FROM THE HEAD OF SENIOR SCHOOL
Reaching a common goal
Collaboration, put simply, is about people
working together with a common goal in
mind. Here at Guildford Grammar School
the common goal is clearly identified in
our purpose, to inspire students to achieve
personal excellence and to be outstanding
citizens who work to create a just, loving
and peaceful society. By fostering and
encouraging high levels of collaboration
amongst both our staff and student
populations we are able to achieve this goal
while ensuring we continue to learn from
one another while sharing our unique skills
and talents.
Research shows that educational
experiences that are active, social,
contextual, engaging, and student-owned
lead to deeper learning. Research from
Cornell University’s Centre for Teaching
Excellence highlight the following as
essential benefits students can gain when
working in collaboration with one another:
• Development of higher-level thinking,
oral communication, self-management,
and leadership skills.
• Promotion of student-faculty interaction.
• Increase in student retention, selfesteem, and responsibility.
• Exposure to and an increase in
understanding of diverse perspectives.
• Preparation for real life social and
employment situations.
Here at Guildford Grammar School,
the opportunities for collaboration are
10
From L-R: Ms Jennyfer Leah, Cassius Hynam, Jack Grant, Mr Stephen Webber,
Benjamin Dunne, Bailey Gillam and Mr Brad Evans.
widespread across a variety of activities,
so much so it would be impossible to list
them all.
Students have the opportunity to
collaborate with one another in many of
their lessons, whether this be by simple
group discussion of an issue or a problem,
to much more structured formats like group
activities and assignments. Beyond the
classroom, opportunities for collaboration
are also widespread. In their House setting
boys work together across a range of
cultural activities in formulating debating
tactics, deciding on the best way to
deliver a public address, conversing over
chess strategies and arranging creative
adaptations of drama scripts, all in the
common goal of winning the Centenary
Cup for cultural activities.
Extra-curricular activities such as Cadets,
Robotics, Pedal Prix, Music and Drama
Productions, fundraising activities and
Community Soup Patrol all expand
our students’ horizons and provide
tangible settings for students to put their
collaboration skills to use in a much more
practical and student driven sense.
Collaboration between Mentor, Head of
House and classroom teacher are everpresent and providing the best pastoral
care for our students, enabling them to
achieve personal excellence. Our faculties
meet regularly to share ideas and best
practice and our pastoral care leaders work
collectively to implement programs and
strategies that will assist students. A number
of voluntary staff committees exist where
our teachers give freely of their time in areas
of interest and passion to work to ensure
we deliver opportunity and education that
will see our students continue to learn and
develop.
As Head of Senior School I am in the
privileged position to see the extent to
which collaboration within the School is a
lived practice, and fortunately often have
the ability to be a participant in a wide
array of collaborative activities centred
on student learning and care. I aspire to
constantly collaborate with others in terms
of gaining information, using their expertise
and opinion and obtaining feedback after
decisions are made or activities are complete
in order to get the best results for the
widest range of people.
When staff choose to role model this
behaviour and we actively challenge and
engage our students to make collaboration
an integral process that is actually a day to
day mechanism central to all activities we
are equipping them for success now and in
the future.
Mr Brad Evans
Head Of Senior School