The Friends' School, Hobart
Encyclopedia
The Friends' School, Hobart is an independent
, co-educational, Quaker, day
and boarding school
, located in North Hobart
, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania
, Australia
.
Founded in 1887 by Quakers
, the school
currently caters for approximately 1330 students from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12, including 47 boarders from Years 7 10 12. It is the largest Quaker school in the world, and the only Quaker school in the southern hemisphere
.
Friends' is affiliated with the Association of Independent Schools of Tasmania (AIST), the Junior School Heads Association of Australia
(JSHAA), the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA), and is a member of the Sports Association of Tasmanian Independent Schools
(SATIS).
The Friends' School opened at 60-62 Warwick Street, Hobart
(the building still stands) on 31 January 1887 under the control of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). It was opened by Samuel Clemes. The initial enrolment of 33 expanded so rapidly that the School moved to its present site in Commercial Road on 28 January 1889, a move made possible by the generous loan of $A4,000 from Hobart Baptists. The first headmaster was Samuel Clemes, considered to be a remarkable reformer in education for his belief in co-education. In 1900 he resigned and set up his own family school, Leslie House, (later renamed Clemes College) in Pirie Street and then at Boa Vista, Argyle Street, where Morris Friends' Primary Years (Junior School) and Clemes (Years 11-12) are now located. Clemes College and The Friends' School came together in 1946.
1923 marked the beginning of a new era in the School's history. On 28 September, the control of the school passed from London Quakers to a committee in Hobart and a week later Ernest Unwin arrived, under whose leadership the School made remarkable progress. In this period the distinctive appearance of the School changed - with the addition of the front portico, the Hodgkin Hall, the original science and art block and the boys' boarding wing. No further building programmes were undertaken until 1955 when the second period of expansion began with the opening of the Preparatory School in 1955 followed by the Sports Ground in 1958. Building on the Commercial Road site began in 1962 with the opening of the Unwin Memorial Science and Art block, continued in the 70s with the Library, the Asten Theatre, additional science facilities and in the 80s with the W.N. Oats Sports Centre. The Clemes Memorial Library in the Junior School was erected from the old Clemes Assembly Hall in 1986.
Despite being a Quaker school, there are no more than 10 Quaker teachers at the school, and barely any of the students are actually Quakers. However students are still encouraged to participate in the Quaker activities, such as year group Gatherings held weekly.
of 1975 many students of the school who lived on the eastern shore of the Derwent River
became isolated, and were unable to attend. Some students of other schools were re-allocated to the limited eastern shore schools, but places were insufficient, and the educational standard was generally considered lower than Friends.
Whilst older students were trusted to make the ferry crossing from Bellerive
to Hobart
, for younger students it was not deemed safe to do so unsupervised. Appeals were made to the school from concerned parents, and eventually it was decided to build a temporary campus within the Clarence. A site was located in bushland above Lindisfarne
and a small area was set aside for the campus.
The Sherwood campus consisted of two main inter-linked buildings, a playground
, a crude gravel oval and a large area of undeveloped bushland. The school only catered for pupils from kindergarten
to grade 2, as it was considered older pupils were old enough to catch transport to the main campus.
One of the features of the education system at Sherwood was the regular "nature walks" in which students from every year group would participate in regular excursions into the nearby sclerophyll bushland
and learn to understand, appreciate, and get in better touch with nature.
It closed just a few years after opening.
The School also owns a sports complex at Bell Street where there are facilities for cricket
, hockey
, Softball
and soccer, Friends' Health and Fitness off Elizabeth Street, Friends' Early Years on Argyle Street and the recently purchased Far South Wilderness Camp near Dover. The School also has a state-of-the-art rowing facility in Lallaby Road, Lutana.
For the purpose of both class allocation and internal competition, all students at Friends' are allocated into "Houses" within the School. These are referred to as Hodgkin, Mather, Ransome and Unwin, all named for famous Quakers. Each house has a distinct colour association for ease of identification during competition. They are: Hodgkin (yellow), Mather (blue), Ransome (red) and Unwin (green).
All students in the High School are members of tutor groups. Tutor groups consist of approximately four people from each grade in the High School, creating a total of around sixteen people. The school tries to place two girls and two boys per grade per tutor group, but there are exceptions.
