Overwhelming pride in wearing the Blue and Gold is a familiar emotion for Toowoomba Grammar School students, as is abundantly evident in all our boys, from Prep to Year 12. This emotion and passion for the School is the essence of our TGS culture and defines what it means to be a TGS student.
The launch of the 2022 - 2026 Strategic Plan creates an exciting opportunity for our co-curricular program, which links perfectly into the "character and wellbeing" pillar. The development of good character for TGS students is at the forefront of the Strategic Plan, underpins all our program planning and provides the Sport and Activities Department with a crystal-clear vision for how we intend to deliver our co-curricular programs.
Character Development
Student character growth and development are the primary focus of our rich co-curricular offerings. Character is defined as the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual, and our co-curricular experiences are shaped purposely to enhance these qualities. These activities are a wonderful medium for a student to express his individual character, and our programs have a strong emphasis on sportsmanship and team building. Resilience is another quality enhanced through all co-curricular programs, focussing on students' awareness of situations, their emotional reactions and the behaviour of others. These are high expectations for TGS students and life-long learning experiences that emphasise a phrase in our School song, "Toowoomba Grammar always plays the game".
Fun and Engagement
The development of a diverse and engaging co-curricular program must incorporate student engagement objectives. There is significant evidence to suggest that when students are actively engaged in activities, they have a happy disposition, and their overall wellbeing improves. We are fortunate to regularly witness many examples of happy and engaged students participating in a variety of musical showcases, cadet bivouacs and GPS sporting matches. Other examples of our wide-ranging programs include the Mountain Bike Club, the Camp Draft team and the Show Cattle team.
Performance and Results
While we strive to do our best in all competitive settings, winning is not the driving factor in measuring the success of our co-curricular programs. Pressure to perform will always exist inside and outside a school setting and comes from a variety of external and intrinsic factors. We see winning as the by-product of successfully enhancing the students' character qualities and engagement levels. It is not the driving influence. There will be times when specific teams or groups will strive harder for performance success, which will increase the external and intrinsic pressures on students to perform. These experiences, both positive and potentially negative, will help students to build resilience and to flourish when they leave school. The success of our programs can also be measured through the level of engagement in activities post-school. Witnessing our Old Boys' participation in sports or performing arts validates our strategy of providing skills for life.
The successful delivery of any co-curricular program requires three key elements:
- Coaching and skill progression
- Facilities
- Competition
The strength of the GPS competition has enabled TGS to progress in all three elements, to the point that our sports and performing arts programs are the strongest across the Darling Downs and regional Queensland, which is a unique point of difference for TGS.
Our coaching staff and music tutors, over 220 dedicated men and women, are the backbone of our co-curricular programs, helping our boys strive to achieve their goals. Their specialist skills, pastoral care and commitment to the School provide our students with the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of learning experiences. Their experience, combined with our state-of-the-art facilities, will ensure that our programs will continue to grow and strengthen.
The creation of a Prep to Year 12 Sport and Activities Department, a key action within the Strategic Plan, is currently being modelled. The primary focus is to align the skill progressions and pathway opportunities of all TGS students. From our youngest Prep students to our Year 12 boys, our programs will strive to provide opportunities for students to experience, engage and develop during their TGS journey.
One exciting example of the Prep to Year 12 modelling is identifying Long Term Athlete Development initiatives throughout the School. TGS focusses on development-based programs where we aim to provide all students with the tools and the skills to learn. This starts in our younger years, where all our sporting programs are now focussed on developing basic athletic development. This is highlighted in both sports training sessions and Health and Physical Education-based activities, fine tuning basic movement patterns. This is vital in developing successful athletes in years to come. As the students mature, our sporting programs evolve to include athletic development opportunities, skill progression at training and physical development.
Our strength and conditioning programs have tripled their productivity this year, providing all students access to personalised programs to enhance their physical and athletic development, no matter their individual goals. In addition, students who are focussed on achieving their sporting goals and aspirational dreams have programs written specifically to fulfil their specific needs and workloads, enabling them to enrich their potential.
