CANBERRA GRAMMAR SCHOOL

Initially founded in Cooma as Manaro Grammar School in 1908, the school was re-established on its current site in 1929 as Canberra Grammar School with a mission to educate the children of Australia’s capital city and the regions surrounding the seat of national leadership. 

Set in Ngunnawal country, the School is blessed with a magnificent 20-hectare campus in the inner south of Canberra, along with a small early childhood campus in north Canberra and a Rowing Centre on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin. The campus includes outstanding heritage and modern facilities for learning, boarding, sports and the creative and performing arts. 

The School became co-educational from Pre-School to Year 2 in 1975 and then in all year groups from 2018. It now educates over 900 Primary School students and nearly 1300 Senior School students from more than 40 nations. Students are taught and supported by around 500 highly qualified and dedicated teaching, operational, casual, coaching and specialist staff.

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As from the School’s earliest days, boarding is central to our community with 143 students living in modern accommodation on campus, primarily from rural areas surrounding Canberra, from overseas, and from Canberra-based families serving on diplomatic and defence postings.

Funded by the generosity of parents, staff and alumni, the CGS Foundation supports an ambitious campus development plan and a broad array of Indigenous, academic, arts and merit-based scholarships and access bursaries.

Although governed and administered independently, the School has enduring links with the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn, and our values are founded in Christian scriptures and traditions. 

The School is non-selective, and it welcomes students, families and staff of all faiths and ethnicities, backgrounds and capabilities to live, learn and work in a community guided by our values, vision and mission to educate curious, creative, confident and compassionate citizens of the world.

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Curriculum:

At CGS, we take a student-centred and globally-minded approach to all learning, and our pastoral care structures place a student’s individual learning journey at the forefront.

  • International Baccalaureate World School offering NSW Higher School Certificate.
  • Primary Years Programme (PYP) to Year 6, Australian Curriculum to Years 7-10. (We are a candidate school for MYP)
  • Senior students choose between NSW HSC or International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.

A full list of subjects offered is available online at https://cgs.act.edu.au/our-curriculum

Co-curricular opportunities:

CGS offers an outstanding variety of co-curricular sports and outdoor education opportunities. Students can partake in activities ranging from traditional core Australian sports such as rugby, football and netball to others like badminton, dragon boating, water polo, mountain biking, orienteering, rowing, sailing, taekwondo, and basketball, to name a few.

Extra-curricular activities:

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At Canberra Grammar School, students are encouraged and supported to pursue and develop their extra-curricular interests. Service Learning (community service), Code Cadets (app building, iOS development, hacking, drone piloting), Da Vinci decathlon, dance, drama, debating, choirs, concert bands, orchestras, sustainability groups, adventure groups are some of the many activities offered.

Pastoral care:

Canberra Grammar School is a special place with a wonderful student culture and a level of care that enables students to develop fully and feel at home. Pastoral care (personal development and well-being) is at the core of everything we do within and outside the classroom. Effective care must be linked with considered discipline. Our school policies enhance positive relationships and provide boundaries and direction for students as they grow and develop. Our comprehensive support services include the House and tutorial system, Chaplains, psychologists, a careers adviser and the Individual Learning Team. The staff’s fundamental goal is that every student feels a sense of belonging in the school community and can grow personally, socially, academically, and spiritually.

Boarding:

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Canberra Grammar School is the only co-ed boarding school in the ACT and has a capacity for 143 boarding placements at full enrolment. The Boarding Community is a tight-knit and diverse mixture of local, regional and international students. Our boarders live in a friendly and welcoming home away from home, with all the nearby resources of the School and Australia’s best-kept secret – our national capital! The city of Canberra and its nearby regions offer all the opportunities of a major city and Australia’s natural environment but with the ease and safety that comes with a smaller size.

Our boarders have 24-hour, seven-days-a-week support from an incredible team of dedicated and caring professionals led by the Heads of Boarding. Our Boarders have access to a welcoming and familial community led by dedicated pastoral care staff, well-being and personal development assistance, targeted academic support structures, diverse social and leisure opportunities, school-based transport, and an on-site health clinic and medical appointments.

Notable Alumni:

Gough Whitlam, Terry Snow, Stephen Byron, Shane Rattenbury, Peter Hazelhurst, Peter Leonard

Leadership:

Head of School: Dr Justin GarrickHead of Admissions: Ms Lisa Baum

School Information

Canberra Grammar School logo
  • Type: Independent
  • Coeducational or single-sex: Coeducational

  • Faith-based: Anglican
  • Year: Pre-Kindergarten - Year 12
  • Day/Boarding: Day and Boarding
  • Enrolment: Total Students: 2250 students Pre-School – Year 6: 950 students Year 12: 1300 students Boarding: 143 students
  • Interview Required Upon Enrolment: Yes
  • International Baccalaureate Programs offered: PYP   IBDP  
  • ESL Support: N/A
  • Scholarships Available: Yes
  • Gifted and Talented Program: N/A
  • Preschool or Early Learning Centre: Own Preschool
  • After School Care/ OOSH Options: Own After School Care
  • Fees: Over 16k Tuition only from $11,995 (Pre School) to $30,410 (Year 12). Boarding only from $26,935 (weekly) to $31880 (full-time). Sibling discount is 7.5 % for the second child, 15 % for the third child and any subsequent children at the school simultaneously.
  • Address:40 Monaro Crescent, Red Hill 2603
  • Email:admissions@cgs.act.edu.au
  • Phone:02 6260 9700
  • Fax:02 6260 9701
  • HSC Subjects offered:Core: Australian Studies (Year 11 only), English, Mathematics Electives: Aboriginal Studies, Agriculture, Ancient History, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Dance, Design Technology, Drama, Economics, English Extension, English as an Additional Language, Entertainment VET, Geography, Legal Studies, Mathematics Extension, Modern History, Music, PDHPE, Physics, Software Design & Development, Studies of Religion II, Textiles and Design, Visual Arts, Work Studies (non ATAR)
  • Clubs and Extra-curricular programs:Service Learning (community service), computing and IT, Da Vinci decathlon, dance, drama, debating, choirs, concert bands, orchestras, outdoor education, Sony camp, sustainability group, adventure groups.
  • Scholarships Available:Year 7 Scholarships Year 11 Scholarships Organ Scholarships Vocal Scholarships Indigenous Scholars Programme https://cgs.act.edu.au/enquiries/scholarships/
  • Entry Year for Boarding:Year 7

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