2023 Annual Review

FROM THE CHAIR

MS JULIE McKAY (2000) CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Each year, Brisbane Girls Grammar School takes steps that shape its legacy as one of Australia’s leading schools and in 2023, the School advised our community of the historic decision to introduce Years 5 and 6 in 2026.

This broadening of the School’s educational offering represents a significant shift: as an established leader in the education of adolescent girls, an expansion to also focus on the unique needs of upper primary students was considered thoughtfully. In consultation with our community, the Board of Trustees and leadership of the School explored how a Girls Grammar education could be adapted and reimagined for a younger cohort to deliver a rigorous, creative and inspiring education that is of a standard equal to, but distinct from, the secondary educational offering for which our School is renowned. We reviewed the nature of every element of that education from our curriculum and co-curriculum to student care, and beyond, including the shape of our relationships with families. The result of this effort is, ultimately, exciting: it represents a tangible commitment to the pursuit of gender equality in providing greater opportunities for girls, and a great optimism for our collective future. We are looking forward to sharing the experience of a Girls Grammar education with a younger intake of students and broadening the School’s educational offering to reflect the contemporary expectations of many of our families and prospective parents. While preparing for this future development, the School celebrated many other occasions, events and milestones that drew our attention back to the present. Academically, our students exemplified the School motto, Nil Sine Labore , and our expert, generous teachers encouraged every girl to strive to do their best. Consequently, our Australian National Assessment Program—Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) and the

Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) results were outstanding. These outcomes are not our goal; they are, however, the well-deserved reward for our students’ curiosity, effort and enthusiasm in their learning. Our students, staff, alumnae and families also continued to astound with the breadth of co curricular and Service-based activities that they engaged in with energy and mastery. In everything we did, the School aligned with the principles of the Strategic Design 2023-2025. In National Reconciliation Week, we launched our Reconciliation Action Plan—a formalisation of the School’s commitment to reconciliation. A living document, it provides a framework for BGGS to foster more meaningful and reciprocal relationships with First Nations Peoples, promote cultural awareness, and embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures across our curriculum and daily school life. I wish to acknowledge Principal, Ms Jacinda Euler Welsh, for her deserved receipt of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders’ (Queensland) highest award, the Miller-Grassie Award for Outstanding Educational Leadership 2023, and a further national Leadership Award that recognises her as one of Australia’s most impactful and influential educational leaders. The Board of Trustees is thankful for her strong leadership. I thank my fellow Trustees for their dedication, expertise and stewardship of our School.

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BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL ANNUAL REVIEW 2023