The Sport and Activities Department will continue to strive toward delivering our vision through the introduction of a number of key initiatives over the coming years. We are committed to enhancing the opportunities for our students through a one School, Prep to Year 12 approach.
Latest Blog
Life After School
As children grow and develop, they participate in a range of new experiences, with the “journey” from birth to adulthood being shaped by several awaited and expected transitions. These transitions occur across a range of context and help us to evolve in new environments. It is important to note that transition is associated with a change, which is something that happens for all of us. The concept of transition involves how we process, manage, and respond to the change. As adults, we work hard…
TGS Artist in Residence - Ben Tupas
I’ve been following Toowoomba Grammar School’s exciting Artist-in-residence program for several years. After seeing fellow Toowoomba artists such as Catherine Parker, Alice Weinthal and Vincent Parisi taking up the opportunity and engaging in the program, I decided to apply in 2022 to continue the momentum of my own artist practice. With the four-week residency wrapping up at the end of October, and some time to reflect on the experience I can write that the experience was a valuable…
The Transition to Secondary School
Research shows us that the move from a primary school to a secondary school is one of the most significant life changes that our young men will face. You can help make the transition to Senior School smoother by ensuring that the boys attend the orientation days, practice packing their bags and getting their sports, music, and activities equipment ready. When asked about tips for the boys coming into Year 7, current Year 7 dayboy, Ollie Wells suggests boys should “Be organised. Pack the night…
Nothing is Impossible
Toowoomba Grammar School's Year 7C English has been studying 'Cool Runnings' to learn about how stories or movies based on real life aren't always completely true. Extremely fascinated by the topic, young student Harry Ryan took it upon himself to message (via LinkedIn) the bobsled driver, Mr Dudley Stokes - he responded! After a little communication between the two, Harry asked Mr Stokes if he could FaceTime him during an English lesson, to 'meet' his teacher Mr Paul Irwin and classmates…
Simple Acts of Kindness
Giving back to the community is an important value that Toowoomba Grammar School endeavours to instill in our boys. Year 12 student, Tumoana Strugnell is a shining example of how it costs nothing but our time to help others, especially as we move into the Festive season and the challenges of life seem heightened. I first became involved in community service when I was in Year 6, through my local primary school’s involvement on ANZAC Day and my parent’s involvement in local community events. I’m…
A Holistic Approach to our Boarders' Activities Program
A true education is about much more than just lessons in a classroom. It’s about providing experiences that challenge a child, physically and mentally. It’s about providing opportunities that build independence, resilience and that help develop their good character. Toowoomba Grammar School is proud to offer a broad and liberal education that stretches way beyond the walls of a classroom and equips our boys with the skills to flourish as an individual. We offer a diverse and engaging…
A Beginner's Guide to Manga
If your son has brought home a book with big eyed characters, and he seems to be reading backwards, chances are, he's discovered Manga. The Dent library has a Manga collection that would be the envy of many schools, with over 100 unique titles. It Is easily the most visited section in the library, over half of the top 100 titles borrowed this year are Manga! But what is Manga? Manga is an umbrella term for a variety of print comics and graphic novels originating from Japan. Unlike western…
A Safe, Welcoming and Joyous Community
Tell us about yourself My background, at least that associated with boarding and teaching, is long and varied with a number of different aspects leading to this chosen career path. For the most part, I was schooled in Canberra but had extended periods in Lesotho, Norfolk Island, and Samoa as a result of my father’s work in foreign aid. My schooling was quite disruptive, and I wasn’t a model student! I was always passionate about English; often distracting myself (amongst other things) immersed…
Facilitating Respect
Recently the 2022 TGS Prefect group spoke at the Headmaster’s Assembly about respecting individuality. But what does this mean? The foundations for a successful relationship with peers, family, co-workers, and others is framed and supported by a two-way street of respect. However, for this two-way street to be functional it is important to know that respect cannot be demanded, it can only be earned. Toowoomba Grammar School is no different and respect is nurtured in various forms such as in the…