Teachers of Mathematics, English, Physical Education and Business

The Rockhampton Grammar School was founded in 1881 and is an independent co-educational day and boarding school, educating and caring for students from Prep to Year 12, as well as the Early Learning Years. The School is the largest independent boarding school in Queensland and the second largest co-educational boarding school in Australia. It is a leading school in regional Queensland and one of the foremost schools in regional Australia. The Rockhampton Grammar School has achieved great success in the academic, cultural, sporting and vocational fields over the past 143 years. The School has a total enrolment of over 1,400 (Prep to Year 12) students who are exposed to our broad curriculum, giving effect to our commitment of Grow in Character and Scholarship.

See the School through the eyes of two recent graduates as they take you on a 5-minute virtual tour of RGS. Use your pointer as you accompany you and don't forget to use your pointer to navigate to get full 360-degreee view at www.rgs.qld.edu.au/tour

Headmaster

Dr Phillip Moulds

Facilities

Situated on 7.5 hectares, The Rockhampton Grammar School’s main campus and gardens house over 110 classrooms, an indoor gymnasium, two sporting ovals, an Olympic size outdoor swimming pool, tennis and volleyball courts, undercover play areas, a healthcare centre, a modern theatre, dance studios and music rooms. In addition, the School owns and operates Ritamada, its Outdoor Education and Leadership campus, at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef. Because of its strong links to Agriculture, RGS also runs a Demonstration Farm campus (with animals, citrus groves and crops) as well as exclusive access to a combined commercial cattle property and research facility where students study land management, animal welfare and more.

Vision

The Rockhampton Grammar School vision is that each student Grow in Character and Scholarship, every day, in a structured, challenging and stimulating learning environment that inspires them to become successful lifelong learners, responsible local and global citizens, and men and women of strong ethical and moral character. RGS promote high standards of scholarship and character development and encourages personal excellence in intellectual, physical, creative and emotional development. The School work closely with students by fostering intellect to the highest level of which they are capable; by encouraging them in their search for knowledge, understanding and truth; and by preparing them to undertake further learning and development.

Recognised nationally in 2019 as a leading Regional and top Boarding School by The Educator, RGS's pastoral care programmes are designed to develop students’ respect for self and others. the Schools staff, programmes and services work together to develop students' deep understanding of their strengths and weaknesses; to become responsible, flexible and constructive members of the community; to act upon the needs of others and to develop an understanding of the importance of co-operative endeavour, fair play, team work and excellence in their academic, sporting and cultural pursuits. Using Positive Education as well as Habits of Mind and Marzano’s Taxonomy frameworks, RGS guides and supports students as they discover and cope with adolescence and young- adulthood, focusing on their physical and emotional well-being and relationships by encouraging their acceptance of responsibility; unselfishness, tolerance, kindness honesty, integrity and respect for truth; self-discipline, perseverance and the desire to excel; humility in success and dignity in failure.

Core Ethos and Values

RGS provides students a solid platform from which to make good choices, set clear goals and reap the rewards of determination and effort in their learning. School Values are: Care and Compassion – care for self and others; Endeavour – seek to perform at your best in everything you undertake individually and collectively; Respect – treat others with consideration and regard; Honesty and Trustworthiness – be honest, sincere and able to be trusted; Responsibility – be accountable for and in charge of your own actions; Integrity – act in accordance with principles of moral and ethical conduct and ensure consistency between words and actions; Democracy – appreciate the rights and privileges of citizenship, commitment to the pursuit of the common good and standing up and helping others; Community – be aware and welcoming of others, accept diversity, provide service, include others and display tolerance.

"We want students to not only be successful and achieve their personal best, but to become adults who live rich, fulfilling lives, who participate fully as a part of numerous communities and contribute to democracy," says Headmaster Dr Phillip Moulds.

