Weekly eNews

Thursday 2 April 2026

These final weeks of term have been a whirlwind of activity for the boys, with learning and cocurricular life continuing at full pace right to the end.

Across the school, we’ve witnessed an impressive array of activities including music and dance performances, production rehearsals, debating and chess competitions, service learning workshops, swimming programs, outdoor education journeys, NAPLAN testing, Father’s Mornings, VCE SACs and APS sport. These efforts were capped off by an APS Tennis Premiership and a strong showing at both the Swimming and Diving finals and the Head of the River.

Together, these experiences reflect our commitment to nurturing well rounded young men. They enrich the boys’ academic journey by encouraging them to think critically, collaborate confidently and embrace challenges both inside and outside the classroom.

As we head into the break, I wish all families a restful and enjoyable Easter holiday. I look forward to welcoming the boys back, recharged, refreshed and ready for Term 2, on Tuesday 21 April.

 

Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting our Year 7 students on the Outdoor Ed journey on the Mornington Peninsula. It was fantastic to see the boys stepping out of their comfort zones, forming new friendships, and embracing experiences beyond the classroom.

Over the weekend, our First Tennis team members were crowned APS Tennis Champions. Unfortunately, the Grand Final could not go ahead due to the poor weather conditions; however, having finished on top of the leaderboard, they were deservedly awarded the title. Congratulations to all involved on an outstanding achievement.

On Monday evening, I attended the Large Ensembles Concert, the quality and talent was truly outstanding. Congratulations to all the students and staff involved on a remarkable performance, a special mention to boys who participated in their first Secondary School concert. We look forward to the next big music event in August, a combined concert with FGS at the Melbourne Recital Centre.

Best of luck to all students and staff heading off on school tours over the break, including the Snowsports trip to Canada and the First XV Gold Coast Tour. We look forward to hearing about your experiences on your return.

Finally, I wish everyone a wonderful Easter and safe travels over the break.

Meliora Sequamur.

Happenings & Reminders

• Thursday 2 April – Term 1 concludes
• Tuesday 21 April – Term 2 commences
• Bayside City Council is installing new pedestrian crossings at the New St/St Andrews St/Park St/Well St roundabout. Roadworks begin late March for up to 3 months (7.00am–5.00pm, weekdays). The community should expect staged closures, detours, traffic controllers, and some pedestrian and parking disruptions. New St works are scheduled to occur first during Term 1 school holidays.

APS Tennis Premiers

Our First VIII Tennis Squad has capped off an outstanding season by being named the 2026 APS Tennis Premiers, a result that reflects months of dedication, teamwork, and resilience.

While rain and wet courts meant the Grand Final against Caulfield Grammar could not go ahead, Brighton Grammar’s exceptional performance throughout the season ensured they finished on top of the ladder and were awarded the Premiership.

 

Although the final match couldn’t be played, both BGS and CGS players demonstrated the true spirit of APS sport. Their commitment, sportsmanship, and determination across the summer were a credit to themselves, their coaches, and their school communities.

Congratulations to our First VIII on a season filled with hard work, growth, and well‑earned success.

Top Teams

Congratulations to Team Ad Astra for placing second at the 2026 STEM Racing National Finals (Professional Class).

The team was awarded the Grand Prix Racing award, Best Portfolio award, Best Managed Enterprise award and Best Team Innovation award. Team members Reggie, Marco, Bill (all Year 10) and Gianlucca (Year 11) have now qualified for the World Finals. 

Well done to the other BGS teams – Team RPM (Development Class) of Year 8s Oliver, Roy, Hamish, Andy and Charlie, who were competing at their first National Finals and won the Fastest Lap award and Best Graphic Design award, and Team Quasar (Professional Class) of Year 9s William, Luke, Terry and Everett, and Rhett (Year 8).

