Scotch College

Global Changes Hit Home

The current financial crisis is having a profound impact on families, communities, businesses and governments worldwide. It has also highlighted how over the past two decades, globalization and the information revolution have transformed the world, making it a smaller and more interconnected place. After many years of relative stability and prosperity it appears that we are entering challenging times. Scotch is not immune.

This difficult climate cannot but affect life at Scotch – after all, we are an active part of this ‘smaller’ world. The School has benefitted greatly from globalization.

We have a number of international and regional students who enrich the School by bringing their own backgrounds and experiences to Scotch. We have many staff and students who are involved in International and regional exchange programs. And we recently conducted a worldwide search for a new Principal and are the beneficiary of the arrival of Tom Batty and his family from Eton College. This year alone, Scotch boys have rowed at Henley, performed on stage in China, played cricket in the United Kingdom, football in the Tiwi Islands and soccer in New Zealand.

Information and communication technology advances have enhanced our teaching and learning techniques. Staff and students alike use the internet to tap into worldwide resources to facilitate learning and research. They also email friends and contacts overseas for immediate answers to immediate questions.

The School has extended international cultural experiences for students with its support of the School at Kapumfi in Zambia. It has also opened its doors to deserving communities in the Tiwi Islands and other northern regions in Australia. Many more Old Boys are based interstate or overseas today than ever before.

Changes in weather patterns also have had a profound impact at Scotch and other Victorian schools. The School has responded with a number of initiatives which will be more fully reported in the next edition of Great Scot. The expansion of the Tollway, a response to Melbourne’s increasing population and transport needs, also has significantly affected Scotch. The Council is taking this challenge to the School’s amenity very seriously and more can be read about this on page 16.

Like the rest of the community, Scotch is already feeling the effects of the economic downturn. The School’s investment portfolio has reduced significantly, Income from these investments will decline in 2009 and this impacts on the ability to continue to endow scholarships and commence future capital developments. As disposable income decreases so too will the ability of people to make donations to worthy causes, including Scotch. Fortunately, the School is in a strong position to weather the downturn.

So what does all of this mean? Amongst other things, the difficult financial times will make it harder for many of our parents to pay their school fees and to cover many of the extra curricular activities that are on offer at Scotch.

The School Council is very conscious of the challenges facing the School, but it also understands that Scotch has a history of responding to adversity with wisdom and vision, and of leading from the front through innovation. The Principal is currently composing the educational brief that will form the basis of the next School Master Plan. This plan will address the School’s educational needs of today and tomorrow.

I also take comfort from the fact that our staff are encouraged to challenge our students to look to long-term solutions to the problems of today and tomorrow. There is no reason why we should doubt that the challenges of today will not be met again by the School Council and staff, in collaboration with students, parents and Old Boys and other members of the Scotch Family.

As times continue to change, so too must Scotch. We must remain internationally engaged and outward looking. We must continue to prepare students for the complex and challenging world they are about to enter. In doing so we must encourage them to develop a global perspective but one that is firmly grounded in the values for which Scotch stands.