On Thursday, 5th December, the unveiling of Snowy Mountains Grammar School’s 2020-2024 Strategic Plan and first-ever Campus Master Plan by the school’s Board of Directors and Leadership team was the culmination of an outstanding year for the school.

At twenty-four years old, SMGS has long been recognised as a leader in education across the Snowy Monaro region. With the development of the 2020-2024 Strategic Plan and Campus Master Plan, Snowy Mountains Grammar School aims to become one of the premier K-12 co-educational day and boarding schools in Australia.

The school, which was founded in 1996 on a precinct formerly used as a maintenance depot for the pioneering Snowy Mountains Authority Hydro-Electric Scheme, is nestled in the foothills of Australia’s stunning alpine region and located beside the shores of the beautiful Lake Jindabyne.

Our current campus facilities highlight the school’s deep sense of history with its unique, industrial-edge buildings. Now, In combination with sustainable growth and interest (with almost an 18% increase in the full-time student population since the end of 2016 and it is expected that the start of 2020 will represent almost a 25% increase since 2016), it is the perfect time to further improve the school’s facilities. The vision for the new, modern learning spaces will complement the existing buildings with relevant organic and local materials in keeping with the Snowy Mountains area. 

The new learning spaces will include: general learning areas, dedicated specialist learning areas, a village green and grand verandah, gym and fitness facilities, community and shared-use facilities, multi-purpose courts and sports fields, a café precinct, and modern and integrated technology.

SMGS Principal, Dr Andrew Bell, said, “In the past we have had a strong focus on people and programs, which has underpinned the ethos of the school. It’s really exciting that the school is thriving, and now is the right time for us to evolve the school further by strategically mapping out the physical resources of the campus design. This will allow the school to further mature and optimise the learning experience for our students.

“… all of this is designed to take advantage of our wonderful location and to develop our school so that it feels like a place that our students, staff and our community wants to be. It will not have hard clinical surfaces found in a lot of schools, but will be authentic to our local environment.”

The completion of the SMGS Master Plan and Strategic Plan comes at an exciting time for the Snowy Monaro region, with the announcement of Jindabyne as a Special Activation Precinct. Dr Bell added, “It is important for us to embrace our past, be proud of where we are now and be well prepared for our future.”

Further information about SMGS’ Master Plan and Strategic Plan can be viewed via the following website: https://future.smgs.nsw.edu.au/ 

For media enquiries, please contact SMGS Marketing and PR Officer, Brooke Darlington on brooke.darlington@smgs.nsw.edu.au or on 02 6457 1022

 

Looking back over the last three years:

Since 2016, SMGS has won three national education awards and has been a finalist in six others.

  • Recipients of the 2019 Australian Snowsports School of the Year
  • 2019 Finalists in the Australian Education Awards in the following categories:
    • Regional School of the Year
    • Best Co-Curricular Program
    • Boarding School of the Year
  • 2019 Association of Independent Schools National Virtual Debating competition – 3rd Place – Year 7 & 8
  • In 2018 we won Boarding School of the Year at the Australian Education Awards
  • Mountain Bike Australia School of Merit
  • We are proud to deliver the Duke of Edinburgh International Award
  • 2018 HSC – no. 1-performing school in the Snowy Monaro region
  • 2018 NAPLAN – no. 1-performing school in the Snowy Monaro region
  • 2018 Australian Education Awards – Boarding School of the Year winner
  • 2017 Educator Magazine Innovative Schools winner – Let’s Explore (Kindergarten transition program)
  • 2016 Educator Magazine Innovative Schools winner – Academies of Excellence