DEVELOPMENT
INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR SHOTS OF THE KEON-COHEN DINING HALL ; PLAQUE RECORDING THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE DINING HALL ON 15 APRIL 2020
‘ Some may choose to see the building as a glorious tuckshop , and it does fulfil a longstanding promise of the School to do better than the tuckshop that we have provided for the last 70 years , or more . I remember using it myself so it ’ s a long time ago !
‘ But it also happens to be another of the new buildings that embody the philosophy of teaching and learning at Scotch which Tom particularly has brought to the School , and I think underlies the School ’ s remarkable academic performance that we ’ re seeing at the current time , the encouragement of " conversations of learning " between the boys , and between the boys and staff .
‘ This hall is going to be a focal point in many ways for those conversations of learning when they take place in an informal setting , and will provide an opportunity for them we ’ ve never had before at the School in this way . So this is a very significant innovation to Scotch ’ s total facilities , to bring the very best out of our boys intellectually , as well as in other respects .
‘ This morning , I am going to limit myself to acknowledging and thanking those who have made this development possible . And , of course , as Tom has done , I acknowledge the contribution Bryan [ Keon-Cohen AM QC (’ 63 )], and the Keon-Cohen family , in particular , who both made the initial heritage building possible in its renovated form , and continue to contribute and support the School over generations .
‘ I wish to acknowledge all those in the Scotch Family who have made donations to get us to where we are today , and those have been brought together by the Scotch Foundation , through the leadership of Michael Robinson AO (’ 55 ) and Doug Lording AM (’ 64 ), and through the efforts , the very inventive and creative efforts , of the Development Office led by Tim Shearer (’ 85 ) and his staff . Those are the people who really have physically made it possible for us to put this building in place , and to construct it at the level of quality that indeed we have .
‘ I want to thank all the members of the School Council whose vision has led to this wonderful outcome , and in particular Michael Sim (' 78 ), the Chairman of the Council ’ s Property Committee , on behalf of the Council , and who has been on site almost every day . That ’ s contributed enormously to getting all the detail right ; and we ’ re very fortunate to have someone associated with the School who has that eye for detail that future generations I am sure will enormously appreciate .
‘ I also acknowledge Rob Phillpot (’ 91 ), Richard Loveridge (’ 80 ) and Alison Legge , and other members of the Property Committee who have contributed their time and effort , and thought and attention , to making sure that this building is the kind of building we now see .
40 Great Scot Issue 160 – September 2020