From Our Patron
The School has begun the new year in great heart: 2023 promises to be an exceptional year, being the first clear academic cycle beyond the interventions caused by the pandemic and, in our case, the constrictions due to building work. We are, indeed, enjoying full access to our transformative and exceptional new educational facilities, which enable us to perform important functions in new and uplifting ways. I write this report on the day of our House Swimming Competition, which we are holding in the Murray Rose Aquatic and Fitness Centre rather than bussing the whole school to an external facility: the day is as much about building community spirit as the pursuit of athletic excellence, and it is so very good to be able to host it at home. School Assemblies are now held in the Centenary Hall within the Vicars Building and benefit from space, natural light and even the civilised innovation of chairs for students. Assemblies are one of those essential elements of school life which bind the community together in a concelebration of aspiration, activity and artistry: they were sorely missed when rendered impossible by COVID and their return, in a new, more focused and tranquil form, has been welcome. We are using our new Chapel as a laboratory for spiritual exploration, and we are relishing the Packer Theatre for its elevation of the performing arts and for the sharing of important messages. The year has, then, begun with excitement and optimism: the traditional values which empower the Cranbrook ethos are being expressed by a vibrant community of the
young.
January 2023 saw the publication of our first set of International Baccalaureate Diploma results: our first IBDP cohort of twenty-four students registered impressive scores, achieving a median ATAR of 92. HSC results were similarly pleasing, and, as an open entry school, Cranbrook can be proud of its overall median ATAR of 89. Max Lindley was our first IB Dux: the HSC honour went to Lachlan Harris, who scored 99.95 and who topped the State in Physics, Chemistry and, last year as an accelerant, Mathematics. As ever, we were proud of our high achievers but also delighted by stories of personal achievement and quiet endeavour beyond the headlines.
Hewan House and Thomas House were launched this year: each takes its name from an outstanding contributor to the life and story of the School. We are determined to sustain pastoral care of the highest order.
We look forward to a fulfilling and progressive year. We are, as an IB Continuum School, embedding a global outlook in all that we do. We are preparing for the admission of girls, by 2026, into Years 7 and 11. We are refurbishing our Music School, in the Perkins building, in order to strengthen further the place of the creative and performing arts at the heart of the School and to complete our stunning new heritage precinct. We relish the support of our alumni as we seek to take this distinctive and important school forward. Powered by our heritage and excited by the prospects before us.
Nicholas Sampson
Headmaster, Cranbrook School