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From the
Principal’s Desk

Dr Julie Greenhalgh
BSc. BAppSc. DipEd. DipMgt. MEd. EdD

Three Compliance Updates:

Schools in NSW often have compliance requirements made of them by our education authorities. I thought I would explain three of the most recent requirements.

– Accreditation and Registration

Every five years, each independent school in NSW goes through a relatively rigorous inspection by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) into its governance, finances, teaching practices, policies and procedures to ensure that it is operating lawfully and effectively in its role of teaching students. Once satisfactorily “inspected”, a school can be registered as a school in NSW, and be accredited to teach the NSW syllabuses for another five years.

This year, Illawarra Grammar was inspected. This involved submitting a considerable amount of paperwork earlier in the year, and then hosting the two NESA inspectors at the School last week where they reviewed more documentation and spoke to relevant senior staff.

I am pleased to report that we received very positive feedback about our administrative, governance and teaching procedures and practices. In fact, the inspectors were overheard to say, “These children are in very good hands”. As a result, the School has been registered and accredited for another five years.

– Changes to HSC Assessment Practices

Last week, the Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning, Prue Car, announced that she has asked the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) to examine measures to protect student learning and maintain the integrity of the Higher School Certificate in order to ensure the authenticity of student work.

Half of a student’s HSC result is based on school-based assessment, some of which can be completed outside the classroom, so ensuring assessment remains a genuine measure of student learning is important. Sadly, the possibility of cheating in take-home tasks, projects, musical compositions and even artwork in NSW education means that take-home tasks are no longer accurate representations of understanding of syllabus content. While various checkpoints, diary entries and portfolios can be introduced to try to minimise the cheating, AI is smarter than these strategies!

As an immediate step, Minister Car has asked NESA to consider a moratorium on unsupervised, take-home assessment tasks while a broader review is undertaken into AI’s impact on student learning and assessment although it is expected that some tasks, like major art or design and technology projects, would be exempt from such a ban. Subject to NESA’s advice, any interim changes would be implemented by the beginning of Term IV this year, providing the HSC Class of 2027, their schools, and parents with certainty as their final year of school begins.

Many schools, including Illawarra Grammar, have already identified this issue and put into place measures to ensure that HSC assessments are genuine.

Of course, the preparation for HSC assessments can include research, the preparation of study notes, collaboration, collecting information from a variety of sources, time management, the preparation of summaries, in-depth study, etc, and this is to be encouraged; our students are frequently submitting draft responses in order to refine their writing.  All these strategies can lead to clearer understanding of concepts which is then presented in class, either in individual oral presentations or in writing.

I strongly support the Minister’s recommendation as I am very keen for our assessment results to be valid indications of understanding, rather than copied and pasted responses from AI, or from private tutors. While preparation for assessments can be varied and wide-ranging, I believe that a written task, or an individual oral task, done at school, is the fairest way to indicate understanding.

– National Framework for Addressing Bullying

Earlier this year, the federal and state Education Ministers agreed to the Implementation Plan for the Anti-Bullying Rapid Review which was conducted last year.

The Implementation Plan is designed to ensure that every Australian school is a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environment. It focuses on national action while acknowledging that these actions will be complemented by jurisdictional and school level activities. It is intended to give teachers, parents, young people and children confidence that, no matter where a student goes to school, bullying and other harmful behaviours will be appropriately addressed and the school workforce supported to take appropriate action.

The Implementation Plan mandates the inclusion of the expectations of the National Framework for Addressing Bullying in Schools into the policies and procedures of all Australian schools by Term 1 2027, and for schools to make these policies publicly available.

I am pleased to assure parents that bullying has always been unacceptable at Illawarra Grammar. We take strong action against bullying, even to the point of removing students from the School. For this reason, we have already included the Framework’s expectations into our relevant policies, and these are available for reading on our website. The most relevant policy can be found here; the link to the Framework can be found here.

