additional security , while ensuring all is ready for a fitting welcome home . All of us are looking forward to the return to campus and to the exhilarating activities that it can offer .
The Old Scotch Collegians ’ Association has worked hard and well to connect with its community through its website , blog , Facebook , YouTube , OSCA Live and other programs , and it is pleasing to observe the continuing growth in support for OSCA projects and programs from former Collegians . The Scotch Foundation is planning ahead to ensure the continuing strength of the scholarships that the School provides , and to ways in which it can continue to improve its support for the teachers and boys .
The School Council has been very aware of the impact of the pandemic on all members of the Scotch community . Staff have welcomed the continuity of employment that the School has offered , and have given their all to supporting the boys . Council has also recognised the great impact on all Scotch families , and it has sought , through its decisions , to recognise this in its financial decisions to give families the greatest chance to maintain their links with the School , while enabling Scotch to continue to provide the education families expect .
The early announcement that there will be no fee increase for next year acknowledges the impact of the pandemic on all families . The decision to focus extra assistance on families suffering genuine hardship has also , I believe , been well understood and appreciated , and many families are now receiving fee assistance of one kind or another .
Families with VCE students , and especially Year 12 students , will have been pleased to hear the Principal ’ s firm belief that this year will provide unprecedented opportunities for students to move from school to university , and the School will of course be providing all the assistance necessary for them to do so .
As Chairman of Council I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the great leadership offered during this period by Principal Tom Batty and his senior executive team : the Vice Principal , Rob McLaren , the Head of Junior School , Jon Abbott and the Bursar and Secretary to Council , Ross Congleton . The quality of our leadership team has been tested to the full by the consequences of the pandemic , and they have well and truly risen to the occasion .
Our founder , the Rev . James Forbes , faced with a Victoria weakened by depression and in which many did not have education , called on his fellow citizens to take responsibility for their own lives . ‘ They can , I apprehend , do more for themselves than all the Rulers and Governors on earth are likely to do for them ’. The value of taking responsibility has been the key to Scotch ’ s success , and it will be because the members of the Scotch community have been willing to do this that the future is bright . www . scotch . vic . edu . au Great Scot 3