Weekly eNews
Ross Featherston
Headmaster, Brighton Grammar SchoolThere are few moments in a boy’s school journey quite like starting Prep or stepping into Secondary School. Both are significant milestones, filled with excitement and anticipation, and perhaps a few nerves as well.
Today, our Year 7 2027 cohort enjoyed their first transition day in the Urwin Centre, while our 2027 Prep classes returned for their second transition morning in the Junior School. These visits help boys become familiar with new spaces, build connections and grow in confidence as they prepare for their next chapter of school life.
We know that each boy experiences change differently. Some embrace it eagerly, while others need a little more time to adjust. Our staff take great care to ensure these transitions are positive, supportive and reassuring for all students.
At home, families can play an important role by speaking positively about change, encouraging independence, maintaining familiar routines, and keeping open lines of communication with the School through your son’s Homeroom Teacher (Junior School) or House Tutor (Secondary School).
Above all, we want every boy to know he doesn’t need to have it all figured out on day one. New routines, friendships and connections can take time, and we are here to navigate that alongside him. I encourage you to utilise the excellent resources and Position Papers created by our Crowther Centre team.
Tonight, we look forward to our Years 9–11 production of Frankenstein, adapted and directed by Ben Fox (OB 2023). Opportunities such as these highlight the strength of our community, as Old Boys return to share their expertise, act as positive role models and support the next generation of performers.
Finally, we wish our VCE students every success as they prepare for their final examinations.
Simon Angus
Deputy Headmaster, Head of Secondary SchoolOver the last week, we celebrated our Valedictory Days with the Year 12 boys. Highlights included the Valedictory Assembly and Beating the Bounds, where Year 12 students, together with their families, walk the grounds for the very last time.
We commemorate the people, places and time spent at various points around the School, culminating in a farewell from all Secondary School students in the Quad. It is always a highlight for the students and their families as they remember and reconnect with events that shaped the boys’ time at BGS.
A big thanks to all Year 11 parents involved in providing the morning tea. The day concluded with the formal Valedictory Dinner; a wonderful evening of celebration hosted at the MCG.
Congratulations to the Valedictory prize winners and good luck to all students for their upcoming exams.
Last Friday, we also held the 2027 Prefect Induction Chapel, celebrating our incoming student leaders as they prepare to take on their leadership roles and contribute to the BGS community in the year ahead.
Today was another big day in the Secondary School with our first Transition Day for the 2027 Year 7 students. The boys enjoyed a day of orientation and fun activities, while parents had an opportunity to connect with each other. We look forward to having the boys join us in Secondary School in 2027.
Meliora Sequamur.
Happenings & Reminders
- Thursday 22 October, 7.00pm – Year 9-11 production of Frankenstein, Rosstrevor Hall
- Monday 2 November – Mid-term break
- Tuesday 3 November – Melbourne Cup public holiday
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Tour
Over the recent term break, 12 Brighton Grammar students embarked on the journey of a lifetime across the Pacific for the 2026 Innovation & Entrepreneurship Tour. The tour was an overwhelming success, and the boys returned home deeply inspired, full of new ideas, and having genuinely loved the experience.
The itinerary was packed with world-class, behind-the-scenes opportunities. In Seattle, the boys engaged in hands-on design thinking at the Bill and Melinda Gates Discovery Center, explored the history and future of aerospace at the Museum of Flight, and participated in a fantastic entrepreneurial storytelling workshop at Seattle University’s Albers School of Business.
Read the tour report from Charlie Huynh, Head of Visual Communication and Design.
An Address to Remember
On Monday, Old Boy Stuart Fairley (OB 2000) delivered a memorable Valedictory Assembly address, sharing with honesty and humour the unexpected path his career has taken since leaving BGS.
His powerful message to the Class of 2026 was simple: you don’t need to have life figured out at 18. From embracing opportunity to navigating setbacks and staying true to your values, Stuart’s advice resonated with students and adults alike. Read the full article to learn more about the insights he shared with our boys.
Creative Arts Showcase Opening Event
Discover the creativity and innovation of our Secondary School students at the 2026 Brighton Grammar Creative Arts Showcase. Featuring work from Art, Media, Product Design and Visual Communication Design, the exhibition highlights the outstanding talent and creative thinking of our students.
Guests will be treated to a selection of canapés prepared by our Year 10 Food Technology students.
The opening event takes place on Thursday 5 November from 5.30pm.
Attendance is free; however, guests are asked to RSVP here for catering purposes.
From the Archive
There are so many gems in the BGS Archive that sometimes it feels like sorting through an historical treasure chest.
Recently we discovered a photograph of the 1924 BGS dance squad. The picture shows a line of boys dressed in bowler hats and leaning on canes. It immediately called to mind some of the Junior School boys, more than 100 years later, wearing similar outfits for a dance scene in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang staged earlier this year.
The performing art space is an ideal place to showcase some of the artefacts in the Archive and in doing so, helps us to create threads linking students with their forebears across generations.
This week the Years 9-11 production of Frankenstein (directed by Ben Fox, OB 2023) is being staged. If you look closely at the set you will notice some books on the mantlepiece. These antiquarian books are treasures from the Archive. They are prize books awarded to students in years gone by, and on Thursday, there will be direct descendants of their family in the audience. A wonderful connection between the past and the present.
From Reverend Waterhouse
This week on Wednesday morning, our twelve Secondary School Chapel Servers for 2027 were inducted, in preparation for their service amongst us in our regular chapel gatherings.
At the service, I spoke to the students about the notion of servanthood, how it is a practice which we can all be involved in, and I gave three suggestions about how the wider student can serve on another. They are not glamorous or even invigorating ideas, but they will make a remarkable difference.
- Put rubbish in the bin: it is a tangible of loving your neighbour, by ensuring a clean and neat learning environment.
- Be willing to be last out of a room, hall or playing space: ensuring that items are put back where they belong or asking what needs to be done might mean leaving last for recess or lunchtime, but it makes you “first” in Jesus’s books!
- Associate with those who might not be the most popular, but value having a willing friend around: this might involve a little discomfort or even embarrassment on our behalf, but just as God is other-person centred, so should we be.
It is our prayer that our new chapel servers have a maturing spirit of servanthood, as they seek to prepare the Secondary School community for worship, imitating Jesus Christ himself, who came ‘not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’ [Mark 10:45].