Oxford Falls Grammar School

Oxford Falls Grammar School (OFG) is an independent Christian co-educational primary and secondary school, located in Oxford Falls on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Oxford Falls Grammar
Location
Map

,
Australia
Coordinates33°44′17″S 151°14′48″E / 33.7381161°S 151.2466768°E / -33.7381161; 151.2466768
Information
TypeIndependent co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day school
MottoFor Greatness. For Excellence. For Christ.
Religious affiliation(s)C3 Church Global
DenominationNon-denominational Pentecostal Christianity
Established1984; 40 years ago (1984)
FounderPhil Pringle
Educational authorityNSW Department of Education
HeadmasterDr Peter Downey
YearsK–12
Enrolment1,300
Area6 hectares (15 acres)
Campus typeOuter suburban
Colour(s)  
Affiliations
  • Christian Schools Australia
  • Combined Independent Schools
  • Christian Schools Sports Association
  • Peninsula Independent Schools Association
Websiteofgs.nsw.edu.au
Map

The school is set on 6 hectares (15 acres) of landscaped grounds and incorporate a four-stream infants school, three-stream primary school and a triple-stream senior school of approximately 1,300 students. The school is a member of Christian Schools Australia, the Christian Schools Sporting Association (CSSA) and is a member of the Combined Independent Schools (CIS).

The current Principal of Oxford Falls Grammar School is Peter Downey, who took up his post in 2017.

Headmasters edit

The following individuals have served as Headmasters of the Oxford Falls Grammar:

Ordinal Officeholder Term start Term end
1 Andrew Egan 1984 1997
2 Barry Southwell 1997 1998
3 Gabi Korocz 1998 2014
4 Geoffrey Fouracre 2014 2017
5 Dr Peter Downey 2017 incumbent

Facilities edit

Oxford Falls Grammar is set in a semi-rural suburb of Oxford Falls in Sydney's Northern Beaches. Facilities include two full-sized ovals, a small oval, an indoor gymnasium/basketball court, an outdoor basketball court, an indoor gym, a large auditorium, a large multi-purpose space, a state of the art theatre with retractable seating, and a Performing Arts Centre incorporating purpose-built Dance and Drama studios, music tuition rooms, a production studio, an acoustic music room, an electronic music studio, and a dedicated concert and stage band rehearsal room, a canteen and a café.

Sport edit

Oxford Falls Grammar competes in many sports, including at state and national levels.

Sports teams at Oxford Falls Grammar include athletics, Australian rules football, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, diving, netball, rugby league, rugby sevens, rugby union, soccer, swimming, tennis, touch football, triathlon, and Ultimate frisbee.

Basketball is one of the main sports played in both the Junior and Senior schools. Teams have gone on to reach national levels, and have competed at events such as The National Christian Schools Basketball Championships. The school is well represented at local and state Rugby, Soccer and Netball gala days. Aussie rules is a popular sport in the Junior school and Oxford Falls Grammar is very successful in competitions; reaching the 2006 NSW Finals in the Paul Kelly Cup. The school competes in swimming, diving, athletics and cross country events at Metropolitan, CSSA State and CIS State levels. Swimmers have gone on past CSSA State level to the annual National Christian Schools Swimming Championships. In 2005, a number of students competed in the Pacific School Games and brought home a number of Gold medals.[citation needed]

PISA sport is also offered and includes Tee-ball, senior girls softball, senior boys cricket, boys and girls soccer, girls netball, boys rugby league (mod-league) and mixed AFL.

The School is a member of Combined Independent Schools (CIS) which allows a highly competitive pathway for individuals in a large array of sports.

Performing arts edit

Oxford Falls Grammar is highly regarded in NSW as a leading Independent School in the area of Performing Arts. The number of students involved in the extra-curricular Performing Arts Program represents two-thirds of students in the School.

Opportunities for students include K–2 Keyboard club, Training Band, Junior Concert Band, Junior Choir, Junior Guitar Ensemble, Junior Woodwind Ensemble, Junior Stage Band, Intermediate Bass Ensemble, Debut Bass Ensemble, Junior Bass Ensemble, Acoustic Guitar Ensemble, Senior Bass Ensemble, Senior Concert Band, Senior Wind Ensemble, OFG Marching Band, Percussion Ensemble, Pop & Rock Band, Senior School Choir, Show Choir, Senior Stage Band, Senior Jazz Band, Extra curricular Drama (Junior & Senior School), extra-curricular dance (Junior & Senior School), audition-entry dance eisteddfod team, theatre sports classes, and Glee Club.

OFG has one of the largest music tuition studios in Sydney, with over 600 students weekly receiving private music tuition during school hours.

Students sit the international Trinity College London music exams on traditional instruments, and Rockschool International exams on contemporary Rock and Pop instruments including vocals. Examiners are flown out from the UK in Term 4 to assess the students on their individual exams.

Academic edit

Students can also participate in extra-curricular Latin, Maths Challenge, Maths Olympiad, Chess Club, Informatics Competition and Olympiad, The da Vinci Decathlon, The Great Engineering Challenge, Science Olympiads, Tournament of Minds, Writing Competitions, and the Model United Nations Debating and Public Speaking Programs and the Debating Team.

Notable alumni edit

See also edit

References edit

Peter, Downey (4 August 2020). "So, you're going to be a dad... in a pandemic". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. Retrieved 12 April 2023.

Singhal, Pallavi (15 October 2017). "Young Matildas players sit HSC in China during World Cup qualifiers". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. Retrieved 12 April 2023.