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School sporting scholarships/recruitment

TheKing

Colin Windon (37)
"Gibbon goes to School three days a week and works as an electrician through a school-based program the other two...
Former Far North Coast players Jake Lyon and Izack Rodda were also part of the Queensland Schools second team.
Lyon is a Wollongbar junior and is now at the Southport School on the Gold Coast.
Rodda is from Lismore and attends Ipswich Grammar School." - Northern Star website.
In the midst of all the talk about students sitting HSC's and QCS etc, I wonder how often this sort of situation occurs when boys are given scholarships to go to a faraway "academic elite" schools to play footy, then don't attend school/apply for a trade apprenticeship. What is the point of going to these schools then, if the player is just going to become an electrician?
Throws out the whole "providing them a chance at a better education than they can afford" argument completely.
I know I'm only assuming that Gibbon is on a scholarship, but who would pay upwards of $11,000 per semester to only go to school 3 days a week? It's crazy.
The only benefit provided to the boy is the opportunity to compete in a better competition and get noticed, which I don't believe is the modus operandi for sporting scholarships anywhere.
 

Vegas

Chris McKivat (8)
"Gibbon goes to School three days a week and works as an electrician through a school-based program the other two.

Throws out the whole "providing them a chance at a better education than they can afford" argument completely.
I know I'm only assuming that Gibbon is on a scholarship, but who would pay upwards of $11,000 per semester to only go to school 3 days a week? It's crazy.
The only benefit provided to the boy is the opportunity to compete in a better competition and get noticed, which I don't believe is the modus operandi for sporting scholarships anywhere.

And therein is the whole nonsense of this sad scholarship situation King. Generally the boys are there for the wrong reasons. Short term goals without any long term sustainable plan.
I fear that the only KPI or "flag on the hill" for the schools is winning a premiership - which is a 9 week, single term lottery anyway - and they think they are getting some sort of reputational benefit from it and a return from their investment. Far from it I fear - they are really rapidly alienating their broader student body and an already disenfranchised parent base.
This isn't a ticking time bomb which is about to blow up - that has already happened. What needs to happen now is the schools should open up their eyes and start picking up the pieces of what is left of their principles and broader education focus - these are schools for crying out loud, not sporting franchises.
It will be tough, as it appears that the headmasters don't have the Kohunas, nor the honour, to make a collective hard decision, and the respective Boards are being conned that this is a positive programme for the long term benefit of their schools
 

Quick Hands

David Wilson (68)
And therein is the whole nonsense of this sad scholarship situation King. Generally the boys are there for the wrong reasons. Short term goals without any long term sustainable plan.
I fear that the only KPI or "flag on the hill" for the schools is winning a premiership - which is a 9 week, single term lottery anyway - and they think they are getting some sort of reputational benefit from it and a return from their investment. Far from it I fear - they are really rapidly alienating their broader student body and an already disenfranchised parent base.
This isn't a ticking time bomb which is about to blow up - that has already happened. What needs to happen now is the schools should open up their eyes and start picking up the pieces of what is left of their principles and broader education focus - these are schools for crying out loud, not sporting franchises.
It will be tough, as it appears that the headmasters don't have the Kohunas, nor the honour, to make a collective hard decision, and the respective Boards are being conned that this is a positive programme for the long term benefit of their schools
Great post. Parent/old boy pressure and a points system are what's needed to stop what's going on. The situation in Qld sounds even worse that here. I find it appalling that the men and women running schools based on moral principles are complicit in it.
 

FlashFlanker

Herbert Moran (7)
I wonder what it takes to stop this? Story doing the rounds a few years ago involved a school principal publicly saying he was going to reduce the level of scholarships and redirect them to other activities. The story culminates in the Old Boy group saying if that happened, a change in school principal would be arranged. The conclusion to the story was there was no change.

Given the depth of feeling among Old Boys in particular, it's hard to imagine the strength of character required of school principals to address this. What if a generous benefactor secretly funds the education of a talented rugby player or three or more? Does the school know and do they refuse him?

