Carey Baptist Grammar School


Carey Baptist Grammar School is an independent, co-educational, Christian day school in Victoria, Australia.
The institution consists of four campuses: Kew, Donvale, the Carey Sports Complex in Bulleen and an outdoor education camp near Paynesville in eastern Gippsland called Carey Toonallook.
Founded in 1923, the school has a non-selective enrolment policy and currently caters for approximately 2,380 students from ELC to Year 12.
Carey is affiliated with the Junior School Heads Association of Australia, the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia, the Association of Independent Schools of Victoria, and has been a member of the Associated Public Schools of Victoria since 1958. The school has offered the International Baccalaureate since June 1997.

History

Carey Baptist Grammar School was founded by Rev. L. E. Tranter, who, at the meetings of the Baptist Union of Victoria held in May 1919, urged consideration of a Baptist secondary school for boys. The present property, with the house Urangeline, was purchased for £14,000 and the school opened on 13 February 1923, with an enrolment of 68 boys.
The school began co-education in 1979, when girls entered Years 11 and 12. Co-education was extended to all year levels by 1984. In 1989, of land were purchased at Bulleen for sports grounds, an Outdoor Education facility was built near Paynesville and a Junior School campus was built at Donvale.
The school bought the adjoining property named Cluny. The old buildings were demolished to make room for a new grass section for the Junior School at Kew, which was opened on 6 October 2006 and is known as Cluny Green. Fairview accommodates the Carey Swap Shop staff and Junior School Art and Music studios.

Principals

Name, badge and motto

The name of the school derives from William Carey. He was the first Baptist missionary in India, publishing 24 different translations of the Scriptures. The school badge represents the old Greek torch race, very similar to a relay race, in which a chain of runners each passed to the next a torch which had to be kept burning brightly.
The school motto is "Animo et Fide" which may be translated from Latin as "By Courage and Faith". This echoes the texts from Isaiah 54:2–3 on which Carey based his famous sermon in 1772 when he urged Baptists to form a missionary society.

Student life

Sport

From Year 5 onwards Carey students compete in the Associated Public Schools of Victoria competition in a number of different sports. Most of the sports are played at the Carey Sports Complex at Bulleen.
The sports offered at Carey include badminton, bike fitness, cricket, futsal, rowing, softball, swimming, diving, table tennis, tennis, basketball, cross country, football, hockey, netball, rugby, soccer, water polo, athletics and snowsports, as well as Fitness Club, yoga, football umpiring and St John Ambulance.

Performing arts

Music is included in the curriculum at both the Kew and Donvale campuses.
The Classroom Music program is compulsory for all students in Junior School and Year 7 students in Middle School. From Year 8 to VCE, Music is an elective timetabled subject.
Instrumental and vocal tuition is also available to students. There are choirs, bands, orchestras and ensembles for the students to join.
Carey has a visiting artists program that allows students to work with and perform alongside some of the world's best musicians. Visiting artists in recent years have included Mark Eager, Leroy Jones and James Morrison.
Students can also participate in musical productions, with roles as singers, actors, dancers and instrumentalists, or as part of the production team as stage crew.

Outdoor education

The school has an Outdoor Education program providing camps, excursions and overnight experiences. Outdoor Education is part of the Years 4 to 10 curriculum.
The school owns a 4-hectare site, Camp Toonallook, which provides early Outdoor Education experiences for Junior School Kew and Donvale students, Year 7s, and leadership camps and retreats for older students.

Cultural Experience Program

Carey's Cultural Experience Program enables students in Year 9 to travel to schools in the United Kingdom, Canada, United States of America and New Zealand for six weeks and Indonesia for two weeks. As this is a reciprocal program, a student from one of the international schools will stay with the Carey family in Australia, attending school and experiencing life in Melbourne.

Debating

Carey teams are entered in the Debaters Association of Victoria Schools' Competition which encompasses A Grade teams to D Grade teams. Debates are held during Terms 1, 2 and 3 and successful teams participate in the State Finals during Terms 3 and 4. In addition to the standard DAV competition, Carey participates in a range of other debating tournaments, including those organised by Rotary and the RSL. Carey has won a number of DAV championships and supplied captains of the Victorian Schools Debating Team.

World record attempt

On 9 September 2008, Carey student Benjamin McMahon organised a school attempt the break the Guinness world record for the largest human wheelbarrow race as part of a fundraising event, with over 1000 students participating. This attempt was successful and Carey held this record until it was broken by a school in NSW in 2009.

Uniform

From 2017, Carey's female students' uniform options broadened to include trousers and shorts in addition to skirts and dresses. This move was influenced by the School's Gender Equity Team as a way of breaking down stereotypes and highlighting Carey's progressive attitudes.

Facilities

The Carey Sports Complex is located in Bulleen and set on close to Carey's Kew and Donvale campuses. It consists of five ovals, and a gymnasium with two netball/basketball courts, which can also accommodate three volleyball or eight badminton courts. There is a weight-training facility and a 25-metre eight-lane heated swimming pool with a separate diving pool. Carey students use the facilities for physical education classes, sports training and APS matches. Students travel between Carey's main campuses and the sports complex in charter buses.
In 2010, the De Young Centre for Performing Arts was opened by the Governor of Victoria, Professor David de Kretser AC. The centre has three main sections: the school's reception foyer and gallery space; the Ian Woolf Auditorium with a 350-seat capacity and full stage management facilities; and the Laycock School of Music and Drama which features large rehearsal rooms, classrooms including two music technology rooms and practice and tuition studios.
In 2016, the Centre for Learning and Innovation was opened by the Governor of Victoria, The Hon. Linda Dessau AM. The CLI contains an Information Resource Centre which, in addition to housing an extensive catalogue, offers a variety of study spaces and laboratories. On the top of this building sits the United Nations Room and a Cabinet Room, which have been used for The United Nations Youth Security Council and offer vast views of Melbourne and the surrounding areas. The CLI, designed by Hayball, was shortlisted for the Australian Interior Design Awards in 2017.

Notable alumni