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Melbourne Grammar School offers AIEF Scholarships for Indigenous boarding students.
Melbourne Grammar School is a Prep to Year 12 coeducational primary and boys only secondary School for 1840 students. A central part of our Vision, Mission and Values is to educate, promote reconciliation and deliver education for First Nations students.
Enrolment
In 2023, we increased the number of students in our First Nations program from 13 to 15 students. We appreciate the support of AIEF in implementing this increase. We apply rigorous selection criteria for our First Nations students, knowing that high expectations for the students, the students’ family and the School help contribute to high outcomes. Typically, we have five to ten applications for each place.
Our First Nations Program Manager, Robbie Ahmat, visits each student and his family prior to any engagement with the School. This is to make sure the student and his family know, understand and commit to our high expectations. The visit establishes a good relationship and school contact for the family who they can relate to and communicate with. This is particularly important in the early months of school for the student who can be homesick, as well as having to overcome the challenges of starting at a new school, settling into a boarding community and making new friends.
Most First Nations students embrace the sporting program, but the main purpose of the program is not simply to attract sporting talent.
Leadership
We proudly invest heavily in our First Nations program. This includes the engagement of a full-time First Nations Program Manager, who is a wonderful First Nations role model and leader for our students. At the start of 2023, Rev. Helen Dwyer commenced as our first First Nations Chaplain. Our First Nations program is supported and governed by the First Nations Steering Committee.
Impact
Our First Nations students are boarders from Years 8 to 12, and they come from a broad cross section of communities across Australia. These 15 students and their predecessors continue to positively impact on the values, culture and reconciliation awareness at our School as we learn about and celebrate First Nations culture and acknowledge our First Nations history. Of equal importance is the lifelong impact these 15 students receive from a Melbourne Grammar Education and the positive effect on their families and communities. The students are supported and educated via pathways to attain formally recognised qualifications when they graduate from school.
We embed First Nations perspectives into our assemblies and formal services and incorporate those perspectives into the teaching and learning curriculum. We believe the awareness and practice of reconciliation should not just occur during Reconciliation Week.
For the past 20 years, the School has displayed First Nations artwork in the Barack gallery. We will extend that display into the new Centre for Humanities Building, likely with a combination of digital and physical art works. As part of the planning and design for the Centre for Humanities, we formed a Designing with Country focus group. This group was well informed via consultation with Aunty Fay, who is a local Elder from the Traditional Owners of the land, the Boonwurrung People, and has done much work with and for the School. This has included working with the School Architects, Wardle, and a First Nations consultant commissioned by Wardle, as well as the First Nations Steering Committee, the 15 First Nations students and our First Nations Program Coordinator.
In July, we held another successful Reconciliation Week. The student Reconciliation Committee, comprising First Nations and non-First Nations students, helped organise assemblies, smoking ceremonies, displays and First Nations dances across all three school campuses, as well as the annual football game against Geelong Grammar. All 15 First Nations students proudly displayed their culture.
We are reviewing our Reconciliation Action Plan to reflect our current practice, to consider new opportunities and to continue to keep our expectations high.
Recent 2022 Student Graduates
In March, we held our annual graduation ceremony for the Year 12 Class of 2022 graduates, attended by their families, our staff and First Nations students. One graduate has returned to Darwin to do part-time modelling and train as a youth worker. Another graduate is working in land management in Victoria, whilst doing part-time study in land management. We are particularly proud of these graduates, and I am confident they will become great leaders and will make significant contributions to their communities and to Australia.
Community Forums
The School holds regular community forums where students, staff, parents and alumni hear a presentation from a guest speaker and engage in discussion. In May, approximately 300 people heard Thomas Mayo present the ‘Yes’ case and in September approximately 250 people heard Warren Mundine present the ‘No’ case.
The School adopted an apolitical position on the Voice, but remained committed to providing good information and intelligent discussion so each person could make well informed decisions.
The lead up to the Referendum was not an easy time for our First Nations staff and students, and support was offered to them.
Melbourne Grammar continues to enjoy a very strong relationship with AIEF and is most grateful for the support, resources, network and funds received from AIEF.
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In the fight against Indigenous disadvantage, the only long-term solution is to deal with the causes. And the most effective way of doing that, is education.
Australian Indigenous Education Foundation
Suite 2A, Level 2
2-12 Foveaux Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
T (02) 8373 8000
F (02) 8373 8001
info@aief.com.au
www.aief.com.au
ABN 13 127 908 187
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