Likewise some companies with geographic links to certain communities offer scholarships to boys from those communities for education at leading schools. A number of years ago I was introduced to one such scholarship holder. He was 6ft 8in and built like a block of flats. He was 15 years old!. I asked what he was like. The person I asked talked not about his rugby skills but about his impeccable morals and sense for what's right. Ultimately this boy from a small Torres Strait island transitioned from school to university and now talks about taking the skills and knowledge back to his community to make things better for them. Interesting!

I agree that a points system would be a valuable addition to the mix. I can also remember when I was at school that because of cost some of the boarders only came to school for Grades 10-12 or 11-12. Schools can charge between $20,000-$50,000 per annum for boarders. That can be a huge ask for some families. How do we cater for this in ensuring there are no unintended consequences? Maybe discounted points where the boy attends the school attended by his relatives.

How do we cater for the differences between say a Brisbane State High School (with no fees but a geographic limit) and schools where annual fees for day boys is in excess of $20,000? BSHS have for many years run a "selection trial" for boys at 12yo where talented rugby players (league and union) are invited to trial to be offered a way around the geographic rules. In 2010 there were 32 boys offered this route. A number of the boys have since left the school... some for riper offers at other schools. Regardless it amounts to importing two whole teams at grade 8 with elite skills. Interesting that with this approach they are now struggling to provide C teams in each age group.

I'm sure school principals have a desire to do the right thing. Remember they are running the school under the constraints of the committee or board that has overall control. You are certainly correct that headmasters sitting in a closed meeting could pass some rules to address this situation. What those rules should be and how they are enforced is the challenge.

In the Queensland GPS this year there is no clear winner, the 60 point blow-outs we saw a few years ago aren't happening and every team has had a win or a number of close games to keep things interesting. On their day almost any team could make things touch for any other team.

In that environment headmasters become a little less likely to intervene unless the financial viability of the school is threatened.

BTW as a complete aside I read on the GGR forum that Nudgee in Brisbane could field an 8ths and 9ths but would have no opposition. If you add Nudgee's 16Es in Grade 11 that would make the equivalent of a 14ths in Open in Sydney. Is there any school with anything like a 14ths in Sydney?
 

PaarlBok

Rod McCall (65)
Paarl Gym SA's top rugby school scholarship is free accomodation and only in extreme instances free school fees.

NZ
http://www.saschoolsports.co.za/rug...schools-spending-r-31-million-on-1st-xvs.html

Schoolboy rugby in Auckland, New Zealand has lost any notion of egalitarianism and the world famous 1A competition is now divided along financial lines, with five schools spending NZ$ 400 000 (R3 million) on their 1st XV.

