Brisbane Grammar School
Our School
Brisbane Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, day and boarding school for boys, located in Spring Hill, Brisbane. Set on a heritage listed site, BGS opened in 1868, making it one of the oldest school in Australia. BGS has an outstanding 147-year historical commitment to educating boys, which is expressed both in terms of academic outcomes and the development of lifelong learners. The School’s longstanding commitment to a broad liberal education continues to best prepare its students for an exciting but complex world of change and diversity.
BGS aspires to a learning culture that is never complacent. As the world changes, so too does the School adapt, constantly reviewing and developing its programs, practices and facilities, seeking that optimal blend of tradition and innovation.
Today BGS caters for almost 1700 boys, from Years 5-12, with 102 boarders calling the School home. It is split into a Middle School and Senior School, designed to operate in an integrated manner and provide a seamless transition from boys’ middle to senior years.
Our Purpose
Brisbane Grammar School educates boys within a strong learning culture that is innovative, yet respectful of its traditions, by nurturing their intellectual, physical and emotional well-being to become thoughtful, confident men of character who contribute to their communities. Each boy is encouraged and supported to discover and fulfil his unique potential within an academic program that aims to develop a broad knowledge base, higher order thinking skills, and dispositions that promote intelligent behaviour.
The academic curriculum at BGS is complemented by a broad educational offering of cultural, sporting, personal development and service programs which the boys are encouraged to explore widely. These pursuits are considered an equally important element of their overall growth, learning and socialisation.
All programs at BGS are underpinned by our core values of endeavour, learning, respect, leadership and community.
Academic Facilities
As befits a school which places the highest priority on learning, BGS has outstanding learning and teaching facilities. The Lilley Centre – an integrated learning facility – opened in 2010, was driven by a vision to create powerful new 21st century learning experiences for our students that equip them as self-directed learners for university and for leadership in their chosen career paths.
Cultural Facilities
A centrally-located Arts precinct serves the performing and fine arts. It includes a spacious music building with air-conditioned practice rooms, and a rehearsal gallery providing the ideal environment for music. The Centre for Art at BGS provides a strong presence for the visual arts on campus and reflects its important contribution to developing students’ creative thinking and a nearby theatre plays host to many school productions and drama performances.
Sporting Facilities
The extensive sporting opportunities on offer at BGS gives boys the chance to participate in a wide variety of sports at various levels of ability. The School is a proud member of the Great Public Schools (GPS) Association of Queensland.
BGS provides excellent facilities for its extracurricular program. On campus there are tennis courts, cricket nets, and two ovals; as well as an indoor sports centre incorporating a weights room, heated indoor swimming pool, indoor courts for volleyball, basketball and fencing, indoor cricket nets, and a specialist men’s gymnastics floor.
Off campus, an extensive complex of ovals and facilities at Northgate serves cricket, rugby, and soccer, while a well-equipped rowing shed is located at West End. Both facilities are within 10-20 minutes travel from the School and buses are provided to take boys to and from training.
In addition, BGS operates an Outdoor Education Centre at Pepperina Hill (Lake Moogerah), which provides an invaluable adventure education for all boys.
Boarding
Boarding has been an integral and dynamic part of BGS’ landscape since it opened in 1869, with the boys living at Harlin House provided with incredible opportunities for academic and cultural growth. By day they gain the advantages of being educated in a leading boys’ school, and by night and on weekends they experience the benefits of our highly individualised approach to boarding, where each boy’s story is valued.
Boarders are in the perfect position to access the vast array of experiences the School has to offer. Harlin House is located at the heart of the campus, offering doorstep access to extensive playing fields, the Indoor Sports Centre, the Music Centre, and The Lilley Centre, where prep is held, with full access to the senior library and staffed by librarians.
This stimulating boarding environment is comprised of young men from rural and regional communities, provincial cities, and overseas locations, equipping BGS boarders with valued friendships that continue long after school, often for a lifetime. House tutors are all graduate staff, the majority are teachers, who focus on supporting the boys through the many personal and academic challenges that are part of life. Boarding at BGS provides your son with a chance to develop both his emotional and intellectual intelligence, through his interaction with a diverse range of people and experiences.