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Brisbane Boys’ College Clinches Head of the River 2021 Rowing Victory After 19 Years

It took trust, strength and determination for Brisbane Boys’ College (BBC) in Toowong to break a 19-year-drought and emerge victorious at the Head of the River 2021 regatta.

On Saturday morning, 13 March 2021, BBC’s First VIII rowing team managed to beat Anglican Church Grammar School and St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace in the last 250 metres at Lake Wyaralong.

The 10-man squad was trailing behind Churchie at 500 metres but the crew powered on, displaying their strength and teamwork to pull together.

Captain of Boats Sam Crook said that they achieved this monumental win by trusting each other.

“As we sit on the start line all hoping for victory, the unit that has the trust, the belief and that follows the process will be the one that is successful,” Sam said. “In order to achieve glory, you must do something the boat next to you is not willing to do. It is not an option to let down the man in front when the pain cave hits.”

Mark Pavone, Brisbane Boys’ College head of co-curricular said that the team shares this victory with the parents, who have sacrificed their time to drive their boys to the training, and to the community that has tireless supported them.

The school’s First VIII rowing team victory comes after BBC’s First XV Rugby and First IV Tennis teams won the 2020 GPS Rugby and Tennis Premiers. The current but outgoing principal, Mr Paul Brown, is the only principal in the school’s 119-year history to have had both rugby and rowing championships during his term of office.

Meanwhile, Churchie received the Old Boys Cup for the quality of its longstanding rowing program. Anglican Church Grammar School Deputy Headmaster Co-curricular John Frare said this was, in itself, a great achievement for the school, which has one of the largest student body participating in rowing in Queensland.

Spring Hill and Toowong Schools Lead List of Brisbane’s Most Expensive

The pandemic has had nearly half of schools across the country holding back on school fees increase for this year’s term but some private schools in Queensland, including Brisbane Boys College in Toowong, have increased tuition by up to three percent.

EdStart’s 2021 National School Fees Report showed that 40 percent of schools in Australia had no fees increase for the incoming term, whilst the nation’s general increase average dropped from 2.83 percent in 2020 to 1.05 percent this year.

The average increase in Queensland was at 1.19 percent, down from last year’s 1.87 percent.

Brisbane Boys College increased school fees by 2.29 percent to land as the second most expensive school in Queensland, trailing behind Brisbane Grammar School in Spring Hill (2.5 percent increase). The third most expensive school in the region, Brisbane Girls Grammar School, had zero fees increase this year.

Top 10 Most Expensive Schools in Queensland

School	2020 Fees	Increase	2021 Fees
Brisbane Grammar School	$28,230	$1,220	$29,450
Brisbane Boys College	$24,724	$2,444	$27,168
Brisbane Girls Grammar School	$26,555	$0	$26,555
Anglican Church Grammar School	$23,944	$1,990	$25,934
St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School	$24,560	$0	$24,560
The Southport School	$24,438	$0	$24,438
Somerville House	$23,940	$0	$23,940
St Aidan’s Anglican Girls School	$22,120	$1,735	$23,855
Clayfield College	$19,165	$2,665	$21,830
St Peter’s Lutheran College	$20,360	$516	$20,876

EdStart CEO Jack Stevens said this trend was unusual as the standard was to increase fees annually. However, many institutions have acknowledged the realities of household budgets taking a hit due to the current public health crisis.

To get by and manage cash flow, parents have been enrolling in payment plans.

Brisbane Boys College, for instance, has a specific scheme for paying school fees weekly or fortnight whilst companies like EdStart have provided loans for tuition so parents won’t have to take on a mortgage or apply for a personal loan.

But Mr Stevens also said that flat fees will not be sustainable long-term as schools are driven to add staffing and administration or spend on maintenance and acquisition of the facilities. He projects that the majority of schools will go back to increasing fees by 2022.

First ATAR Results: Nearly Half of the Students at 2 Toowong Schools Achieved Above 90

Over 25,000 Year 12 students in Queensland received the very first Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) this December. Amidst a challenging year, the Class of 2020 at two Toowong schools will leave with impressive ATAR results.

Nearly half the students at Stuartholme School in Birdwood Terrace and Brisbane Boys’ College in Kensington Terrace had 90 and above ATAR results.

Stuartholme School Principal Kristen Sharpe has released a statement to congratulate the graduating students. Some 44.30 percent of the girls earned a score above 90, whilst 19 percent had 95 of higher ATAR results.

Ms Sharpe also proudly stated that five of their girls will get “an Academic Commendation from QCAA for achieving straight A results in six General Subjects.”

Photo Credit: Stuartholme School/Facebook

Brisbane Boys’ College, on the other hand, had 44.20 percent of their graduating students with above 90 ATAR results, whilst 9.3 percent scored 99 and above.

“Special acknowledgement goes to Matthew Chen, Cody Fang and Max Foreman who received the highest possible ATAR of 99.95, being three of only 30 Year 12 students across the state to do so,” the school officials said in a statement.

“The Class of 2020 has made history by being the first cohort to graduate through the Senior Assessment Tertiary Entrance (SATE) system. They were the first full cohort of Prep, the first Year 7s into High School and the first group to receive an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) rather than OP in Queensland.”