The Herald's investigation into First XV rugby can reveal that five schools - Auckland Grammar, King's College, Mt Albert Grammar, Sacred Heart College and St Kentigern College - are estimated to be spending more than $400,000 (approx R3 million) collectively on their respective First XVs while the other seven teams in the 1A competition are spending collectively about $50,000 (approx R400 000).
Experienced educators with knowledge of the Auckland rugby scene say there is now a culture of "have" and "have-not" schools. They say the growing financial divide is a concern for many reasons, notably:
  • It is indicative of and likely to be fostering a win-at-all-costs culture at the expense of a holistic education.
  • It is creating too many one-sided contests and doing much to preclude the lower-spending schools from winning the title.
  • It is encouraging the best young players to switch to one of the richer schools where they see their prospects of rep team selection and an eventual professional career as much higher.
Budgets Suggest Over importance on Winning?
King's College spends $70,000 a year on rugby overall and $40,000 specifically on the First XV. Sacred Heart estimates total annual expenditure on its First XV to be $50,000.
Neither Auckland Grammar nor Mt Albert Grammar would divulge their respective budgets but the Herald estimates they will spend in line with Sacred Heart - their funds drawn from school donations and sponsorships.
St Kentigern College, reigning Auckland, New Zealand and world champions and reputed to be the biggest spenders, also refused to divulge their financial commitment.
Sources with good knowledge of the school estimate St Kents will spend $150,000-$200,000 this year - with the figure inflated as the First XV travelled to Japan for the world Sanix championship in April.
Manoj Daji, chief executive of College Sport, the body that runs the 1A competition, says: "I am very concerned at the budget amounts suggested on a number of levels.
"The divide that is emerging is both unhealthy and worrying for the ethos of the competition. Such budgets suggest an overimportance being placed on winning the 1A title and/or keeping a school's place in this competition. Do the curriculum budgets of small departments in schools match these sorts of numbers?
"Already this season there has been 90 and 60-point wins recorded in the 1A competition. Even more worrying is young players believing the only pathway to top level rugby is via a school with a significant rugby budget."
Rugby Seen As Realistic Career Option
While the greater investment made by the "rich" schools does in most cases provide the boys with access to better facilities, equipment, recovery advice, training aids and nutrition, the real benefit is that it has enabled the "big five" to develop reputations as the best destinations for those pupils who see rugby as a potential career option.
Geoff Moon, director of rugby at Mt Albert Grammar, who also has extensive coaching and teaching experience in South Auckland, says the biggest difference from 10 years ago is that many parents see professional rugby as a realistic career for their children.
"Things have changed a little bit because [good rugby programmes] are something that parents want now," he says. "It's a consequence of the sport going professional - some schools have placed more emphasis on getting sport right and it is more of a priority than it has been in some schools."
That parents across the city are willing to shift their children in search of a better rugby experience is borne out by the fact that there are 38 boys playing in the 1A this year who are listed as new to their respective schools. Of those 38, 22 have shifted to one of the big five rich schools.
There were 47 boys picked for the recent Blues Under-18 development camp: 34 of them came from the five richest schools. When the squad was cut to 25 players after the camp, 20 were from the five richest schools - which supports the perception that kids from a high-profile rugby institution have a better chance of cracking rep teams.
A number of current Blues players prove that it is possible to make it to the professional ranks from one of the less well-resourced schools. Charlie Faumuina, capped by the All Blacks last year, attended Papatoetoe High School; Keven Mealamu was a pupil at Aorere College; and young prop Ofa Tu'ungafasi made the New Zealand Secondary Schools team out of Mangere College.
But former All Black Ant Strachan, who is the high performance manager at the Auckland Rugby Union - largely responsible for determining which First XV players will be offered professional contracts - says that as much as he tries to cast the selection net wide and keep an eye on the 1B and 1C competitions, the well-resourced schools are probably going to develop the bulk of the players who will be in line for higher honours.
The clustering of talent has fed concerns among the educational fraternity that winning the competition is now beyond those seven, lower-spending schools. Since De La Salle, the decile 1 Catholic school from Mangere, won in 2008, the list of 1A winners reads, Mt Albert in 2009 and 2010, followed by St Kents in 2011 and 2012 with those two schools fancied to make the final again this year.
Historically, like all schoolboy competitions, 1A has been subject to natural cycles depending on the relative strength of respective peer groups. But that pattern is being distorted, say some seasoned observers, because of the level of recruitment - particularly of younger pupils.
"The big worry for me is that we have a really good Under-14 team this year," says De La Salle's head of rugby, Nigel Hurst. "But how many of them will be here when they get to Year 11? South Auckland has just become a talent pool for the rich schools."
Northland boys lured south by schools
The battleground for rugby talent is fierce within Auckland - more intense again when it comes to enticing pupils from outside the city, particularly students from Northland.
The Herald understands that in any given year between 30 to 50 boys from Northland will be lured to board at Auckland schools. More than a third of the 100-plus boarders at Mt Albert Grammar are from Northland, while similar numbers are thought to be at Auckland Grammar, and King's, Sacred Heart and St Kents are also believed to house significant volumes of boys from up north.
Northland is recognised as having large numbers of talented kids but no established schoolboy competition of note.
Northland Rugby Union high performance manager, Peter Nock, says that scenario has led to Auckland's leading schools taking an intense interest in the region.
He says mutually beneficial, informal relationships have been struck, where schools strengthen their rugby squads and boys improve their education and sporting prospects.
"For the families it is an opportunity to go to a high-profile school," says Nock. "When you consider that some of the kids up here have to travel an hour to school and back, moving to these sorts of schools in Auckland where they have their own gyms and they are pushed to excel, it's often an easy decision to make."
Nock says he has almost become an intermediary - fielding calls from families eager to relocate their sons and also from a handful of schools.
His own son, Sam, transferred to St Kentigern College on a four-year scholarship after he impressed playing for Northland's Roller Mills team. Fellow Northlander Dillon Wihongi was also offered a scholarship by St Kents and Nock says that following the recent Blues Schools camp, Shelford Murray, of Kaitaia College, is now fielding several offers to transfer to Auckland.
The Herald spoke to several sources who had no doubt the majority of the boys transferring from Northland were doing so for legitimate reasons - the shift would be beneficial for all aspects of their eduction. But they felt the 1A competition was being further skewed in favour of wealthier schools who had the capacity to attract the best players from in and out of Auckland.
"There is no doubt that the schools with boarding facilities have the single biggest advantage," says Dave Syms, former Auckland Grammar teacher, First XV coach and headmaster at Palmerston North Boys' High School and now operations manager at the Auckland Rugby Union.
(From NZ Herald editorial)
 

