Knox Grammar School

History

Knox Grammar School was established on Sydney's North Shore in 1924, by the Presbyterian Church. The school was named after John Knox, the 16th century Scottish reformer, who planned a network of schools in every church parish.

Knox opened as a Presbyterian Boys' School after founding members John Gilmore, William McIlrath, Robert Gillespie and Andrew Reid purchased the original property, 'Earlston', as the first school building. Now the Gillespie Heritage House, 'Earlston' was previously owned by Sir Charles Mackellar, was designed by architects Spain & Cosh, and built in 1908 for W. Moses Esq., Warrawee.

The school was officially opened by the Hon. Sir George Fuller KCMG, Premier of New South Wales, on 5 February 1924. Under the founding headmaster Neil MacNeil, a Rhodes Scholar, Knox grew rapidly and survived the Great Depression. Student numbers rose from 28 in 1924 to over 300 in 1939.

In 1939, Dr William Bryden FRSE (1904-1992) took over the role of headmaster. As World War II broke out, around 370 Old Knox Grammarians served in the armed forces. 53 of them lost their lives and are now commemorated in the John Williams Memorial Hall, the School Chapel, the Old Students' War Memorial, and the original Science Building. The school's Pipe Band was established during Bryden's period as headmaster.

Dr John Mill Couper, a Scot, became headmaster in 1953. Couper focused on broadening the School's education, with attention to music and art, however, problems culminated in Couper's departure from a divided Knox in 1955.

Dr T Ross McKenzie, former head of Brisbane Boys' College, replaced Couper. The school's fifth headmaster, Dr Ian Paterson, initiated further developments including a substantial building program. During this period three teachers sexually abused students; these teachers were later convicted and it has been alleged that other teachers abused students. In 2015 Paterson told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that he had failed to protect students from abuse.

In 1999, Peter Crawley, former Head of Trinity Grammar School in Melbourne, became Knox's sixth headmaster.

Motto

Knox's school motto is a Latin phrase, Virile Agitur, which has been translated variously as being "Do the Manly Thing" (The translation most common in the Preparatory School), "The manly thing is being done".

Facilities

Knox's senior campus includes the Great Hall and Aquatic Centre (opened August 2011), sports facility, gymnasium, squash and weights rooms, music and drama centres, two boarding houses (one opened November 2010). Knox owns several major sporting fields including one on campus at the Senior School, two on campus at the Prep School, and two off campus in Warrawee and neighbouring North Turramurra.

Each classroom is equipped with a digital projector and each student has a laptop with wireless internet access. In addition to its extensive academic and sporting programs, the school offers many extra curricular activities including music with several large ensembles and orchestras, drama, debating, public speaking, chess, a science club, and Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme, as well as maintaining the largest secondary school cadet unit in Australia. Since 2006 the school has been actively involved in the Future Problem Solving Program.

Building projects

Knox has in recent years completed new buildings at both the Senior and Prep Schools. The Senior School's KG1 Building, opened in 2007, has several high-tech classrooms, access to the Lawson Centre (sport facility), locker space for approximately 230 students, and a canteen. The KG1 Project also updated the Lawson Centre with a new flooring for the basketball court, new change rooms and a foyer, where Knox's many trophies and memorabilia are displayed. The Prep School's K-2 Centre, opened in 2004, provided new classroom, library, art and music facilities for Years K-2 students.

The new Boarding Centre was finished in November 2010. The Great Hall and Aquatic Centre project was finished August 2011. Situated alongside the Lawson Centre, and adjacent to the new Boarding Precinct, the Great Hall has transformed the Woodville Avenue entrance to the school, effectively creating a "grand boulevard" into the Senior School campus.

The Great Hall/Aquatic Centre building has been creatively designed. Different, multi-functional levels provide an Assembly Hall that seats up to 2200 people, three Olympic size indoor basketball courts, a performance centre for major productions, as well as an indoor 50 metre swimming pool and enhanced weights room/gymnasium.

Construction for the new Knox Senior Student Academy began in 2014, with construction continuing to August 2015 and the Academy being officially opened in October 2015. The building houses the lockers of Year 11 and Year 12 students, as well as featuring an appropriately named Boater Cafe, classrooms for Science as well as Finance and Legal classrooms, a Senior Library and a Lecture theatre.