The World’s Greatest Shave

The World’s Greatest Shave on Friday was a powerful reminder of the strength and compassion within our school community. At lunchtime, a large crowd gathered to support 10 students who took the brave step of shaving their hair, some in memory of loved ones, and others in support of friends and family currently undergoing treatment.

A huge thank you to Clubhaus Barbers (formerly Barbers of Brighton), who generously gave their time and expertise once again to support the event. We were also honoured to be joined by Sanele Ngubane from the Leukaemia Foundation, helping to reinforce the purpose behind the day.

We are incredibly proud of what the BGS community achieved, raising an outstanding $8,437. Each participant played a vital role, with special mention to Billy Ardlie who raised over $2000 and Issa Sheikh and Brendan Hogan who raised over $1000 each. Students James Read , Liam Gianatti, Caleb Arceri, Josh Jackson, Jack Loffel, Alexander Rozentoul and Allen Wei also contributed to the total.

This event was about standing together, showing support, and demonstrating the values that define our community. If you would still like to contribute, donations remain open here: World’s Greatest Shave – BGS 2026

Lindsey McCormac
Head of Service Learning

Victorian All Schools Touch Football Championships

Congratulations to our Year 8 team, who were crowned joint 2026 Victorian All Schools Touch Football Champions, finishing equal first alongside The Grange College. This is a fantastic achievement and a testament to the team’s skill, teamwork, and commitment throughout the tournament.

Year 8 Champions;
Thomas Agosta, Harvey Betts, George Byrne, Jack Cunnington, Patch Dunne, Harry Fairbairn, Gus Gadsden, Arki Lorden, Ethan Nasrallah, Albie Nicholls, Taj Sibia, Leo Wang, Eddie Wartman
Coach: Braydon Hope | YLC: Ben Hay

Our Year 10 team also performed strongly, finishing third overall after a hard-fought semi-final, while our Opens team delivered an impressive campaign to finish runners-up, narrowly missing out in the Grand Final.

Year 10;
Harper Cunnington, Hamish Dunne, Nico Florez, Mitchell George, Oliver Green, William Inman, Archie McPherson, Charlie Morgan, Lochlan O’Donnell-Lace, Eddie Peat, Troy Power, Charlie Storer
Coach: Josh Carr | YLC: Rob Hanley

Opens
Jamie Bezencon, Flynn Betts, Charlie Elliott, James Jebb, Oscar Long, Will Ongarato, Ben Power, Lachlan Strahan, Hamish Ward, Max Wartman, Miller White, Noah Jury, Jack Nicholls, Faf Krueger, Max Tokava
Coach: Frank Ralogaivau | TLC: Jaimee Butler

We congratulate all players and coaches on their efforts and the outstanding way they represented the School.

Large Ensembles Concert

On Monday night, over 200 Secondary School students dazzled a packed St Andrew’s Church in the Semester 1 Ensemble Concert. The event showcased the following ensembles: Secondary String Orchestra, Corelli Symphony Orchestra, Meliora Voices, Senior Choir, Secondary Percussion Ensemble, Meliora Concert Band, Senior Concert Band and the newly formed Meliora String Orchestra.

Highlights included the first movement of Beethoven’s 5^th Symphony, a medley of music from Stranger Things, the Beatles classic Blackbird and a string arrangement of Tones and I ‘Dance Monkey’. Special thanks to all Music Staff and the always supportive Friends of Music.

Jared Furtado
Director of Music

APS Squash Success

At the APS Squash Individual Finals Tournament on Saturday, Leon Thomas (Year 10), finished third overall in Division 1 behind two very good Scotch players, and beating the best from St Kevins and Haileybury. It is a phenomenal individual result from Leon and was acknowledged with an award from the tournament organisers.

Michael Hawkins
Head of Squash

Creative Art Captains’ Induction 

Friends of Art warmly invite families to celebrate the induction of our Junior and Secondary Creative Art Captains.

Enjoy an afternoon recognising student leadership and exploring a selection of art project work from our senior students.

