From one campus to four

The independent Geelong Grammar Preparatory School was formally acquired by Geelong Grammar School in 1933 and became known as Bostock House, after Thomas E. Bostock, an early supporter of the school. To assist further with securing enrolments directly from primary school, in 1947 the School also acquired Glamorgan Preparatory School in Toorak, which had been founded in 1887 and operated from 1893 to 1946 by Isabel McComas. A fourth campus, Timbertop, opened in 1953 in the Victorian alps near Mansfield, operating an outdoor education program inspired by the Outward Bound movement.

The Houses at Corio

Each House has its own history and traditions, all contributing to the wider story of Geelong Grammar School. Perry, Manifold and Cuthbertson are the original three Houses, founded in 1914 and named after notable contributors to the school’s early history, followed two decades later by Francis Brown House, named after the fourth headmaster. These four houses are all senior boys’ boarding houses. The four senior girls’ boarding houses pay homage to the history of girls at the school: The Hermitage House and Clyde House, named after the two schools which amalgamated with Geelong Grammar School; Garnett House, named after Tommy Garnett, the principal who introduced co-education; and Elisabeth Murdoch House, founded in 2009 and named after one of Australia’s most distinguished daughters, a former Clyde student.

The two senior co-educational day boarding houses are named after significant staff members: Allen House, originally known as Geelong House but re-named after long-serving chaplain Rev. Joseph Allen in 1972; and Fraser House, originally home to junior students, named after Doug Fraser, former head of the junior school.

History was made in the Middle School in 2021, when the three original boarding houses, Barrabool, Barwon and Connewarre, were amalgamated into two new houses: the girls’ house Kunuwarra (meaning black swan) and boys’ house Parrwang (meaning magpie), both of which are named for animals significant to the Wadawurrung people and to the local area. The co-educational day houses are named Otway and Highton, after the Otway region and the former Highton campus, which existed temporarily from 1976 to 1987.

Discover Our Houses Today

Celebrating 100 years at Corio

As part of the centenary of the Corio Campus in 2014, the School produced a book ‘100 Exceptional Stories’ to celebrate the lives of 100 exceptional past students who attended Corio between 1914 and 2014. The book profiles an eclectic and interesting group of people who have achieved in an incredibly diverse range of fields, and a series of videos were produced to share the stories with our community.

View our stories

Celebrating 165 years since foundation

In 2020, our School marked the milestone of 165 years since foundation.

Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, public celebration was not possible, so the School sought inspiration and strength in the past putting together a commemorative video that honours our foundations and the people who have shaped our history.

‘The pages of our story are ours still to write”.

Our School Treasures

Our School is home to a remarkable collection of artefacts and ephemera that have been accumulated over more than 165 years of our history. We are the custodians of maps and plans, sculptures and paintings, letters and diaries, silverware and bone china, medals and antiquities, memorials and plaques, curiosities and clothing — all of them contributing to the exceptional story of our School.

Please enjoy this cabinet of curiosities.

View Our Treasures

Archives and Heritage Collection

The Geelong Grammar School Archives and Heritage Collection is made up of a unique collection of official and unofficial documentary records, art and artefacts, manuscripts, maps, rare books, furniture, photographs and film. Exhibitions are regularly mounted in the Perry Quad at Corio Campus, which our community and visitors are warmly welcomed to view.

Visit the Archives & Heritage Collections