All members of a tutor group are in the one house, and each house has eight tutor groups. The Mather tutor groups are M1, M2, M3, etc., the Hodgkin tutor groups are H1, H2, H3, etc. Students begin and end the day in their tutor groups, as members of a tutor group have their lockers together in a certain room or corridor. At the beginning of the day in 'Morning Tutor' students meet in their 'tutor room' (the room nearest to their lockers, or in which their lockers are located). The student bulletin is read aloud by the tutor (a teacher or staff member. One tutor is assigned to each tutor group, generally staying with the one tutor group the entire time the spend at the High School however sometimes tutors change) and the role is checked. At the end of the day students meet again in their tutor groups and the tutor checks the role and hands out any notices.
On Fridays in period 4 (11:55 - 12:55) students meet in their tutor groups for an hour which they spend in their tutor room with their tutor. This period is basically a study period, however on special occasions, such as birthdays, tutor gatherings are held. Students who have been absent for tests in class may also use 'long tutor' as the period is named, to complete the test. With tutor's permission, some students may also meet up with students of other tutor groups to complete homework. The long tutor period on Friday's is also used for the assembly if there is one being held that week.
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
, co-educational, Quaker, day
Day school
A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...
and boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
, located in North Hobart
North Hobart, Tasmania
North Hobart is a suburb of the city of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. As its name suggests, it lies directly north of the CBD.The main street of North Hobart is Elizabeth Street, which extends northward from the Elizabeth Street Mall in the city, through North Hobart, and then becomes the Main Road...
, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Founded in 1887 by Quakers
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
, the school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
currently caters for approximately 1330 students from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12, including 47 boarders from Years 7 10 12. It is the largest Quaker school in the world, and the only Quaker school in the southern hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
.
Friends' is affiliated with the Association of Independent Schools of Tasmania (AIST), the Junior School Heads Association of Australia
Junior School Heads Association of Australia
The Independent Primary School Heads of Australia formerly Junior School Heads Association of Australia , is an incorporated body representing the heads of independent primary schools in Australia....
(JSHAA), the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA), and is a member of the Sports Association of Tasmanian Independent Schools
Sports Association of Tasmanian Independent Schools
The Sports Association of Tasmanian Independent Schools is a group of sixteen schools in Tasmania, Australia formed by AHISA Tasmania to conduct sporting competitions for member schools...
(SATIS).
History
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
(the building still stands) on 31 January 1887 under the control of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). It was opened by Samuel Clemes. The initial enrolment of 33 expanded so rapidly that the School moved to its present site in Commercial Road on 28 January 1889, a move made possible by the generous loan of $A4,000 from Hobart Baptists. The first headmaster was Samuel Clemes, considered to be a remarkable reformer in education for his belief in co-education. In 1900 he resigned and set up his own family school, Leslie House, (later renamed Clemes College) in Pirie Street and then at Boa Vista, Argyle Street, where Morris Friends' Primary Years (Junior School) and Clemes (Years 11-12) are now located. Clemes College and The Friends' School came together in 1946.
1923 marked the beginning of a new era in the School's history. On 28 September, the control of the school passed from London Quakers to a committee in Hobart and a week later Ernest Unwin arrived, under whose leadership the School made remarkable progress. In this period the distinctive appearance of the School changed - with the addition of the front portico, the Hodgkin Hall, the original science and art block and the boys' boarding wing. No further building programmes were undertaken until 1955 when the second period of expansion began with the opening of the Preparatory School in 1955 followed by the Sports Ground in 1958. Building on the Commercial Road site began in 1962 with the opening of the Unwin Memorial Science and Art block, continued in the 70s with the Library, the Asten Theatre, additional science facilities and in the 80s with the W.N. Oats Sports Centre. The Clemes Memorial Library in the Junior School was erected from the old Clemes Assembly Hall in 1986.
Despite being a Quaker school, there are no more than 10 Quaker teachers at the school, and barely any of the students are actually Quakers. However students are still encouraged to participate in the Quaker activities, such as year group Gatherings held weekly.