Schoolofhardknocks

Frank Nicholson (4)
"Gibbon goes to School three days a week and works as an electrician through a school-based program the other two.
Former Far North Coast players Jake Lyon and Izack Rodda were also part of the Queensland Schools second team.
Lyon is a Wollongbar junior and is now at the Southport School on the Gold Coast.
Rodda is from Lismore and attends Ipswich Grammar School." - Northern Star website.
In the midst of all the talk about students sitting HSC's and QCS etc, I wonder how often this sort of situation occurs when boys are given scholarships to go to a faraway "academic elite" schools to play footy, then don't attend school/apply for a trade apprenticeship. What is the point of going to these schools then, if the player is just going to become an electrician?
Throws out the whole "providing them a chance at a better education than they can afford" argument completely.
I know I'm only assuming that Gibbon is on a scholarship, but who would pay upwards of $11,000 per semester to only go to school 3 days a week? It's crazy.
The only benefit provided to the boy is the opportunity to compete in a better competition and get noticed, which I don't believe is the modus operandi for sporting scholarships anywhere.

I cannot believe your comment's what gives you the right to comment on Matt he is a great young man he is attending Nudgee as did his older brother Alex Gibbon who played Second XV for Nudgee a few years ago, and who is now playing 1st Grade at Southern Districts in Sydney Shute shield and is presently away in Argentina on the Waratah Barbarian tour I believe the boy’s mother was unable to bring him up due to handicap and his grandparents have brought both boys up and decided to give them both the opportunity of Nudgee College
 

Spieber

Bob Loudon (25)
BTW as a complete aside I read on the GGR forum that Nudgee in Brisbane could field an 8ths and 9ths but would have no opposition. If you add Nudgee's 16Es in Grade 11 that would make the equivalent of a 14ths in Open in Sydney. Is there any school with anything like a 14ths in Sydney?

Joeys go to the 12ths and 16Hs. Shore to the 10ths and 16Gs.
 

TheKing

Colin Windon (37)
I cannot believe your comment's what gives you the right to comment on Matt he is a great young man he is attending Nudgee as did his older brother Alex Gibbon who played Second XV for Nudgee a few years ago, and who is now playing 1st Grade at Southern Districts in Sydney Shute shield and is presently away in Argentina on the Waratah Barbarian tour I believe the boy’s mother was unable to bring him up due to handicap and his grandparents have brought both boys up and decided to give them both the opportunity of Nudgee College


I apologise if my comment was interpreted that way, there was no way I was saying Gibbon was a bad person, or his gradndparents were bad people, his brother was a bad person, or anything offensive you could imagine I meant.

If his grandparents are happy to pay thousands of dollars a year for Gibbon to go to an expensive private school in Brisbane, hours drive away from his home and family, just to become an electrician going to school 3 days a week, that's fine. The motive for it is definitely not academic though.

The "opportunity" at Nudgee College is a rugby opportunity.

http://www.northernstar.com.au/news/gibbon-in-top-aussie-team/1937399/
 

Hugh Jarse

Rocky Elsom (76)
Which part of the lies, rumour, unsubstantiated gossip, and plagarism from New Zealand's leading nasal reconstructing ophthalmologist represents "great rugby commentary?

