Yarra Valley Grammar

Yarra Valley Grammar (YVG) is an independent, co-educational grammar school, located in Ringwood, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

The school was established in 1966 as Yarra Valley Church of England School for boys.

In 1973, Yarra Valley Anglican School established a Hearing Unit for the Deaf under the tutelage of Bill Robinson. Its premise was that deaf children should receive the opportunity to grow and develop with their "hearing" peers in normal classroom settings. Hearing impaired students were encouraged to participate in all extracurricular activities, such as school sports. It has since grown to encompass every year level. The Hearing Unit also has its own classroom facilities where students receive assistance with speech therapy and classwork.

Girls were admitted to the two senior levels in 1978, and the school progressively became fully co-educational from 1993 through 1995.

In 2006, Yarra Valley Grammar celebrated its 40th birthday with many special events, including a whole-school photo and an aerial photo of the students positioned to create the number 40. The school celebrated its birthday in a service at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne in September 2006. And is approaching its 50th birthday in 2016.

History

• 1963, School Founded - at the time of the opening ceremony, surrounding the school were orchards which were progressively replaced with housing estates. By retaining the forest the school has preserved a slice of the area's history.
• 1966, Mr John Pascoe Headmaster. First assembly takes place - 135 boys attend
• 1970, School invited to become a member of the AGSV
• 1971, Headmaster invited to be a member of the Headmaster's Conference of Independent Schools Australia
• 1973, Hearing Unit for the Deaf established with Deaf students fully integrated as part of the school community.
• 1976, Mr George Wood Headmaster
• 1978, The first girl students are admitted into the school
• 1991, Opening of the George Wood Performing Arts Centre
• 1994, Mrs Margaret Peters Principal
• 1997, Mr Neville Lyngcoln Principal
• 1999, The school officially changed its name to Yarra Valley Grammar School
• 2000, Opening of the John King Sports Complex by Sir Charles Gobbo Governor of Victoria
• 2003, Opening of the Neville J. Lyngcoln Senior Students' Centre
• 2006, School celebrates its 40th birthday and the opening of the John Hempel Year 7 Centre by Prof David de Kretser, Governor of Victoria
• 2008, Opening of the Hockey and Tennis Centre
• 2009, Dr Mark Merry Principal and the Opening of the new Early Learning Centre
• 2011, Opening of the new Upper Primary Building and Foundation Hall
• 2012, Opening of the Brooke Nicholas Pavilion. An electrical fault causes a fire which destroys the school's science wing
• 2015, Opening of the Science and Mathematics Faculty by the Governor-General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove and Lady Cosgrove

Information Technology

Yarra Valley Grammar provides Senior Primary and Middle School students iPads and operates a number of computer and multi media laboratories.

House system

There are four houses, named after important figures during the school's history, each with a specific house color - these are Hughes (Yellow), Arnott (Maroon), Annells (Blue) and Plummer (Green).

Old Grammarians

A number of students have gone on to success in corporate and public life. The Past Students Association offers the opportunity for alumni to stay in touch with one another.

Prominent Alumni

• Mr David Robb (1971) - Managing Director of Iluka Resources
• Justice Peter Almond (1972) – Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria
• Prof David Jamieson (1975) – Head of the School of Physics, University of Melbourne
• Mr Andy Griffiths (1979) - Author
• Dr Michael Grace (1979) – Associate Professor, Monash University
• Prof David Maggs (1980) – Prof of Comparative Ophthalmology, University of California, Davis California
• Mr Tim Reed (1987) - CEO of MYOB
• Ms Natalie Wood (1990) - Founder and Director of "Something Else" fashion label
• David Lyons (1993) - Actor
• Mr Peter Russell-Clarke (1986) Industrial designer, Apple
• Andrew Lawton (1995) - Film Director & Actor
• Mr Paul Singer (1995) – Director of Operations to the Governor-General, Government House, Canberra
• Mr Lincoln Younes (2009) - Actor

Sporting Careers

• Stephanie Puopolo - Captain of the Australian Under 21 Netball Team
• Grant Nel - Commonwealth Games Medalist and 2016 Olympian in Diving
• Richard McQuire - Olympic Kayaking
• Luke Campbell - Australian Men's Volleyball Team
• David Culbert - Olympic Long Jump
• Nadine Jones - Australian Women's Swim Team
• Sam Harper Victorian Sheffield Shield team (2015)

Several Yarra Valley Grammar students have had AFL careers. Drafted players include.:

• Travis Cloke - Collingwood
• Jason Cloke - Collingwood
• Cameron Cloke - Collingwood, Carlton, Port Adelaide
• Sam Blease - Melbourne
• Shane Biggs- Sydney Swans
• Jordan Gysberts - Melbourne
• Kelvin Moore - Richmond
• Andrew Moore - Port Adelaide
• Aaron Young - Port Adelaide
• Brad Harvey - Brisbane Lions
• Kieran Harper - North Melbourne
• Matthew Scott - North Melbourne
• Jordan Gallucci - Adelaide Football Club (2016)
• Sam McLarty - Collingwood Football Club (2016)

See also

• List of schools in Victoria
• Yarra Valley Old Boys Football Club
• List of high schools in Victoria
• Victorian Certificate of Education
• The Associated Grammar Schools of Victoria (AGSV)

References

External links

• Yarra Valley Grammar Website