Boarding

Knox Grammar School provides boarding facilities for approximately 160 boarders. Boarding facilities have been available since the School's opening, in 1924

Other Houses

Army Cadet Unit (KGSACU)

The Knox Grammar School Army Cadet Unit (KGSACU) comprises 1100 members, ranging from recruits (RECs) to Cadet Under Officers (CUOs). The KGSACU is a member of 26 Battalion (26 Bn) (Sydney Schools) within the NSW AAC BDE. Participation is compulsory from Term 4 Year 8, through to the end of Term 3 Year 9 for attendees of Knox Grammar School, and offers voluntary participation for attendees at the Ravenswood School for Girls from Term 4 Year 8. After the completion of basic recruit training in their first year, cadets may decide to either discharge from the Unit, or attend a Promotion Course to attempt to attain a higher rank and/or continue into a Senior or Recruit platoon.

The Unit participates in combined Bivouac/Annual Field Exercise at the end of Term 1, and holds its own Junior, Senior, and CUOs Promotions Courses during August/September each year. Additionally, the KGSACU holds ceremonial parades for the Old Knox Grammarians Association (OKGA), an ANZAC Day Parade to commemorate ANZAC Day (though held several weeks after the day itself), and a Passing-Out Parade at the end of the cadet year to farewell the Year 12 members at the conclusion of their service to the unit.

Sport

Knox is a member of the Combined Associated Schools (CAS), and plays competitive sport against the five other member Schools namely, Barker College, Cranbrook School, St. Aloysius College, Trinity Grammar School and Waverley College. Trial and pre-season fixtures are played against the GPS and ISA Schools. Students may represent Knox in a variety of inter-school sporting fixtures played each Saturday throughout the term.

The Intra-School sporting programs includes House carnivals, Standards and Inter-School competitions open to all boys.

Participating in sport at Knox is compulsory in both the winter and summer sporting seasons.

Music

Knox is heavily involved in such co-curricular activities such as the Gallery Choir which has a reputation for a high class vocal range consisting of SATB arrangements, and the Knox Symphony Orchestra (KSO), which plays a high standard of repertoire. Knox also accommodates for one of the most prestigious school pipe bands that has a rich source of history and talented young men. The Knox Pipes and Drums have toured around Australia as well as the United Kingdom and currently hold the State Champions title.

Notable alumni

Alumni of Knox are known as "Old Knox Grammarians", and may elect to join the schools alumni association, the Old Knox Grammarian's Association (OKGA).

Sex offences by teachers

The school attracted widespread media coverage in 2009, when criminal charges were laid against five former teachers for alleged sex offences between 1976 and 1990. All five teachers were subsequently convicted.

Royal Commission hearings

As of February 2015 the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse is conducting public hearings (commenced on 23 February 2015) concerning the response of Knox Grammar, and the Uniting Church, to complaints and criminal proceedings involving teachers who sexually abused students. The Commission will examine the "systems, policies and procedures" involving the school's response to the complaints since 1970 and the experiences of former students sexually abused by teaching staff. The royal commission is expected to conclude in December 2017.

During hearings in early March 2015, several former Knox students and staff alleged that headmaster Ian Paterson did not refer several allegations of sex abuse he received to the police, despite there being a requirement for such allegations to be reported from 1988. The commission heard that in fact Paterson had never reported any student's allegation of sexual abuse to police during his thirty years in charge of the school. Paterson also stated that he had allowed several teachers accused of sexual abuse to resign and subsequently gave them positive references. Paterson denied that he had covered up the sexual abuse of students, arguing that he had responded to the allegations brought to his attention, and stated that “I should have known and I should have stopped the events that led to the abuse and its tragic consequences for these boys in my care and their families”. Paterson stated that he was not aware that it was a crime for a teacher to grope or sexually proposition a student. Following the section of the hearing concerning Paterson, the current headmaster John Weeks stated that the school had changed considerably since the end of Paterson's period in the role and that Knox's Paterson Centre for Ethics and Business Studies would be renamed. He also stated that the school was actively reaching out and providing support to those who were affected.

Weeks also gave evidence to the Royal Commission. During this hearing he was questioned over why he had not sacked the teacher who was arrested in 2009 despite having received allegations in 2007 that the teacher had behaved improperly with a student during the 1980s. Weeks told the media that the allegations had not been detailed or specific, and he had received advice that "it would have been difficult on industrial grounds" to have dismissed the teacher. Weeks also stated that he had reported the teacher to the police child protection unit.

The Royal Commission issued its findings on Knox Grammar in September 2016. The Sydney Morning Herald stated that its conclusions were that "Paterson deliberately covered up allegations about child sexual abuse because he placed the reputation of the school ahead of student welfare". The Royal Commission also found that while principal Paterson had a "dismissive" attitude towards complaints of sexual abuse, "deliberately withheld information" from a police officer investigating allegations made against Knox Grammar staff, and did not notify the school's council or affected parents of complaints. In addition, it judged that a statement made as part of his evidence to the Royal Commission that he had only been aware of a single allegation of misconduct while principal was "clearly incorrect", as he had been aware of five allegations.