Chairman
Chairman
The Hon Dr David Kemp AC(' 59) – School Council Chairman
THE HON DR DAVID KEMP AC(' 59) CHAIRMAN OF THE SCOTCH COLLEGE COUNCIL
Scotch and the good ship Enterprise – steering towards a better world
Scotch College is a school based on firm values – values such as a Christian spiritual and ethical approach to life, regard for the dignity of all people, a respect for learning, and contributing to our country and the wider world. One of the signal values for which Scotch stands – and that has underpinned the School’ s success since its foundation – is enterprise.
The word‘ enterprise’ may not be in the school motto, but it is clearly represented on the school coat-of-arms by the Scottish galley in the lower quadrant. The enterprise of the Scots was one of the driving forces that built Australia. Indeed, without the pioneering desire to build a better world of our founder, Rev. James Forbes, Scotch College itself would not exist, and the social contribution the school’ s graduates have made in so many ways to the creation of a secure, decent and prosperous Australia would not have been made in the same way.
The designer of the school coat of arms, Sir Edward Mackenzie Mackenzie, wrote, in sending the design to the school for adoption in 1924, that the Scottish galley( or Lymphad – a word derived from Gaelic) indicates‘ the bold spirit of Adventure’. He added:‘ We must also look upon this ancient Lymphad as representing Enterprise; and as she is progressing under oar-power against a strong head wind with sail furled, we may regard her as also typical of the overcoming of obstacles by bold endeavour’.
A feature of the Scottish culture that produced this school was the belief that people created their own future, and that to realise one’ s dreams it was necessary to take personal responsibility for their achievement. As Forbes himself said in advising the first colonists at Port Phillip of the importance of education:‘ … let not the colonists of Australia Felix forget that their main source of confidence must be their own efforts, and the benignant blessing of our God. They can, I apprehend, do more for themselves than all the Rulers and Governors on earth are likely to do for them …’.
The idea that the world is improved by boldness, effort and work, by stepping outside one’ s comfort zone – in short by enterprise fuelled by passion in the service of good values – is one that Scotch has always embraced. Scotch graduates have acted on this in every area of life – in business, science, the humanities and the arts, in sport and invention, in religion and in the pursuit of good government. The OSCA gallery of scientists and engineers in the new Sir Zelman Cowen Centre for Science exemplifies the impact of such values and the achievements that flow from them.
Current developments being planned and executed by the School Council, in accord with Principal Tom Batty’ s educational vision, are linked by the desire to help students convert their interests into passions. The Centre for Science is shortly to be joined by the new Design and Technology Cube, where the fruits of science are implemented with new design and
production techniques enabled by information technology, and such technical developments as 3D printing.
Today the school is encouraging boys to seek solutions to real problems with innovations and inventions through the Scotch Enterprise Project, piloted in 2015 and offered to Year 10 boys in Semester 2 this year.
Commercialisation of science and technology remains one of Australia’ s great needs and opportunities, and the school is accepting the challenge to develop the analytical and interpersonal skills of boys to enable them to find solutions to important problems.
The School Council, with the Principal, is looking to follow these developments with a new centre for mathematical studies on the southern side of the new student precinct between the Quadrangle and the Science building, continuing the school’ s leadership role in developing an enterprise approach to science, technology, engineering and mathematics( STEM) teaching and learning.
The fruits of enterprise are many. Among its most important social benefits are the employment opportunities it creates – opportunities essential to provide firm foundations for people’ s lives and for developing the economic and social strength of our community. Scotch graduates have played leading roles in the establishment and growth of some of Australia’ s great enterprises, such as‘ the big Australian’, BHP, and today exciting start-up companies are providing jobs and careers for hundreds of thousands of Australians.
Equally, however, enterprising Scotch graduates are to be found in education, sport, the arts, the defence forces, public service and government; indeed in any area of life valued by the community, for enterprise is integrally linked to initiative and leadership. Scotch is continually seeking to identify and pioneer teaching and learning techniques that will empower boys to make the best contribution they can to the community and the wider world.
Scotch College is one of Australia’ s leading schools precisely because it operates from a base of strong values, and seeks to encourage the initiative and enterprise that gives reality to those values.
2 Great Scot Number 151 – September 2017