Couldn't really see anything in that rumour column ("Do you have any news or rumours to share?") about school sporting scholarships unless you are referring to the big boogie man threat to "reveal" that Inside Shoulder is a High Profile legal figure who rumoured to be is bitter and twisted (concerned) about the demise of Grammar rugby.

This particular gem of investigative journalism was abundently clear within the first 1/2 dozen or so of Inside Shoulder's initial threads. What is more, he has dropped enough hints through his posts as to precisely who he is if you actually take some time to put 2 and 2 together (if that takes your fancy).

I reckon that there are more than one high profile legal figures amongst G&GR readership, so zippedy do dah, Scoop Grumbles has hit pay dirt. It only took him 6500 to work it out.

Any High profile legal figure will certainly be really really scared of being "outed" by a low profile rugby media type who is almost universally pitied by most Gaggerlanders.
 

lincoln

Bob Loudon (25)
Which part of the lies, rumour, unsubstantiated gossip, and plagarism from New Zealand's leading nasal reconstructing ophthalmologist represents "great rugby commentary?

Couldn't really see anything in that rumour column ("Do you have any news or rumours to share?") about school sporting scholarships unless you are referring to the big boogie man threat to "reveal" that Inside Shoulder is a High Profile legal figure who rumoured to be is bitter and twisted (concerned) about the demise of Grammar rugby.

This particular gem of investigative journalism was abundently clear within the first 1/2 dozen or so of Inside Shoulder's initial threads. What is more, he has dropped enough hints through his posts as to precisely who he is if you actually take some time to put 2 and 2 together (if that takes your fancy).

I reckon that there are more than one high profile legal figures amongst G&GR readership, so zippedy do dah, Scoop Grumbles has hit pay dirt. It only took him 6500 to work it out.

Any High profile legal figure will certainly be really really scared of being "outed" by a low profile rugby media type who is almost universally pitied by most Gaggerlanders.
And there I was thinking IS was Gaius Julius Ceasar incarnate, when really he is just a naughty boy.
Good to see Grumbles is a keen GAGR follower - wonder who he is?!? Could not be Huge A because we know he has never watched a grassroots game.
Sorry guys - off topic - waiting until 2nd Scots New game before launching my next heat seeking missile.
 

Inside Shoulder

Nathan Sharpe (72)
How to go on not looking
by Bruce Dawe



How to go on not looking
despite every inducement to the contrary,

How to train the dumb elephant, patience,
to balance by command on its circus stool
without betraying its inward teetering,

How to subdue the snarling circle of ifs
by whip-crack, chair-twirl, seeming to look each steadily
in the eye while declining to unwrap
the deadly golden bon-bon of their hate,

How to forget also the silence
tenting itself over the old once wildly-applauded acts,
over Beppo and Toni, the Heavenly Twins,
not to mention Bucephalus, the Wonder Horse,

How to cry 'Ladies and Gentlemen!' to an empty marquee
where only the canvas flaps in the night wind,
how to people the vacant benches without bitterness,

And how to go on not looking and not looking
until the good years, the good pitches
return and the crowds gasp again
at the recurrent miracle of the balancing elephant,
the dutiful big cats, the Heavenly Twins
making it all look too easy, the ring-master
merely an accesory after the fact.
 

redatheart

Frank Nicholson (4)
Aran Speldewinde came in U16 from a north Brisbane suburb called Western Australia after playing in the National Championships.

Aran Speldewinde went to Nudgee from WA as a boarder in 2011. Absolutely no scholarship or school encouragement and not a result of Nat Champs. Full fees. Went to Nudgee on Grandma's recommendation of a good school.
 

Quick Hands

David Wilson (68)
Aran Speldewinde went to Nudgee from WA as a boarder in 2011. Absolutely no scholarship or school encouragement and not a result of Nat Champs. Full fees. Went to Nudgee on Grandma's recommendation of a good school.
I'm not doubting what you say, but is Nudgee that much better than GPS type schools in Perth? I'd assume that schools in WA would have a primary focus on Aussie Rules but still have some rugby.
 
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