Melbourne Grammar School

Melbourne Grammar School is one of Australia’s leading independent schools, with a tradition of excellence extending over more than 160 years. We believe in the holistic development of young people: intellectually, physically, emotionally, psychologically, socially and spirituality.

Ours is an inclusive, community-focused culture in which both student effort and achievement are recognised and celebrated. Our culture is further enhanced by an involved network of staff and parents, the knowledge and experience of our alumni, and the depth of our connections with the broader communities around us.

Melbourne Grammar is an Anglican school founded in 1858 by the first Bishop of Melbourne, Charles Perry. Today, we remain proud of our Anglican heritage and retain our strong Anglican traditions, while also warmly welcoming families from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds. From Prep to Year 6 we provide coeducational classes at our Caulfield Junior School, Grimwade House.

Year 7 and 8 boys attend Wadhurst, our Middle School based at St Kilda Road in South Yarra. Students in Years 9 – 12 learn at the adjoining Senior School. Our Year 7 - 12 students attend as both day students and boarders. Every student’s learning is supported by dedicated pastoral care programmes along with our exceptional learning facilities.

We are committed to creating a holistic learning community. This entails providing a balanced, well-round education within a challenging and nurturing environment for students and staff, while maintaining an authentic connection with parents and the broader community.

Melbourne Grammar School aims to develop fully within its students the ‘whole person’: intellectually, physically, emotionally, psychologically, and socially and spirituality. We seek to connect to a global learning environment; one which provides a broad range of opportunities for our students and the wider community.

Our aspiration is for our students to be architects of their own lives. We ask them to look beyond the ordinary to achieve the extraordinary, and to make a difference to the world in which they live. In order to provide an effective, challenging and transformative learning environment, the School aspires to enrich the human relationships that exist within it; namely, the relationships  between students, staff and the entire community.

Our values convey the beliefs that positively influence our behaviour and the way we interact with individuals, groups and communities. They represent the deepest beliefs and sentiments to which we can aspire, and they shape our School community.

These are the values that shape our School:

We value inquiry and intellectual growth of all students and staff, recognising their different learning needs, encouraging them to be creative, engaged and lifelong learners. We value the acceptance and fair treatment of all people in our community. Social justice and compassion are highly regarded and actively pursued. We encourage the development of a wide range of curricular and co-curricular opportunities throughout the School to help facilitate individual talents and interests.

We value strength of character, honesty and courage, guided by a strong moral code of behaviour. We value the process of striving for excellence, recognising both relative and absolute standards of excellence, and the desire to produce one’s best at all times.

We value the Christian spiritual journey based in the Anglican tradition, acknowledging World religions and the importance of the human spirit which gives personal meaning to life. We value leadership and teamwork, underpinned by a strong ethical and moral dimension and put to use in serving our community. The notion of gratitude and ‘giving back’ is an essential feature of our leadership programmes.

We value community, both within and outside the School, and the need for all citizens to be positive and productive members of society. When our values are actively engaged, the result is a supportive environment where everyone feels that they belong. Melbourne Grammar School’s foundations are built on the philosophies of the Church of England. The Anglican tradition has shaped our School and now informs our understanding of spirituality as one of our core values.

In 1856, our founder, Bishop Charles Perry, envisaged Melbourne Grammar School as an institution that would provide both academic and religious instruction to young people in Melbourne’s new, fragile colony. Today, spirituality remains one of our core values. Religion may be central to a student’s spirituality, or their spiritual experience may be supported by simple actions such as service and care for others, or quiet contemplation in the stillness of the chapel.

The Chapel of St Peter is at the heart of our Senior School, while The Chapel of St Andrew brings together students from Prep to Year 6 at Grimwade House. Our chapels and chaplaincy programmes express our position as an Anglican School, as do our values of diversity and community, our commitment to service, and our respect for intellectual debate and new ideas.

Melbourne Grammar School is privileged to include students and staff from many different religions or denominations, with others being agnostic or atheist. This diversity of faith allows all students to examine religious, moral and ethical issues in an environment of tolerance and respect. Melbourne Grammar School has grown from humble beginnings into one of Melbourne’s leading educational institutions.

Melbourne Grammar School opened its doors on 7 April 1858. Its 77 students were to study at a fifteen-acre site then thought to be ‘too far from the city’. The School remains on its original location – now known as St Kilda Road, South Yarra. Early photographs show the Senior School building surrounded by bare fields.

A library was established in June 1875, with Wadhurst following in 1878 to accommodate an overflow of boarders. The gift of Harleston came in 1918, establishing Grimwade House as a junior school. Since then, the buildings, grounds and facilities have evolved to support the exceptional education Melbourne Grammar School offers today. These include first rate boarding, sporting and outdoor education facilities, the Nigel Peck Centre for Learning and Leadership, and the Geoff Handbury Science and Technology Hub.

The history of the Melbourne Grammar community reflects both our respect for tradition and our enthusiasm in adapting to change. The School faced economic challenges during its first 40 years, prompting former students to found The Old Melburnians Society – an alumni community, which remains a crucial source of knowledge and support for the School.

The School grew rapidly during the post-war period, leading to a far-sighted building programme aiming to make the best use of the relatively small campus grounds. In the 1970s a junior school restructure transformed Grimwade House into a coeducational campus and established Wadhurst as a boys’ school for Years 7 and 8.

Those who have studied at Melbourne Grammar School include Prime Ministers, explorers, Anglican clergy, artists, academics, industrialists and farmers, and many other Australians who have made invaluable contributions across the globe. Today, we are proud of the diversity and inclusivity of the Melbourne Grammar School community, and its celebration of excellence in all fields.