Photo Credit: Brisbane Boys’ College/Facebook

Other westside schools performing impressively include the St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School in Corinda, where 69 percent of students had above 90 ATAR results, and Marist College in Ashgrove with 27 percent scoring above 90.

“Schools across Queensland introduced the new syllabuses and assessment model with Year 11 students in 2019, and the success of the transition is a credit to the hard work and professionalism of principals and teachers,” Education Minister Grace Grace said.

“And now, despite the disruptions to their schooling caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic, the great news is 89 percent of these young people achieved a QCE.”

Ms Grace also advised students whose results are far from their expectations to not be disheartened as they can explore more options to enter the university.

For questions about the ATAR students or parents may phone QTAC on 1300 193 173.

New Housing Complex Development Near Brisbane Boys College Opposed

Brisbane Boys’ College (BBC) plans to sell a section of its land on Union St for a townhouse development consisting of 24 units but residents are opposing the plan mainly because it will increase traffic problems in a school area.

BBC, managed and owned by the Presbyterian and Methodist Schools Association (PMSA), was supposed to enter into a contract with the developer, Feltham Property Group, to turn 0.8ha of land into a housing complex. The development, however, hit a road bump after the Council required easement and access roads, particularly near the school’s tennis courts.

PMSA, through its chairman and architect Greg Adsett, however, said that the easement is not needed and the said area at the back of the school won’t impact the school’s activities, including traffic.

But traffic has been a major issue on Union St since the beginning of this year, according to the residents. They enumerated some of the causes of traffic in their submission to the Council:

BBC parents am/pm drop off and pick-up of students
Buses taking students to various events and to and from school
Senior students getting their drivers license throughout the year and increase in students parking in Union St

“Local traffic in the street sees the amount of houses, unit blocks, units and duplex in Union Street alone.”

Photo Credit: PD Online/Brisbane City Council

Headmaster Paul Brown said that the land for the development is a school surplus and its sale received approval from the Council. Mr Brown added that the townhouse development, dubbed Oakman Residences, is closer to Oakman Park than the school. Selling the land would help fund the college’s planned developments.

Feltham Property Group plans to build six apartments and 17 townhouses, as well as maintain the Kaieta house, built in the 1890s. Kaieta is currently the residence of the school’s headmaster, which will be refurbished and incorporated in the development.

“KAIETA is a historic Brisbane home. I restored it from a semi-derelict state in 1978. My family occupied it until I sold it to Brisbane Boys’ College,” Dr John Thynne Drewe said. “Their care of it since then has been a disgrace. I would be of the opinion that the PMSA should be required to restore it to a standard befitting such a historic part of Toowong and not be moved and concealed by townhouse clutter. Imagine the traffic access to Moggill Rd if that occurs.”

Toowong’s Brisbane Boys College Sets Unprecedented Record Of 5 Consecutive Tennis GPS Titles

The prestigious GPS schools sporting competition gathered a new record recently, when Brisbane Boys College became the first school in any sport to complete five consecutive championships, when their Tennis team completed their fifth consecutive win.

The GPS tournaments(stands for Great Public Schools) are a sporting program, first started in 1918, covering 16 sports and activities amongst 9 schools:

BBC’s five-year winning streak comes on the back of previous BBC wins in 2006, 2007, and 2008; although Brisbane Grammar School and Ipswich Grammar School tied for the top spot in 2009, dashing BBC’s hopes for a four-peat win for that year.

Just four years after losing the top spot in 2009, the BBC team regained their premier standing via a three-way tie with Brisbane Grammar School and Nudgee College in 2013, and has been unbeatable since then.

Since the start of the GPS sporting competitions in 1918, the BBC tennis team has had 12 first place wins. They scored outright wins in the 1983, 1987, 2006-2008, and 2014-2017 championships, as well as shared wins in 1934, 2011, and 2013.

The team represented Australia in schoolboy tennis in Qatar in March 2015, where they placed fourth. That was not the first time the team traveled overseas to represent their school and country; in 2008, they also travelled to compete in Poland.

The team’s excellent standing has been attributed to the well-executed professional training program that their Director of Tennis, Chris Rolph, has implemented for the boys from Prep to Year 12. Mr. Rolph has introduced primary and secondary students to the game and aims to develop tennis players at all levels. The school’s program is now aligned with the program used by Tennis Australia’s qualified coaches.

Brisbane Boys’ College Tennis Program from Brisbane Boys’ College on Vimeo.

Mr. Rolph carries an extensive background in coaching, teaching and administration. His previous roles included manager of the Queensland Secondary School Tennis Team.

In 2016, the team also welcomed Ben Mitchell to the coaching team, Ben reached the Wimbledon Junior final in 2010 and played on the pro circuit at a very high level.

A dedicated staff member has also been assigned to assist with the tennis program’s needs. Tennis has really become an integral part of the school’s curriculum.

Could a six-peat be on the horizon for next year? Given the way the team has been playing, it seems likely that the BBC tennis team will continue to make GPS history.