service offerings have included a visit to helping indigenous boys and girls at Yipirinya School in Alice Springs, Northern Territory. Locally, for more than a decade senior TAS students have participated in a lunchtime reading and play program with the neighbouring Minimbah Primary School, an independent school in east Armidale with a predominantly Indigenous student enrolment. Other student-led initiatives include donating blood to the NSW Red Cross Blood Bank and support raising awareness for mental health most recently through not-for-profit social agency, Batyr.

Sport

File:TAS1895Cricket.jpg
TAS 1st XI Cricket Team, 1895

The Armidale School is one of the nine members of the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools of New South Wales (GPS)[8] and participates in some GPS sporting competitions as well as several non-GPS or traditional sports. TAS students may participate in a variety of sports including: athletics, basketball, canoeing, cricket, cross country, hockey, mountain biking, netball, rugby union, rifle shooting, soccer, squash, rowing, swimming, tennis, triathlon, volleyball and water polo.

In April each year, the school hosts more than 40 school and club teams at the TAS Rugby Carnival, the largest primary-aged rugby carnival in Australia.

The school also holds a swimming carnival and an athletics carnival once a year, with students participating in inter-house competition. Boarding students compete for either Abbott, Croft or Tyrrell house, while day students are members of Broughton, Green or Ross houses. Broughton was originally a boarding house; Green and Ross were inaugurated in 1983 by Prince Edward, during a private visit to the school. Inter-house competitions are also held for debating, public speaking, and the creative arts.

Music

The Armidale School often takes part in music competitions like the Armidale Eisteddfod.[16] The school also hosts the Twilight Concert, where students have the chance to practice and perform in front of an audience. The music program is supported by a group of skilled teachers — Mrs. Miller, Mrs. Roobol, Mr. Collet, Ms. Chen, Mr. Brown, Joanna Fairs-Wu, and others. These teachers help create a strong music culture at TAS and support many extra activities outside of regular classes.

There are lots of different bands and groups for students to join, such as the Senior, Middle, and Junior School Piano Trios, Junior Strings, Camerata, and the TAS Wind Ensemble. Music is an important part of TAS. It helps students learn, grow, and connect with others while building a strong foundation in music.[17]

File:Prince Edward dedicates new houses 1983.jpg
Prince Edward inaugurates the first Day Houses, Green and Ross, during a private visit to the school in 1983. The captains are wearing the Norfolk Jacket, the school's formal uniform at the time.

Leadership, Service and Adventure

The Armidale School has a leadership, service and adventure program which has an emphasis on outdoor education and is designed to develop a sense of responsibility and self-confidence through activities such as abseiling, whitewater kayaking and bivouacs. Outdoor education activities in which students may participate in, include the following:

Cadets

Founded in 1898 and one of the longest-running cadet units in Australia, the TAS Cadet Unit is part of the Australian Army Cadet Corps. This activity is compulsory for students in Years 8 to 10, and is voluntary for Years 11 onwards. It involves drill and ceremonial work, and Outward Bound training. A Ceremonial Guard provides a catafalque party each year at Anzac Day and Remembrance Day services in Armidale and at school, and the TAS Cadet band operates for the annual cadet unit passing out parade.

Rural Fire Service

In 1970 TAS became the first school in NSW to offer bush firefighter training, originally as part of the service component for the school's Duke of Edinburgh Award. The school's RFS program aims to produce students who are competent in aspects of bush firefighting, and who take an active role in helping their community by obtaining a Bush Firefighting (BF) qualification. The activity is carried out in conjunction with the Dumaresq Brigade of the NSW Rural Fire Service New England Zone and at the RFS' Armidale Fire Training Centre.[18]

Surf Life Saving

Surf life saving commenced at TAS in 1967, as a service component for the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme introduced at the school earlier that year. For the first few years, the boys did their training at Nambucca Heads, and during the 1990s, with Yamba SLSC. Currently the relationship is with Sawtell SLSC,[19] where students spend several days during the year and then an intensive week of training and assessment in November. Students are instructed in inshore boat rescue – crewing, patient pick-ups and assessment, related signals, radio, equipment and safety; first aid – CPR; board rescues, tube rescues, patient care, patient carries, etc. This program culminates in an examination for their RLSSA Surf Life Saving Bronze Medallion.

File:TAS Surf Life.jpg
TAS students undertake Surf Life Saving qualifications in conjunction with Sawtell Surf Life Saving Club.

Expeditions

As part of the school's adventure program a number of expeditions have taken place including five treks of the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea, the Sea to Summit cycle ride from Pambula to the peak of Mount Kosciuszko, and to Antarctica.

Other

The TAS Triple Crown was instigated in 2014 as an award given to those students who complete three adventure events during their time at the school – the 2km Coffs Harbour Ocean Swim, the 14km City to Surf footrace in Sydney, and the 111km overnight Hawkesbury Canoe Classic. Other events that are recognised for the award include Tour de Rocks, a 255km charity cycle ride from Armidale to South West Rocks. Those who complete three in the one year are awarded the Gold Triple Crown.

Round Square

TAS is a member of Round Square,[20] an international organisation of more than 200 schools worldwide which subscribes to the philosophy of Kurt Hahn (1886–1974), a renowned educationalist, who founded the idea of experiential education through such initiatives as the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme and Outward Bound. The philosophy is based on five pillars or IDEALS: Internationalism, Democracy, Environment, Adventure, Leadership and Service. The Round Square network affords member schools the opportunity to arrange local and international student and teacher exchanges on a regular basis between their schools. Students and staff also have the opportunity to participate in local and international community service projects and conferences.

Notable alumni

Template:Alumni Alumnus of The Armidale School are referred to generally as Old Armidalians, Old Boys or Old Girls (following the introduction of co-education in 2015) and may elect to join the schools' alumni association, the Old Armidalians' Union (formerly TAS Old Boys' Union).[21] Some notable Old Armidalians include:

Rhodes scholar

Arts, media, and entertainment

Business

Politics, public service and the law

Science

Sport

Other occupations

See also

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References

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External links

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