Toowoomba Anglican School


The Toowoomba Anglican School is an independent Anglican co-educational primary and secondary day and boarding school located in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. The school is a member of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane and is affiliated with the Junior School Heads Association of Australia.
The school has a small village atmosphere at its campus on the edge of the Dividing Range, and has developed a variety of facilities on its East Toowoomba location. These include three sporting ovals, an outdoor swimming pool, a multipurpose court, and the St Aidans School Chapel. It also has a large multi-purpose venue with bleacher seating called the Millennium Centre, where assemblies and other sporting events are held such as volleyball, basketball and netball.

History

The school was founded in 1911 as The Toowoomba Grammar Preparatory School. Original enrolment comprised 17 boys. The school was founded and grew with a boarding focus to service the geographically isolated areas of Southern and Western Queensland. The focus on boarding has remained through the school's history.
In 1927 the campus was expanded with the purchase of the adjacent Stoneleigh House, which was used for boarding students. In 1942–43 the School grounds were commandeered by the Army as a result of World War II, and the school was evacuated to Southport on the Gold Coast. In 1972 the enrolment was expanded to become co-educational. In 1986 Stoneleigh House was demolished to make room for sporting facilities. The turret was salvaged through the efforts of the Past Students Association, and to this day is sited between the sporting ovals that replaced Stoneleigh.
In 2011 the school's board was subject of a civil case, S v Corporation of the Synod of the Diocese of Brisbane QSC 473, involving sexual offending by a housemaster in the 1990s. The events later formed the basis of the 2017 film Don't Tell.

Heads of School

OrdinalOfficeholderTitleSchool nameTerm startTerm endTime in officeNotes
1Ernest Albert GillThe Toowoomba Grammar Preparatory School
The Church of England Preparatory School		19111926 years
2Aldington HuntThe Church of England Boys School19271928 years
3Norman "Boss" ConnalThe Church of England Boys School19291958 years
4Edgar "Blue" WhiteThe Church of England Boys School19591973 years
5Robert "Bob" SmithThe Church of England Boys School19731979 years
6Robert BrewsterThe Toowoomba Preparatory School19791992 years
7Tim WaleyThe Toowoomba Preparatory School19931995 years
8Bruce HowdenThe Toowoomba Preparatory School19952009 years
9Sandra HawkenThe Toowoomba Preparatory School20102013 years
10Simon LeesHead of SchoolToowoomba Anglican College and Preparatory School
Toowoomba Anglican School		2014present years

Houses

The school has a day house system for internal competition, and a different house system for boarding.
There are three-day houses: Gill, Connal and Fairfax.

Sports

Sports offered at the school include AFL, athletics, basketball, cricket, cross country, soccer, rugby union, rugby league, hockey, netball, softball, swimming, tennis, touch football, and volleyball.
Sporting facilities at the school include three junior sized ovals, four tennis and netball courts, an outdoor pool and a gymnasium.

Music

TAS has an extensive music program. The program includes a music exposure system where all students undertake activities using musical instruments such as violin. The result is extensive participation in small music ensembles through all age groups. TAS enters the annual Toowoomba Eisteddfod amongst other regional competitions, and typically enjoys significant success. The Chapel Choir is noted for its consistently high performance standard.
The school also encourages participation in musical productions. The annual Preparatory Years musical is a large production with participation of all students from Years 3 to 6 in all aspects from staging, music and management. The College Musical and College Play take place in alternate years.

Notable alumni

All previous students are able to join the Past Students Association. Notable alumni include: