Barker College
Barker College is an independent Anglican co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school, located in Hornsby, a North Shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Barker was founded in 1890 by Henry Plume at Kurrajong Heights. In 2016 Barker announced a transition to a fully co-educational school, commencing in 2018 with girls in early learning and Kindergarten, in 2019 with girls in Year 3; in 2020 with girls in Year 7. The college currently caters for approximately 2,300 students, including 60 boarders from Years 10 to 12.
The Council of Barker College was originally constituted by the Barker College Ordinance of 1919. In 1939, Barker College was incorporated pursuant to the provisions of the Anglican Church of Australia Act 1938. Therefore, though Barker College is an Anglican school, it is separately incorporated and has its own governing body.
Barker is affiliated with the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference, the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia, the Junior School Heads Association of Australia, the Australian Boarding Schools' Association, the Independent Schools Association, and is a founding member of the Combined Associated Schools.
History
In 1890, Henry Plume took up the position of Rector at St Stephen's Church, Kurrajong. It was at the church that he tutored five local pupils for the Junior, Senior and Matriculation Examinations. Their academic success encouraged Plume to establish his own school. In 1891, Plume selected Stokesleigh, a guest house in Kurrajong Heights, as the site for this school. The name Barker College was chosen in memory of Frederic Barker, the second Bishop of Sydney whom Plume had met soon after his arrival in Australia. An outbreak of scarlet fever in 1894 convinced Plume that the School was too isolated and would be better located nearer to Sydney. Thus the School moved to its present site in Hornsby in 1896, and in 1919 its ownership transferred to the Church of England.Co-education
1975 saw the introduction of the co-educational collegiate senior school for students in Years 11 and 12, with the enrolment of 59 female students. In 2000, with Year 10 becoming became part of the senior school, girls started at Year 10 level. However, in 2016 Barker announced a transition to a fully co-educational school, and in 2018 girls started entering at all levels of the school including early learning and Kindergarten.Headmasters
The following men have served as Headmasters of Barker College:| Ordinal | Officeholder | Term start | Term end | Time in office | Notes |
| 1 | Henry Plume | 1890 | 1905 | years | |
| 2 | William Charles Carter | 1905 | 1929 | years | |
| 3 | Arthur Charles Campbell Thorold | 1929 | 1932 | years | |
| 4 | William Stanley Leslie | 1933 | 1957 | years | |
| 5 | John Gordon Dewes | 1958 | 1963 | years | |
| 6 | Trevor John McCaskill | 1963 | 1986 | years | |
| 7 | Neil William Tucker | 1986 | 1995 | years | |
| 8 | Dr Roderick Edward Kefford | 1996 | 2013 | years | |
| 9 | Phillip James Heath | 2014 | present | years |
Motto
The school motto, Honor non Honores, is derived from the Latin meaning "Honour not Rewards". The earliest record of the motto is on an illuminated address presented to Rev and Mrs Plume on their departure from the School in 1905.Campus
Barker College is situated on a campus in suburban Hornsby, 25 kilometres to the north of Sydney. In 2016 the School opened an Indigenous Campus, Darkinjung Barker, at Yarramalong on the NSW Central Coast, for students in Kindergarten to Yr6. The Junior School, shares the Hornsby campus with the Middle and Senior schools.The current facilities of the school include:
- A library; An Information Technology Centre; The McCaskill Music Centre, containing private tuition studios, classrooms, a recording studio, and a recital hall;
- Three Drama performance spaces, including four rehearsal rooms, a Green Room with changerooms, Two Drama Theatres with raked seating – The Rhodes Theatre and The BCMA Theatre, and the Leslie Hall;
- The Centenary Design Centre with provision for individual studios and whole-class teaching in Design & Technology and Visual Arts;
- The Barker Foundation Science Centre, containing fifteen teaching laboratories, four individual student laboratories and a 106-seat lecture theatre;
- Boarding houses Carter West Wing – The Palace and Senior Studies and Plume ;
- Six sporting fields, together with 11 Tennis courts, indoor courts for netball, basketball and volleyball, an artificial surface for Hockey, Football, Softball and other games;
- The R. E. Kefford Building, equipped with classrooms, smaller group learning spaces, and 2 theatres which seat 302 and 215 respectively. This building is often used for Drama, English, and Christian Studies Lessons, encompassing Years 7–12 in this space.
- The Junior School is an International Baccalaureate Candidate School and aims to become a registered IB school.
- The purpose-built Kurrajong Building for Pre-K – Year 2 students opened in 2018 within the Junior School campus.
Barker College House System
Junior school houses
The houses are named after explorers of Australia and Antarctica: Byrd, Flinders, Hillary, Mawson, Scott and Tasman| Houses | House Crest | Colour | Motto |
| Byrd | Green | Acta Non Verba 'Action not Words' | |
| Flinders | White | Omnia Parati 'Ready for Anything' | |
| Hillary | Yellow | Vincite Vestros Montes ;'Conquer Your Mountains' | |
| Mawson | Dark blue | NumQuam Cedite 'Never Give Up' | |
| Scott | Red | Celeriter Et Fortiter 'Swift and Determined' | |
| Tasman | Light blue | Con Spirito 'With Spriit' |
Middle and Senior School Houses
The Middle and Senior School Houses are named after influential figures in the School's history, with eight male and eight female namesakes. In July 2018 the College announced they would be changing the pastoral care system for the middle and senior school following the introduction of coeducation. The existing Houses are all named after influential males from the school's rich history, and after the introduction of coeducation, another eight new Houses were announced, after important women in the School's past.These new houses are Bowman, Fear, Hill, Mackenzie, May, Stevens, Sthalekar and Stone, adding to the list of existing houses; Andrew, Boyce, Butters, Holt, Pain, Wade, Wailes and Wilson. Both male and female students will be allocated to one of the 16 houses, regardless of gender.
| Houses | Colour | Motto | Founded |
| Andrew | Black | Fortes Fortuna Adiuvat 'Fortune follows the brave' | 1965 |
| Bowman | Dark purple | 'From one to all' | 2019 |
| Boyce | Light blue | Aspiro 'Simply Aspire' | 1959 |
| Butters | Grey | Diriget Deus 'God will direct' | 1959 |
| Fear | Orange | 'Courageous Soul' | 2019 |
| Hill | Magenta | 'Strength lies in difference' | 2019 |
| Holt | Dark green | Is Fidelis Vincit 'Faith brings luck' | 1979 |
| Mackenzie | Lime green | 'Together we are one' | 2019 |
| May | Olive green | 'Dare to know' | 2019 |
| Pain | White | Vive Et Vivat 'Live and let live' | 1965 |
| Stevens | Pale purple | 'To act justly' | 2019 |
| Sthalekar | Gold | 'Our best always' | 2019 |
| Stone | Teal | 'The truth never perishes' | 2019 |
| Wade | Royal blue | Labor in Unum 'Work together' | 1959 |
| Wailes | Yellow | Per Laborem Ad Victoriam 'From hard work comes victory' | 1971 |
| Wilson | Maroon | Deus Est Meum Scutum 'God is my Shield' | 1979 |