Great Scot April 2018 GreatScot_153_April_2018_Online | Page 5

ABOVE: SCHOOL CAPTAIN CHARLIE SCHILLING, WITH (LEFT TO RIGHT) SCOTCH FOUNDATION PRESIDENT, DOUG LORDING ('64), SCHOOL COUNCIL CHAIRMAN
HON DR DAVID KEMP AC ('59) AND SCHOOL COUNCIL MEMBER, JONATHAN BUCKLEY ('83)
for living by these values and willingness to lead in
working for a better world are foremost in their minds.
Our Chapel and association with the Presbyterian
Church, our sports fields and other extracurricular
activities encourage all to consider the values by which
they will give meaning to their lives.
Equally, a sound basis of knowledge about how the
world works and a capacity to reason critically about
that world, to avoid fashionable fads and shallow ideas,
and to understand the consequences of one’s actions,
are also vital. With its education grounded in the
Scottish Enlightenment, Scotch’s high quality teachers,
educational philosophies, classrooms and facilities all
come together to achieve the best that schooling can
provide.
The task of providing the best education is
never completed, but the Scotch Family has good
reason to be confident that the School can meet the
challenge. When Tom Batty came to Scotch his
passion for education stood out as one of his great
qualities. Working closely with the School Council,
the Principal’s strategies to lift the quality of teaching
and learning at the School are now at the forefront of
modern education, and are international best practice.
A sound education embraces much more than simply
academic results. It encompasses values and ethics as
well as knowledge.
Recognising that, the fact that Scotch’s median
ATAR in the VCE in 2017 was the highest of all APS
schools will encourage all parents and staff, as will the
achievement of eight boys in obtaining the highest
possible ATAR score of 99.95, over a quarter of all such
scores obtained by boys in Victoria. Mr Batty from July
2018 will be President of the International Boys’ School
Coalition for three years, a position previously held
by the principals of outstanding schools in the United
States (Roxbury Latin) and the United Kingdom
(Eton). I congratulate him on behalf of the Council and
the whole Scotch Family.
Schooling to day faces great challenges. Scotch
College, I believe, is able to make the most of the
opportunities our world provides.
www.scotch.vic.edu.au Great Scot
5