Tim Bowden

Trinity Grammar School
Headmaster

The Reverend Tim Bowden
commenced as Headmaster in
January 2018.

Formerly Chaplain and Head of
Christian Education, and later Head of
Middle School at St Andrew’s
Cathedral School and Principal at
Inaburra School since 2011.

Expect the Unexpected

Standing on our Anglican foundation and shaped by our Christian ethos, Trinity is a school that seeks to ensure that every boy is individually known, cared for and guided to grow in mind, body and spirit. We aim to help raise men of character who will care about others, our world, and themselves.

However, it is nigh impossible to capture the spirit of Trinity on the pages of a website. Glowing words on a digital screen, photographs of smiling, engaged boys - those are what you’d expect from a website of a school like ours.

You would expect to see academic rigour. Trinity’s IB Diploma students obtain scores in excess of the IB Diploma world average, while Trinity’s HSC students regularly garner top band results, including All-round and Distinguished achievers, and nominations for HSC showcases and exhibitions.

You would expect to see a range of co-curricular activities. Yes, we have Olympic athletes who have trained long and hard with our talented sports coaches. We win Diving and Swim trophies competing against other schools like ours. Our boys debate, participate in Shakespeare, and put on gala concerts for audiences in the hundreds.

You would expect a thriving Preparatory and Junior school, where boys from Pre-K to Year 6 are nurtured in an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme that encourages them to be enquiring, creative, caring global citizens.

You can expect all that and more.

However, what you might find unexpected is my unwillingness to measure the success of our School by the success of our young men.

The reason why we offer such extensive co-curricular and curriculum choices and why sport is mandatory for every boy is not because all of these teach them how to succeed.

No, it is because they teach them how to fail. How to persevere. How to engage with others. How to grow.

Growth as a whole person is what we’re about at Trinity. In order to make this growth a
reality is why Trinity provides boys with a wide range of curricular and co-curricular
programmes and experiences, challenging and supporting them in their journey through
school, and equipping them for the world beyond.

Trinity Grammar Senior & Middle School Students

Read about our ethos. Take a virtual tour, then book in for an Open Day. Request a prospectus. Return each week to our latest news page. Let us send you our bi-annual Trinity News magazine that includes stories not just of our students today, but also the men they grow up to be. In all these ways you will get behind the scenes of our website, form a deeper appreciation of our School community, and understand the value of a Trinity education does not rely solely on a boy’s future success.

Growth as a whole person is what we’re about at Trinity. It is my hope that the true value of a Trinity education will be seen in the character of our men long after their graduation.

From the Headmaster

Co-education and single-sex schooling

I imagine that many in the Trinity community will have noticed the announcement earlier this week by Newington College that they intend to become co-educational in the years ahead. In response to the decision, some of the public commentary, and a number of queries that I was receiving, I wrote the following opinion piece that [...]

Sport in the life of our School

Sport is an essential element in our School’s educational vision. We have a particular focus on competitive team sports. There are recreational sport options open to the boys, where the focus is on participation and improvement, but all boys are required to put on the School colours as part of a team in at least [...]

Learning from the International Boys School Coalition

During the course of the mid-year break, along with a small group of Trinity staff, I attended the International Boys School Coalition (IBSC) annual conference in Auckland. The IBSC is comprised of nearly three hundred member schools across the world who are committed to advancing the education of boys in boys’ schools. You can read [...]