Thursday 30 April, 4.00pm
Senior Art Room, Duigan Centre

All welcome but please RSVP via TryBooking for catering purposes.

From the Archives

Many people find the school holidays an ideal time for refreshing school uniforms: washing, repairing or renewing.

It’s the same in the Archive.

Following English Heritage conservation guidelines, old uniforms and other fabric items are checked for signs of decay, sealed in plastic bags, and then placed in the freezer. This helps to keep them free from unwelcome insect infestations. The items are then ‘thawed’, unwrapped, cleaned and thoroughly aired before being re-labelled and placed back in the Archive.

St Andrews Intra-Club Tennis

BGS community members are invited to join the 2026 Season kick-off. For enquiries contact operations@dendyparktc.com.au

 

New BGS Volunteer Induction process

We are pleased to launch our new BGS Volunteer Induction Portal. All volunteers engaged in child-connected work must complete this induction to ensure they are informed, supported and meet the requirements to work with children. This includes understanding the BGS Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy, Child Safety Code of Conduct, and your responsibilities regarding records management, information sharing, and reporting obligations.

We welcome and are so grateful for our volunteers, who are a testament to the immensely strong and supportive community we have here at BGS. If an opportunity presents and you would like to take on a volunteer role, please be sure to contact the Compliance team for further guidance and the link to the new Volunteer Induction Portal. By completing this induction, you will be contributing to our shared responsibility of maintaining a safe, respectful and supportive environment for all children and young people in our care.

Examples of volunteer roles at BGS include; attending excursions, being part of a ‘Friends Of’ Parent Group, supporting onsite and offsite School events where students are present, accepting a volunteer sports coaching position

Please contact Compliance@brightongrammar.vic.edu.au if you have any further questions.

School Policies

All School policies are available on Schoolbox via the dedicated tile on the homepage. We encourage you to review these and direct any feedback or queries to compliance@brightongrammar.vic.edu.au.

Parking Reminder 

We have been advised that Bayside City Council is actively enforcing parking restrictions in the St Andrews Street pick-up zones, with a number of fines recently issued to drivers.

Please ensure you carefully observe all posted parking signs and time limits when collecting your son, including remaining only for the permitted duration and using the space strictly for pick-up.

Council inspectors may monitor the area remotely, so fines may be issued even if an officer is not visibly present.

The 2026 Ross Williamson Scholarship

The Ross Williamson Scholarship, provided and subsidised by the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, is a bursary for boys whose parent/s are experiencing financial hardship.

The scholarship is open to boys over 13 years of age, who are baptised members of the Anglican Church and whose parents are in need of monetary assistance for providing their son’s education at an Anglican school in Melbourne or its suburbs.

To apply, parents need to complete this form and email it to  headmaster@brightongrammar.vic.edu.au by 4 May 2026, marked Confidential: Ross Williamson Scholarship.    

From Reverend Waterhouse

At our Secondary School chapel service this week, I spoke about the “Scandal of the Cross”; how we are so used to seeing crosses every day in the form of church steeples, jewellery, car windscreen decals and on clothing, yet we are perhaps somewhat immune to its hideousness and shamefulness, as was understood during the time of the Roman Empire.

In 1857, an early piece of graffiti (circa. AD 200) was found etched upon a wall of a building on Palatine Hill in Rome. It features a man with a donkey’s head on a cross, being worshipped by a man with an outstretched arm. The mocking Greek inscription translates as ‘Alexamenos worships his god’.

Alexamenos was bravely and publicly known as a Christian and he, like the other early Christians, risked death for the sake of worshipping Jesus as the promised Messiah. For them, and Christians today, the cross became something glorious, as a public sign of God’s redeeming love for a broken world.

In the words of Christ himself: ‘The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’ [Mark 10:45].
This same Son of Man now lives and has promised to one day return in glory.

Happy Easter to you all!

Diary Dates

• Thursday 2 April Term 1 concludes
• Tuesday 21 April Term 2 commences