A new independent co-ed school located on a well-known historic site in Sydney’s north will soon be opening its doors to the first intake of K-2 students from Term 1 2022.
The announcement of the new school comes as student enrolments in the independent sector see their fastest growth in more than a decade.
The latest schools data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals a 2.6% growth in full time equivalent enrolments being the sector’s highest since 2008. In 2020 alone, student numbers grew by nearly 15,000.
Located on the heritage-listed Mount Errington house in Hornsby, Blue Gum Community School is a ‘new school behind old doors’ which has been carefully designed and constructed to protect and celebrate the heritage of the home and its surrounding landscape while evolving as a school for children to learn surrounded by history and beauty for years to come.
The interior layout of the house remains intact, the original floorboards are revealed in all their glory, all fireplaces refurbished, a grand circular drive introduced, and an all-natural play space integrated into the rear gardens, complementing the extensive and established plantings.
While working hard to protect the history of Mount Errington the visionaries behind evolving it into a school also have their eyes fixed firmly on the future.
The school was first established in Canberra in 1988 where it continues to show Blue Gum’s re-imagined approach to schooling works. Like its highly regarded sister school in Canberra, Blue Gum Community School Hornsby is small by design, and the importance of significant and respectful relationships are placed at the top of the priority list.
Both Blue Gum schools offer a 1:12 (educator:student) ratio in Primary to reflect the school’s value for relationships and every child being known and celebrated. Partnerships with tertiary institutions, internship programs for graduate teachers and careful planning make this ratio possible.
The school’s principal, Jill McLachlan, said leadership and professional development at the school will be both forward thinking and inclusive.
“Leadership at Blue Gum looks like leaning in, listening, enabling others, asking good questions, thinking deeply and being ready for whatever the day may bring,” McLachlan told The Educator.
“We ask of our educators just what we ask of our students and ourselves as leaders and people – to take risks, to bring your best to the group, to value different points of view and to stick together, even when it’s hard.”
McLachlan said making sure the school’s systems and routines match its values and commitments is a big part of her role as leader.
“It is not realistic to expect teachers to excel in their practice if we don’t create a context that enables them to meet that mark, in their own unique way.”
‘Moving beyond outdated school cultures’
McLachlan said the school will resist outdated school cultures that place students in competition with one another, “valuing compliance over commitment and placing certain types of learning (and learners) ahead of others.”
“The future demands we rethink what sort of people we are hoping students to become and consider how the way we ‘do school’ influences that evolution,” McLachlan said.
“In light of that, we offer a collaborative learning culture that invites students to commit deeply to their own learning, while simultaneously listening to, respecting and learning from others. Blue Gum exists for children who would thrive in a more “personalised, intimate and connected community.”
The co-location of an extended hours preschool on the same site with the K-2 primary school is another creative expression of Blue Gum’s inclusive values, says McLachlan.
“Including our youngest citizens in inquiry together with older minds beautifully blurs the line between early childhood and the early years of school,” she said.
“We’ve seen how it creates a seamless transition for children moving from Preschool into Kindergarten, and beyond.”
McLachlan said the school’s five-day preschool program is also likely to be “music to any parent’s ears”, whose child is not quite ready for Kindergarten, but is “looking for something more”.
Reflecting on the mammoth project to prepare the historic Mount Errington building inside and out for its new role as an early childhood school in the heart of Hornsby, McLachlan said that after two years of it raining indoors she can finally put the buckets back in the garage.
“Even the circa 1897 roof has had a spruce up! It is now fully re-constructed [like for like] re-using original Welsh slate from the original roof,” she said.
“The result is a watertight roof that looks ‘just like old’! I can hardly wait to welcome the public and our new Blue Gum families in Term 1.”