NAPLAN 2026

I am pleased to inform parents of the results of the 2026 NAPLAN testing of our students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. While students in NSW encountered some technological challenges on the first day of the literacy testing, the outstanding achievement of our students in all areas cannot be denied. Please find a summary here.

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Junior School News

Mrs Jessica Ford
Head of Junior School

What a joy it was to open the Hoskins Handball Courts last week. Our Year 6 students have thoroughly enjoyed this new space, which has quickly become a hub of competitive handball, great conversations and students connecting with each other.

A big thank you to the P&F and the wider Junior School community for your generosity through the Walkathon. We are incredibly grateful for your support in making these handball courts possible and for your ongoing commitment to our students.

Our Year 6 students have also been busy preparing for their upcoming Showcase of Learning which will be on Thursday 17 September. We look forward to welcoming Year 6 families and hosting a twilight afternoon tea after their showcase in the Hoskins Courtyard as an opportunity to thank the P&F for their continued support of our Junior School community.

Science Week
Bullying No Way Week
Book Parade and Annual Book Sale
Nathan Luff Author Visit – Book Orders Open
Music and Dance Showcases
Recent Sporting Success
SRC Crazy Hat Day and Fundraiser
Lost Property
Key Dates
P&F Junior School Father’s Day Breakfast & Stall
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Senior School News

Mr Paul Vickers
Head of Senior School

A Celebration of Creativity, Scholarship and Community

On Thursday 27 August, Illawarra Grammar will showcase the outstanding achievements of our Year 12 students at The Works, our annual exhibition of HSC Major Works. The exhibition celebrates months, and in some cases years, of dedication, research and creative endeavour.

The Works exhibition represents an opportunity to embrace an important aspect of school life: supporting one another. We encourage students to attend in full school uniform, to engage with the work on display, and to celebrate the achievements of their peers. For students in Years 9 to 11, attendance provides valuable insight into course expectations and the possibilities that lie ahead.

School communities are strengthened when we show up for one another, and events such as The Works provide a meaningful way to demonstrate encouragement, pride and connection. We warmly invite all members of our community to join us in appreciating the remarkable talent, perseverance and accomplishment of the Class of 2026. Click on the heading below to see the full event details.

‘The Works’ Exhibition – 27 August
Preliminary Examinations
Recent Cocurricular Success
Careers News
Book Week in Senior School
Key Dates This Fortnight – Senior School
Emma McKeon Podium Program Talk
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General School News

P&F General Meeting
TIGS Talks: AI Boom or Doom?
Second-Hand Uniform Shop Donations
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Dates For Your Diary

24 August

Junior School Book Week Parade
Junior School Oval
9.00am – 9.30am

27 August

The Works Exhibition
Hoskins Building
4.00pm

2 September

Junior School Music Showcase
IGC
5.00pm – 6.30pm

3 September

Senior School Father’s Day Breakfast
Outside Canteen
7.00am – 8.00am
View Event
Junior School Father’s Day Stall
Junior School

View Event

4 September

Junior School Father’s Day Breakfast
Rees Hall
7.00am – 8.00am
View Event

7 September

TIGS Talk: AI Boom or Doom?
The Illawarra Grammar School
6.00pm – 7.30pm
View Event
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Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving

Colossians 4:2

Last Wednesday morning, around fifty current and former staff, friends of TIGS, parents and carers arrived a little earlier than usual for our School Prayer Breakfast. Together, we committed the life of the School to God in prayer: our students and families, teachers and support staff, IT and Property teams, Events and Marketing, Enrolments, Academic Support, school leadership and Council. Prayer gives us the opportunity to bring our hopes, concerns and requests before God, and then to be watchful — to see how he might answer those prayers. But mornings like this also give expression to something important about who we are as a school. We want to be a praying school: a community that believes God is at work is therefore hopeful and expectant for answers.
Rev Dave Binggeli
Chaplain
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