WHY I JOINED

Helene Bender

Success comes from an exceptional education. Quality staff and infrastructure are essential to ensure we achieve positive outcomes and yes they cost money. Geelong Grammar School is committed to ensuring students have the opportunities to succeed. I am proud to be a member of the Biddlecombe Society and trust my bequest will make a difference.

Boz Parsons (M'36)

My motivation for becoming a member of the Biddlecombe Society was simple. Anyone like me who has a long association with the School and who, particularly in their School days, benefited from scholarships and the association of great teachers, feels like giving something back. The Biddlecombe Society is the perfect way of fulfilling that need.

Fiona Ratcliffe (Je'77)

I firmly believe that a good education is the greatest gift you can give a child. Unfortunately there are many people who cannot afford to give their child an exceptional education and there are exceptional children who deserve such a chance. Geelong Grammar offers one of the best and broadest educations in the world and the implementation of Positive Education will only serve to enhance this offering. If my bequest can assist a family to give their child an opportunity they would not otherwise contemplate, then it is the least I can do.

Hartley Mitchell (Staff 1990 - 2009)

Individuals need communities that provide them with the structures and opportunities necessary for discovering and exercising their strengths. Communities are able to provide those structures and opportunities when the individuals within them recognise the need for all to have the opportunity to flourish. Geelong Grammar School aims to create an environment where the needs of both individuals and the community are recognised and seen to be dependent upon each other. Such an endeavour is of the greatest importance not only to those within Geelong Grammar School, but also as a significant example to our wider society. I believe, therefore, the School deserves our encouragement and support.

Bill Ranken (M'73)

I was inspired at a recent meeting by the School's plans to share innovations like Positive Education with the wider community so that all Australians and also overseas students might benefit. Our family bequest will make this life changing education possible for someone who otherwise could not attend the School; it will say thank you; it will celebrate the extended Ranken family, both the four generations who attended GGS and those connected to them; and it will help the School retain a diverse student base. I think that making a bequest for a Scholarship is one of the best ways to contribute to the wider community as well as to the School and I can enjoy it while I'm still above ground.