Sherwood
Following the Tasman Bridge disasterTasman Bridge disaster
The Tasman Bridge disaster occurred on the evening of 5 January 1975, in Hobart, the capital city of Australia's island state of Tasmania, when a bulk ore carrier travelling up the Derwent River collided with several pylons of the Tasman Bridge, causing a large section of the bridge deck to...
of 1975 many students of the school who lived on the eastern shore of the Derwent River
Derwent River (Tasmania)
The Derwent is a river in Tasmania, Australia. It was named after the River Derwent, Cumbria by British Commodore John Hayes who explored it in 1793. The name is Brythonic Celtic for "valley thick with oaks"....
became isolated, and were unable to attend. Some students of other schools were re-allocated to the limited eastern shore schools, but places were insufficient, and the educational standard was generally considered lower than Friends.
Whilst older students were trusted to make the ferry crossing from Bellerive
Bellerive, Tasmania
Bellerive is a suburb of the City of Clarence, part of the greater Hobart area, Tasmania, Australia. It stretches from Kangaroo Bay where it borders Rosny Park, around the curved shoreline of Bellerive Esplanade to Kangaroo Bluff, then down to Bellerive Beach and east to Second Bluff, where...
to Hobart
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, for younger students it was not deemed safe to do so unsupervised. Appeals were made to the school from concerned parents, and eventually it was decided to build a temporary campus within the Clarence. A site was located in bushland above Lindisfarne
Lindisfarne, Tasmania
Lindisfarne is a suburb of Hobart's Eastern Shore, located approximately 6 kilometres from the City Centre and is part of the municipal City of Clarence.-History:...
and a small area was set aside for the campus.
The Sherwood campus consisted of two main inter-linked buildings, a playground
Playground
A playground or play area is a place with a specific design for children be able to play there. It may be indoors but is typically outdoors...
, a crude gravel oval and a large area of undeveloped bushland. The school only catered for pupils from kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
to grade 2, as it was considered older pupils were old enough to catch transport to the main campus.
One of the features of the education system at Sherwood was the regular "nature walks" in which students from every year group would participate in regular excursions into the nearby sclerophyll bushland
Sclerophyll
Sclerophyll is the term for a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes . The word comes from the Greek sclero and phyllon ....
and learn to understand, appreciate, and get in better touch with nature.
It closed just a few years after opening.
Principals
Complete list of School Principals:| Period | Details |
|---|---|
| 1887 – 1900 | Samuel Clemes |
| 1901 – 1903 | Edmund Gower |
| 1903 – 1907 | J.Edgar Smith |
| July 1907 – July 1908 | Godfrey Williams |
| July 1908 – 1915 | Edmund Gower |
| 1915 – 1922 | Charles Annells |
| 1923 – 1944 | Ernest Unwin |
| Sep. 1944 – May 1945 | Stuart Hickman (Actg.) |
| 1945 – 1973 | William Oats |
| 1974 – 1980 | Roderic Grosvenor |
| 1980 – 1988 | Michael Bailey, Joint Principal with Margaret Bailey |
| 1980 – 1988 | Margaret Bailey, Joint Principal with Michael Bailey |
| 1989 – 2000 | Stephanie Farrall, Co-Principal with Lyndsay Farrall |
| 1989 – 2000 | Lyndsay Farrall, Co-Principal with Stephanie Farrall |
| 2000 – 2002 | Lyndsay Farrall |
| 2003 – Present | John Green |
Structure
The Friends' School consists of three main parts: Morris Friends' Primary Years, High School and Clemes. Morris has approximately 430 students from Kindergarten to Year 6 and is situated in the Argyle Street Campus. The High School has 550 students from Year 7 to 10 and is in the Commercial Road campus. Clemes has approximately 300 students in Years 11 and 12 and is in the Argyle Street campus.The School also owns a sports complex at Bell Street where there are facilities for cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
, hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
, Softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
and soccer, Friends' Health and Fitness off Elizabeth Street, Friends' Early Years on Argyle Street and the recently purchased Far South Wilderness Camp near Dover. The School also has a state-of-the-art rowing facility in Lallaby Road, Lutana.
For the purpose of both class allocation and internal competition, all students at Friends' are allocated into "Houses" within the School. These are referred to as Hodgkin, Mather, Ransome and Unwin, all named for famous Quakers. Each house has a distinct colour association for ease of identification during competition. They are: Hodgkin (yellow), Mather (blue), Ransome (red) and Unwin (green).
All students in the High School are members of tutor groups. Tutor groups consist of approximately four people from each grade in the High School, creating a total of around sixteen people. The school tries to place two girls and two boys per grade per tutor group, but there are exceptions.
