Trinity Grammar School Headmaster Mr Tim Bowden reveals how the school builds mental muscle in its Year 9 students.
It’s a fine line to walk, encouraging parents to pick a school not based solely on an HSC or International Baccalaureate result, or the quality of its buildings and playing fields, or its range of co-curricular.
For Trinity Grammar School, parents are encouraged to think about character development. How, after all, can one measure a man’s character? It’s a question that Mr Tim Bowden, Headmaster of Trinity Grammar School, ponders often, when it comes to the school’s offering.
“In partnership with parents, we strive to help grow great boys into good men. Good schools do the crucial work of shaping young people to be responsible and respectful citizens, equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will enable them to flourish and to contribute in the decades to come. That’s our goal at Trinity,” he says.
“The challenge perpetually before us leading, teaching and serving in this school is to ask: ‘How can we – in this particular context – do this better?’.”
Enter Trinity’s Field Studies Centre, its outdoor education campus in Woollamia on Sydney’s South Coast. In Year 9, each student attends this term-long, mandatory, immersive educational residential that equips boys by providing opportunities for self-discovery, building relationships, exploring new ways of being in community together, and providing time for self-reflection and spiritual growth in a unique environment.
A gym for strength of character
When Mr Bowden visits the students on the Field Studies Program each term, he asks them, “Why do you do bench presses?”. It often causes the boys in front of him to scratch their heads.
“The reason you do bench presses,” he continues, “is not because at some point in your life you’re going to be lying on your back with a heavy weight on your chest. That’s not going to happen.
“The reason is to build your capability for situations in which that strength will help you.”
Woollamia is a place for building mental muscle, for developing academic rigour and study habits that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. It is also, in a sense, a gymnasium to build strength of character.
“The boys are learning about how to get on with one another, how to handle friction and disagreement, how to step into leadership and have a positive influence. These all transfer to the rest of their life,” Mr Bowden says.
“They learn the skill of curiosity, how to do research; they have thought about the application between theory and research. This is stuff they will do for the rest of their life. Whatever our students do, whether they go on to university or not, they need to be able to continue to learn,” he says.
Mr Tim Knowles, Head of the Field Studies Centre, says the campus provides the opportunity to build social skills.
“Most of the boys don’t share a bedroom at home but here there are three, four, five or six to a room. They are forced to get along, to find ways to overcome differences, to see the person behind the mask that might be on,” he says.
“They build strong relationships with their peers, and the staff. The staff are on their side, giving them encouragement to help them through their ups and downs. They are always checking in with them 24/7.”
Students don’t have phones and their access to school-managed laptops is restricted to certain apps at certain times. There is a big upside in personal development.
“This is a key moment in their lives. They are supercharging life skills. During the Field Studies Program they can step out from some of the pressures bombarding them from society, such as social media and technology, spending significant time with their peers to learn, to grow, to find ways to play,” Mr Knowles says.
“They are encouraged to reflect on who they are, where they are, and how they got there.”
Trinity Grammar School believes that character is ‘caught, taught, and sought’, and through collaborative efforts with parents, the school is confident in preparing boys for success both in their personal and professional lives.
Learn more about the Trinity Field Studies Program and read more stories about the character-development opportunities the school makes available at trinity.nsw.edu.au.
