The school is affiliated with the Anglican Church of Australia and provides an education from pre-school to Year 12 for boys and girls. In October 2015, the school announced that it would extend co-education to all years, commencing in 2016 with an intake of girls in Years 3 and 4. In 2017, this co-education offering extended to Years 7 and 11, and in 2018, all years were opened to co-education. The school aims to achieve full co-education by 2020. In 2017, the school enrolled boys and girls from pre-school to Year 7, boys in Year 8 to 10, boys and girls in Year 11 and boys in Year 12.
The school was founded in 1929 when the existing Monaro Grammar School was relocated to Canberra from Cooma. The foundation stone was laid on 4 December 1928 by Prime Minister Stanley Bruce. Initially it was attended by only 63 students, but has grown considerably since the early 1950s to a total attendance of 1,749 students as of June 2015.
In the primary school, the Australian Curriculum and Early Years Learning Framework requirements are incorporated through International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme.
In the senior school, from years 7 to 10, the school follows the Australia Curriculum and the ACT Every chance to learn curriculum framework. Unlike other schools in the Australian Capital Territory, Canberra Grammar School does not follow the ACT Year 12 Curriculum. Instead, students in years 11 and 12 have the option to study either the New South Wales Higher School Certificate (HSC) or the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. In 2012, Canberra Grammar became an International Baccalaureate World School.
The school offers many activities outside of school hours. These include sport, music and other activities.
- Junior School: athletics, ball games, basketball, chess, cricket, cross country running, drama, European handball, gardening, golf, indoor soccer, mini volleyball, multimedia, orienteering, rugby, art, swimming, tae kwon do, tennis, triathlon
- Senior School: badminton, basketball, chess, Code Cadets, community service, cricket, cross country, debating, dragon boat, drama, Duke of Edinburgh awards, football (soccer), golf, hockey, karting, mountain biking, orienteering, outdoor education, rowing, rugby, sailing, snowsports, Sustainable CGS, swimming, table tennis, tae kwon do, tennis, triathlon, water polo
- Junior School Music: Junior School Chorale, Junior Choir, Senior Choir, String Orchestra, Concert Band, Canberra Grammar School Stage Band
- Senior School Music is made up of two streams of performance groups:
- The Advanced Musicians Program consists of the Symphonic Wind Band, Chamber Orchestra and Motet. These students have high level performance opportunities in smaller chamber groups.
- The Developing Musicians Program provides larger ensemble-based experiences, including two concert bands, two jazz bands, two string ensembles, two choirs, an electric guitar ensemble and a piano ensemble.
Canberra Grammar School uses a wide range of technologies to enhance learning. From Year 4, students are required to have a device for research. In Year 7 and above, CGS students are required to have a laptop.
Interactive whiteboards are installed in all Senior School and Junior School classrooms. These allow teachers and students to share content through connected PCs or wireless from a number of devices.
In 2012 the school commenced a Mobile Technology trial, giving each Year 9 student an iPad for use in the classroom and at home. This trial was funded by the Federal Government under the Digital Education Revolution. Following the trial, the school decided to implement a bring your own device scheme. This began in 2013 and students in the Senior School were encouraged to bring a 'light' mobile device such as a tablet or laptop. These mobile devices had to meet certain specifications set by the school to ensure that they were appropriate and useful learning tools. From 2014, all Senior Students were required to have a mobile device at school and laptops are now used by most students.
Junior School students in Years 5 and 6 were also encouraged to bring a tablet to school; Year 4 students may optionally bring one. Tablets are provided to students in early years and to students in years 4 to 6 who do not bring their own device.
The school has several computer labs available for student use.
All teaching staff are issued laptops to increase engagement with technology.
The school maintains its own servers to deliver authentication, email, database and anti-virus services. Network security filtering is used to protect students.
The school has a dedicated Education Technology Support Department with 12 staff including a service desk providing support to staff and students, an AV technician, data and networking specialists, a full-time trainer and management.
Edwards House is the current holder of the Manaro House Shield, the award for the culmination of inter-house competitions.
The school also has two Year 7 houses:
|Clements||Agnus Dei (lamb)|
The Junior School has four houses:
Houses form the basis of much of the inter-school competition that occurs throughout the academic calendar. Currently, the three prizes are awarded annually to houses these are the Manaro House Shield, the Captain's Cup, and the Sports master's Cup.
- Cross Country
- House music (shout, rock, 4-20 voices (a capella) and instrumental)
- Effort grades
The House Shield is currently held by Edwards House.
The exact events of the Captain's Cup are at the discretion of the captains and vice-captains of the school, and thus vary on a year-to-year basis. Typical events include:
- Touch football
- Netball (since 2018)
- Medical warfare (dodge-ball)
- The CGS Race
Typically, a "CGS All Star" team is selected from players in the competition to compete against the champion house in each event.
The Captain's Cup is currently held by Manaro House.
Sports master's CupEdit
The Sports master's Cup is determined by:
The Sports master's Cup is currently held by Edwards House.
Heads of schoolEdit
|David A. Garnsey||1948–1958|
|Paul J. McKeown, AM||1959–1985|
|Timothy C. Murray||1986–1998|
|A. Simon Murray, OAM||1998–2010|
- Professor Stephen Bartos, Director, National Institute of Governance
- Professor David Braddon-Mitchell, philosopher
- Professor Thomas Alured Faunce, Health Law and Medical Education
- Peter David Arthur Garnsey (1961)
- Professor Geoffrey Garrett, political scientist
- Professor Malcolm Gillies, Vice-Chancellor and President, City University, London; Vice-Chancellor, London Metropolitan University
- Professor Jeffrey Grey, Australian military historian
- Professor Toby Miller, sociologist
- Kerry Packer, publishing, media and gaming tycoon
- Terry Snow, Executive Director of the Canberra Airport Group, Australian businessman (trained accountant), entrepreneur, and philanthropist
- Media, entertainment and the arts
- Richard Glover, author, journalist, ABC radio presenter
- Alister Grierson, film director and scriptwriter
- Francis James, RAF pilot and POW during WWII, journalist and publisher, activist against the Vietnam War
- Peter Leonard, former WIN News Canberra reader
- James O'Loghlin, ABC Sydney presenter
- Dan O'Malley, author of The Rook
- Fred Smith, musician, writer and diplomat
- Mark Walmsley, musician and composer for ABC children's CDs
- Politics, public service and the law
- Wal Fife, Liberal Party of Australia Federal member for Hume, New South Wales
- Robert Piper, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and the humanitarian coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, with the rank of UN Assistant Secretary General
- Shane Rattenbury, Member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, 2008–present and Speaker
- Andrew Refshauge, deputy Premier of New South Wales 1995–2005
- Richard Refshauge, ACT Supreme Court Justice
- Jon Richardson, Former Australian High Commissioner to Ghana (2004–08) and Nigeria (2013–15)
- Peter Webb, New South Wales State member for Monaro 1999–2003
- Gough Whitlam (Dux three years running), Prime Minister of Australia, 1972–1975
- Edward Bissaker, Junior World Champion cyclist
- Bob Brown, former Wallabies rugby union player
- Josh Bruce, St Kilda, Australian rules football player
- Andy Friend, ACT Brumbies former Head Coach
- David Gallop, former Chairman of the National Rugby League (NRL)
- "ROMS | Crew listing for Canberra Grammar racing the Schoolboy Coxed Quad Scull at 2009 Hydro Tasmania Australian Rowing Championships and Interstate Regatta". Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
- "Rugby — Canberra Grammar School". Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
- "A man on top of his game". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 March 2007.