"That they are people who set high goals for themselves and pursue these with passion. That they understand that the responsibility of what is learnt at school is not that we treat our knowledge, skills and creative talents as ends in themselves; that we don’t use them selfishly and solely to advantage ourselves, but that we use them quite consciously for benefit and service to others."

Teaching and Learning

The Rockhampton Grammar School, Secondary School, delivers dual VET (Vocational Education and Training) and university pathways that are equal in ‘status’ as staff work with individual students based on each girl or boy's interest, capabilities and education goals. At all year levels, there is no single mould for students to fit. Student success at RGS is based on teacher excellence and rigorous, supportive Professional Development that includes Teacher Mentoring as well as a programme of Lesson Observations and Continuous Improvement. Particular to RGS, is its own Master of Education programme, a custom designed advanced degree offered by the School in conjunction with Griffith University that is available to all teaching staff. Deepening their specialty knowledge and enhancing their teaching capability, the Masters (and other programmes) fuels excellence among teachers.

The School also delivers a far-reaching Global Education Programme, hosting a small number of full-time students from overseas and participating in Round Square, an internationally diverse network of 200 like-minded schools in 50 countries that connect and collaborate to develop global competence, character and confidence in students. With additional sister-schools and partnerships with educators in China, the UK, New Zealand, the USA, Japan and elsewhere plus a growing curriculum focused cultural awareness and interdependence, the School is delivering quality outcomes and international experiences for RGS students.

Acknowledge as a leading Queensland school, the graduating Year 12 cohort (2018) comprised of one hundred and sixty-nine students who were issued a Senior Education Profile (SEP), with one hundred and thirty-five being OP eligible and two being OP-equivalent eligible (visa students). (OP, or Overall Positions, rank students for entry to university.)

Twelve students achieved an OP1 (8.76%). This was the School’s second-best result in terms of the number of OP1 awarded, as well as the proportion. State data reveals 705 students (343 female (2.44%) and 362 male (3.34%) received an OP 1 in 2018.

The percentage of RGS students achieving an OP 1-5 was 27.74%, which equates to 38 students. This is in comparison to the state figure of 21.79%. Ninety-six students (70.07%) achieved an OP 1-10 in comparison to the state figure of 53.96%. This is the second-best performance (it missed the 2013 record by 0.02%) for the School in the OP 1-10 bracket since the OP system was introduced in 1992. One hundred and thirty-two (96.35%) of our OP graduates achieved an OP 1-15, which is the School’s best performance and is exceptional in comparison to the state figure of 82.69.

The lowest OP which can be awarded is an OP 25. No Grammar student received an OP over 18. In fact, of the 137 OP/OP equivalent eligible students only five achieved a result between 16 and 18.

All graduates successfully completed the minimum credit point requirement and were awarded their Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE).

As the OP and VET pathways are equally valued at RGS and it is important to document the fact that 165 of the 169 graduating students (97.63%) successfully completed and were awarded a VET qualification (ranging from a Certificate I to III level). In fact, one hundred and sixty students achieved a Certificate I, fifty-one a Certificate II and thirty-eight a Certificate III.

Co-Curricular (including Sport)

RGS offers more than 40 different Co-curricular sports and activities and runs The Dance & Musical Theatre Academy. In 2018 RGS received Gold, Silver and Bronze medals at the Queensland Secondary Schools Rowing Championships across all year levels; Silver Medalist at the National Secondary Schools Championships in Sport Aerobics; Queensland Country Boys Champions in Tennis; Ballymore Cup Runners up in Opens and Champions in U16 for Rugby Union; First VII Magic were RNA Premiers in Netball and 9A Storm were Schoolgirls and Rockhampton Vicki Wilson Shield Champions; Rockhampton District Champions in First XI Cricket; Rockhampton Champions in Water polo, Rockhampton Champions in First XIII Rugby League. Our students also came together to be awarded Rockhampton and District Secondary Schools Premiership Teams in all three District Carnivals: Swimming; Athletics; and Cross Country.