All members of a tutor group are in the one house, and each house has eight tutor groups. The Mather tutor groups are M1, M2, M3, etc., the Hodgkin tutor groups are H1, H2, H3, etc. Students begin and end the day in their tutor groups, as members of a tutor group have their lockers together in a certain room or corridor. At the beginning of the day in 'Morning Tutor' students meet in their 'tutor room' (the room nearest to their lockers, or in which their lockers are located). The student bulletin is read aloud by the tutor (a teacher or staff member. One tutor is assigned to each tutor group, generally staying with the one tutor group the entire time the spend at the High School however sometimes tutors change) and the role is checked. At the end of the day students meet again in their tutor groups and the tutor checks the role and hands out any notices.
On Fridays in period 4 (11:55 - 12:55) students meet in their tutor groups for an hour which they spend in their tutor room with their tutor. This period is basically a study period, however on special occasions, such as birthdays, tutor gatherings are held. Students who have been absent for tests in class may also use 'long tutor' as the period is named, to complete the test. With tutor's permission, some students may also meet up with students of other tutor groups to complete homework. The long tutor period on Friday's is also used for the assembly if there is one being held that week.
Notable alumni
- Errol FlynnErrol FlynnErrol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
– Hollywood actor - Elizabeth Robyn Mason – Director of the Australasian Medical Publishing Company Pty Ltd (also attended the Presbyterian Ladies' College, MelbournePresbyterian Ladies' College, MelbournePresbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne , is an independent,private, Presbyterian, day and boarding school predominantly for girls, located in Burwood, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
) - Kim SantowKim SantowThe Honourable Justice Geza Francis Kim Santow AO was an Australian Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Court of Appeal....
– New South Wales Supreme Court judge and Chancellor of the University of Sydney - Freya StaffordFreya StaffordFreya Stafford is an Australian actress who has appeared in the television programs Head Start and White Collar Blue as central characters.-Early and personal life:Stafford was born and raised in Hobart, Tasmania...
– actress - Eddie OckendenEddie OckendenEdward Ockenden is an Australian hockey player.Ockenden grew up in Tasmania. He started his hockey career at the North West Hobart Graduates Hockey Club , enjoying success in his early days, winning the club's U12 Boys Best and Fairest award in 1997, aged 10...
- National Hockey Player - Max WalkerMax WalkerMaxwell Henry Norman Walker AM is a former Australian cricketer and VFL/AFL footballer. Formerly an architect, he currently works as a media commentator and motivational speaker and has diverse business interests.- Football career :...
– cricketer - Kris and Ash Buscombe, brothers that form half the post-punkPost-punkPost-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
and classic rockClassic rockClassic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
band Witch HatsWitch HatsWitch Hats are an alternative rock, classic rock and post punk band based in Melbourne, Australia.-Formation & Wound of a Little Horse :...
. - Amali Ward – Australian IdolAustralian IdolAustralian Idol is a Logie Award-winning Australian singing competition, which began its first season on July 2003 and ended its run in November 2009. As part of the Idol franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program Pop Idol, which was created by British entertainment executive...
contestant/singer - Caryn DaviesCaryn DaviesCaryn Davies is an American rower. She competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics, where she won a gold medal in women's eight as the stroke seat. At the 2004 Olympic Games she won a silver medal...
Olympic rower, - Christopher KochChristopher KochChristopher John Koch, AO, Australian novelist, was born in Hobart in 1932. He has twice won the Miles Franklin Award. In 1995 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for contribution to Australian literature....
Writer - Dennis AltmanDennis AltmanDennis Patkin Altman is an Australian academic and pioneering gay rights activist.Altman was a Fullbright scholar at Cornell University in the 1960s when he met and began working with leading gay activists in the United States...
Academic and writer - Paul CalvertPaul CalvertPaul Henry Calvert, AO , Australian politician, was a Senator for Tasmania from 1987 to 2007, and was President of the Australian Senate from 2002 to 2007....
, politician
See also
- List of schools in Tasmania
- List of boarding schools
- Education in TasmaniaEducation in TasmaniaThe education system in Tasmania comprises two tertiary education institutions; the government run K-12 schooling system, and numerous independent private schools and colleges, most of which are controlled or sponsored by religious organisations....