Prince Alfred College

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Prince Alfred College
Fac Fortia Et Patere (Latin:"Do Brave Deeds and Endure"/"Go Beyond")
Established	1869[1]
School Type	Independent, Single-sex, Day & Boarding
Denomination	Uniting Church
Key People	Mr Kevin Tutt (Headmaster) The Rev Trevor Klar (Chaplain)
School Fees	AU$8,691 - AU$15,192 p.a (Day) AU$30,447 p.a (Boarding)[2]
Location	Kent Town, SA, Australia
Coordinates	34°55′21″S 138°37′9″E / -34.9225, 138.61917Coordinates: 34°55′21″S 138°37′9″E / -34.9225, 138.61917
Enrolment	~945 (K-12)[3]
Colours	Red & White
Homepage	www.pac.edu.au

Prince Alfred College (also referred to as PAC, Princes and in sporting circles, The Reds) is an independent, day and boarding school for boys, located on Dequetteville Terrace, Kent Town, near the CBD of Adelaide, South Australia.

The College was established in 1869 by the Methodist Church of Australasia which amalgamated with other Protestant churches in 1977 to form the Uniting Church in Australia. Today the school caters for nearly 1,000 students from Reception to Year 12 (4 to 18 years old),^[1] including 100 boarders from Years 7 to 12.^[3] The school also has a Kindergarten, "Little Princes", and claims to have the largest "Old Scholars" organisation (by membership) in the southern hemisphere.

Some capable senior students follow the International Baccalaureate Diploma programme. Princes has produced several IB marks of 45 in recent years. The majority of year 12 students study and achieve the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE).^[4]

[edit] History

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Prince Alfred College was named after Prince Alfred - one of the four sons of Queen Victoria and her husband Prince Albert.

Prince Alfred College, c.1879

The founders of PAC were determined that the religious traditions of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, should be incorporated in the school. Young Methodist men of the colony and PAC were encouraged to live disciplined, hard working and Christian lives, even if they were mocked or faced society’s temptations.

By the year of PAC's was foundation in 1869, the population of Adelaide was estimated to be the second highest in the continent. No South Australian country town however had a population greater than 10,000. At the same time, nearly all the land in the city of Adelaide, laid out by Colonel Light, had been occupied. Across the parklands that surrounded the city were well established residential suburbs such as Kent Town and Norwood to the east and industrial precincts such as Hindmarsh and Thebarton to the west. The suburb of Kent Town, along with the city itself, formed a consolidated urban area in which the school was located.

In September 2005 it was revealed that the College held 70,000 shares in Coopers Brewery, received in a bequest. At the time, Coopers were the subject of an unsolicited takeover bid by Japanese controlled brewer Lion Nathan, and the shares were valued at between $18 million and $22 million.^[5] At the same time, the College was involved in a $15 million redevelopment project and was appealing to parents and former students for $3.5 million to enable building to begin. Although Coopers made a "counter offer" of a share buy-back (with attractive tax benefits) to those shareholders who may be wishing to sell,^[6] the college chose not to sell any of its holding.

[edit] Headmasters

Collectable School Cigarette card featuring the PAC colours & crest, c. 1910s

[edit] Sport

[edit] Rowing

College rowing team, 1891

Rowing began at PAC in 1883 and has played an important part in the school's sporting culture since that time. The school has two boat houses, at West Lakes and by the Torrens Lake in the City of Adelaide's parklands. The school employs a full time Director of Rowing. Although competition in local and national regattas form an integral part of the rowing programme, the main event for each year is the Head of the River. 2008 marks the 125th year of rowing at Princes.

[edit] Intercol

Each sports team at Princes has an annual fixture against traditional long time rivals Saint Peter's College, known as the "Intercol" (Inter-collegiate). These are considered by the two colleges to be the most important games of the seasons, and the fiercely fought matches of the more popular sports draw big crowds of students and old scholars from both schools.^[9]

[edit] Outdoor education

The Prince Alfred College Outdoor Education programme provides a variety of integrated activities designed to allow boys to face challenges beyond those possible in a suburban day school. Current activities are focused on the Scotts Creek Outdoor Centre at Morgan on the River Murray.

Year 11 students undertake practical leadership training and are encouraged to nominate for trips to Nepal, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea or Kangaroo Island.

[edit] Notable alumni

Notable old scholars of Princes include:

Rhodes Scholars

The Rhodes Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for study at Oxford University. South Australian recipients^[10] who attended PAC include:

Academia

• Henry Brose - Professor of Physics - University of Nottingham
• William Cowley - Professor of Communication and Signal Processing - University of South Australia
• Renfrey Potts - Professor of Applied Mathematics - University of Adelaide

Business

• Cousins Tim and Glenn Cooper - CEO and Executive Chairman of Coopers Brewery
• Robert Gerard - Businessman, previously Chairman of Gerard Industries
• Greg Siegele - Co-founder of Ratbag Games Pty Ltd

Entertainment, media and the arts;

• David Basheer - Soccer commentator and analyst on SBS
• Bob Francis - Radio Presenter FIVEaa
• Sir Robert Helpmann - Ballet dancer, actor, director and choreographer

Exploration

• Duncan Chessell - Explorer
• Cecil Madigan - Explorer, Geologist, Rhodes Scholar, University Lecturer

Medicine

• Bill Griggs - Doctor
• Brian Kenneth Hobbs - Doctor

Military

• Hugo Vivian Hope Throssell VC, Soldier, farmer, winner of the Victoria Cross^[11]
• John Alexander Raws, journalist and WW1 diarist, killed in action 23 Aug 1916 at Pozieres. No known grave. ^[12]

Politics, public service and the law

• Nick Xenophon - Independent MP
• Harold Boas - architect and town planner, Perth

Science

• Herbert Basedow (1881-1933) - Anthropologist, geologist, explorer, politician.
• Henry Brose (1890-1965) - Physicist, translator, pathologist, biochemist, academic, Rhodes Scholar.
• Thomas Draper Campbell (1893-1967) - Anthropologist, Professor of Dentistry.
• Sir John Burton Cleland (1878-1971) - Naturalist, microbiologist, mycologist and ornithologist. Professor of Pathology.
• Henry Fry (1886-1959) - Physician, anthropologist, Rhodes Scholar.
• Ren Potts (1925-2005) - Applied mathematician, Rhodes Scholar, defined the Potts model.
• Cecil Madigan (1889-1947) - Explorer, Geologist, Rhodes Scholar, University Lecturer.

Sport

• Joe Darling - Australian cricket captain
• Clem Hill - Australian cricket captain
• Ian Chappell - Australian cricket captain
• Greg Chappell - Australian cricket captain
• Greg Blewett - Cricketer
• Trevor Chappell - Cricketer
• Paul Rofe - Cricketer
• Tim May - Cricketer
• Ashley Woodcock - Cricketer
• Wayne Jackson - Australian Football League
• Ed Lower - North Melbourne Kangaroos Footballer
• Nick Lower - Port Adelaide Power Footballer
• Bernie Vince - Adelaide Crows Footballer
• Tim Weatherald - Sturt Footballer and Magarey Medallist 2002^[13]

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• List of schools in South Australia
• List of boarding schools
• List of Victoria Crosses by School

[edit] External links

• Prince Alfred College Website