Ballarat Grammar, Gippsland Grammar: Top independent schools for sport
School sport programs are at peak capacity as students take charge of their own health. Here are some of the best ones and where they excel.
A post-pandemic halo has settled over school sport and physical education programs.
Students’ participation levels have skyrocketed and so has their enthusiasm and eagerness to try new activities.
It is a bounce-back that schools, teachers and coaches attribute to the heavy lockdown restrictions from the past two years, which highlighted the widespread needs and benefits of being active.
Not being able to participate in team or individual sports and having physical activity limited or banned for an extended time hit home, particularly for cooped-up students, who now recognise and appreciate more than ever the ability of sport and recreation to not only improve their physical health but their mental, social and emotional welfare as well.
Hamilton’s Monivae College principal Jonathan Rowe says to manage the demand they are offering a broader, more diverse range of sports including water activities such as water polo, scuba diving and water aerobics, and also golf and clay target shooting.
“As we move into a post-pandemic world we notice our students are specifically looking for opportunities to be part of our sports teams as they recognise it as being healthy for their social and emotional wellbeing,” Mr Rowe says.
“Sport also helps with wellbeing by providing a platform whereby students actively encourage each other, celebrate each other’s achievements, provide positive outcomes and create a sense of belonging to something greater than one individual.”
WAITING GAME
Ballarat Clarendon College head of boarding and head of health and physical education Kirsty Walsh says the college offers more sports now than in the past and all have high rates of participation, with waiting lists for many.
“I think it (the pandemic) changed the way most people viewed physical activity,” Ms Walsh says.
“We have seen an increase in our uptake and participation in our physical activity offerings such as swimming, spin classes and cross country running as many have realised that sport is not the only way to remain fit and healthy and that after the pandemic we need a variety of ways to be active.
“Many (students) have lost confidence in their fitness and skills over the past two years so are hesitant. Some are signing up to everything while they can after missing out the past two years.”
FINISH IN FRONT
Gippsland Grammar principal Leisa Harper says students have re-engaged strongly in all local sporting fixtures.
“Our participation rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels and in some areas there has been an increase as students have responded to missing these opportunities over the past two years,” she says.
Sport and recreation have profound physical, mental and social benefits for students and also keep communities connected, Ms Harper says.
“Physical benefits include increased fitness as well as the long-term health benefits of maintaining a healthy body and the ability to remain active throughout life,” she says.
“Socially, team sport offers our students the opportunity to work in a team and understand the importance of working together, while individual sports also provide opportunities for learning and skill development.
“The flow-on effect of positive participation in sport goes on to have a positive impact on communities because when students are involved in sports they have a greater understanding of health and fitness as well as knowing the benefits of working together. The importance of sport and recreation are linked to a community’s happiness.”
SPORTING LINK
At Monivae, there has been significant investment in infrastructure to physically integrate the College stadiums, gymnasium and indoor pool under the same roof as the Wellbeing Team’s mindfulness room, counselling space and Peace Garden where meditation sessions are held.
“This co-locating encourages students to seamlessly link sport and recreation with their wellbeing,” Mr Rowe says.
“We truly believe encouraging students to be active leads to better mental and physical health outcomes. In turn, this contributes to reducing the barriers to learning and maximising the educational outcomes for all students.
“Transitioning to secondary school can be a time of upheaval for students and it’s a time where their wellbeing really needs to be supported. One tactic we use is to run a three-day camp for the entire Year 7 cohort during their first week of school,” Mr Rowe says.
“Sport and being active is a main focus of the camp as it encourages new friendships, helps develop support networks and build resilience as they try new things together.”
Profiling alumni is another tool used by many schools to inspire students to get active with their stories of perseverance and achievement.
“We recently organised for multi-Paralympian Milly Tapper to speak to our Year 10 cohort during a retreat. Milly spoke about how her disability has taken her on an amazing sporting journey, when it would have been easy to focus on non-sporting life,” Mr Rowe says.
ACTIVE KIDS ARE CONNECTED
The rise of use of devices as entertainment and for socialising has come at the cost of less time being active, says Monivae’s Mr Rowe.
“Fortunately, being located in a rural setting where there is strong participation in community-based sport is helpful. Many of our students live in smaller towns and on farms and so they are naturally more likely to ride bikes or walk to get around.
“Sport is a very important part of their community’s identity and social life.”
Ballarat Clarendon’s Ms Walsh says it is an expectation at the school that all students until the end of Year 10 be involved in co-curricular activities and staff are actively involved also.
“Our pastoral care staff help ensure students know what opportunities are available. Our coaches follow up on attendance and participation. Most staff are involved in taking a sport or physical activity including deputy principals and heads of school,” she says.
“Sport and recreation for student health and welfare is vital, just as much for the social and mental benefits as it is for the physical benefits. Not just students, everyone. It is a protective factor for anyone’s good health and wellbeing.”
To ensure students remained active, they were taught the benefits of sport within the curriculum and provided with year-round opportunities to participate.
Ms Walsh says PE classes teach skills to increase confidence while sport participation helps with social and spiritual wellbeing for students.
“It builds relationships often outside of immediate friendship groups such as different year levels. It also gives students something to connect to, a sense of belonging and purpose. Connectedness is one of the most important protective factors for young people’s mental health,” she says.
INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS’ SPORTING STRENGTHS
BALLARAT CLARENDON COLLEGE
Elite athlete alumni from Ballarat Clarendon College:
AFL: Darcy Tucker, Hugh McCluggage, Jarod Berry, Tom Berry, Willem Drew, Seb Ross all play in the AFL and Ben Hobbs was drafted in 2021
Cricket: Sara Kennedy, Victorian U19 team
Cycling: Lucas Hamilton, Tour de France and Olympics 2021
Netball: Poppy Douglass, U19 Victorian Team; Lucia Fauonuku, Netball Victoria U19 development squad
Rowing: Open girls division 1 crew made National Champions U19, past student Kat Werry rowed in the 2021 Olympics
Rugby: Nisi Fauonuku, Australian Junior Rugby Union Squad and Melbourne Storm development squad
Swimming: Ed Meddings, National qualifier
Tennis: Sabrina Gauci, International Tennis Championships U12
BALLARAT GRAMMAR
Sport is an integral part of life at Ballarat Grammar:
Basketball: Two multipurpose on-campus stadiums offer training and games, as well as all-weather courts outside
Cricket: Played on one of two on-campus ovals, with invitational matches against local and interstate schools and the Premier’s Cup at the end of each year for the Ballarat champion school
Netball: Invitational matches played against local and interstate schools, with the school taking part in an annual netball trip to New Zealand and Victorian Schools Netball Championships
Soccer and tennis: Synthetic grass pitches and courts on-campus for training and games
Cycling: Track cycling in Term 1 at the Velodrome in Ballarat
Dance: Offers Year 7 and 8 Art, Drama and Movement program, Year 8 Performance elective, Year 9 Dance Styles elective, VCE Dance Units 1-4, and a school production collaboration between Music, Drama and Dance departments. On campus, the Gullen Auditorium is dedicated to dance and drama while the Wendouree Centre for Performing Arts is an 800-seat theatre on campus
Rowing: Ballarat Grammar’s John Ross-Perrier Water Sports Centre is located on Lake Wendouree, about 800m from the main campus and boarding houses. The school rowing crews take part in regattas including Head of the Lake, Head of Schoolgirls and Head of Schoolboys, State Championships and National Championships
Swimming: Teams take part in house and interschool competitions, with training taking place in the Ballarat Grammar school pool
THE GEELONG COLLEGE
The Geelong College has had great success in everything from diving to snowsports
AFL: More than 100 players drafted to the AFL including current players Charlie and Ed Curnow, Tom Atkins, Ned McHenry, Charlie Lazzaro, Stephanie Williams and Toby Conway. Facilities include a weights room, two personal trainers on staff and expert coaches.
Diving: Coached by ex-Olympian
Grant Nel and highly skilled past National-level divers, the diving program includes a girls team that came 2nd at the APS Girls’ Diving Finals and boys team, which finished 4th
Rowing: With a boatshed on the Barwon River, less than 1km from the school, expert coaches and the rowing program have produced alumni who have rowed in the Olympics
Soccer: The soccer program is headed by ex-Socceroo and Melbourne Victory player Adrian Leijer
Snowsports: Competes at the Victorian and Australian Interschool Snowsports Championships, placing 5th in the coeducational secondary division the most recent time the competition was held in 2019. Alumni compete as Paralympians and on the international circuit
GIPPSLAND GRAMMAR
Gippsland Grammar School excels in:
Rowing: All Year 7 students take part in rowing in PE. This year Gippsland Grammar bought home two National titles and two silver medals at the Australian Rowing Championships
Shooting: Clay target shooting is popular and offered as part of the weekly sport program. The shooting team has won the state DTL championship at Bendigo twice in the past 10 years and several of the local competitions including the South East Zone
THE HAMILTON AND ALEXANDRA COLLEGE
The Hamilton and Alexandra College has a flourishing sport culture:
Hockey: With a purpose-built all-weather hockey field and dedicated coaches, College has a large number of teams and many students play at a state level
Cricket: Fielded four mens’ teams this year, plus two U16, one U15 girls, two U14 and three U12 teams. Multiple teams won premierships for the 2021-22 Hamilton and District Cricket Association. Some male and female students also play cricket for the Western Waves
Clay target shooting: More than 50 students, boys and girls, take part, supported by an active parent community. Along with state and nationals title winner Harry Brown, Year 12 Fraser Diprose has competed at national level and was a top junior shooter in Victoria
METHODIST LADIES’ COLLEGE
Methodist Ladies’ College shines in sports:
AFL: Fields six AFL teams. Have won 11 Girls’ Sports Victoria Premierships. Six alumnae have played AFLW. Seniors coach Mimi Hill has been named 2022 AFLW Rising Star. GSV Sport Coordinator Elle Bennetts plays for the Western Bulldogs in AFLW
Netball: More than 350 students participate in MLC Stars Netball program. Head Coach Sharni Norder (nee Layton) is a Commonwealth Games gold medallist and captained the Australian Diamonds
Rowing: Topped the medal tally at Head of Schoolgirls’ Regatta in March, which was founded by MLC’s then-head of rowing in 1985. Top 5 finish in the Schoolgirl Eight event every year since its inception
Swimming: Has placed 1st in the GSV Division 1 Carnival for 21 years in a row, with MLC’s diving team also placing 1st this year. Also offers MLC Aquatic club
Gymnastics: MLC Gymnastics club recently voted the “best large gym club in Australia”
MONIVAE COLLEGE
Monivae College Sports Academy features basketball and cricket for males and females. It has specialist coaches and support program staff and includes two full-size basketball stadiums, a new six-lane indoor cricket facility, turf wicket and outdoor nets. The MCSA will expand next year to include swimming.
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