I am often asked about my "philosophy of education". Few things in modern life invite more argument, yet the philosophy of Sydney Grammar School is simply and easily expressed. We exist in order to provide our boys with a liberal, humane, pre-vocational education.
The word "liberal" comes from a Latin root meaning "free". Our curriculum is liberal in the sense that it is not based on the idea that you must "learn how to earn". There's time for that later. It is humane in the sense that our traditions stem ultimately from the classical tradition, and its subsequent reinterpretations both in the Judaeo-Christian context of the European Renaissance and in the context of modern scientific knowledge. And pre-vocational in the sense that we aim to give you a solid physical, intellectual and moral formation in order to prepare you for the specialized vocational training most of you will receive later in life. In practice, this means that we reject attitudes that belittle the importance of being human.