The Southport School

The Southport School (TSS) is an independent Anglican early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys, located in Southport, a suburb on the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia.

Established in 1901 by the Revd Horace Henry Dixon, TSS is the oldest Anglican boys' boarding school in Queensland and the only all-boys boarding school on the Gold Coast. The school has a non-selective enrolment policy and currently caters for approximately 1305 students from early learning to Year 12, including 276 boarders from Years 7 to 12.

The school is affiliated with the Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA), the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), the Independent Primary School Heads of Australia (IPSHA), Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ), and has been a member of the Great Public Schools Association of Queensland (GPS) since 1920.

History

The Southport School was established in 1901 by the Revd (later Rt Revd) Horace Dixon. The land was originally owned by Benjamin and Ann Spendelove.

The first boarding houses (Delpratt, McKinley and Thorold) were established in 1908.

The Southport School has the third oldest school boat club in Queensland, having first started rowing in 1905."The Southportonian", 1912 Vol. II No. 4 May This followed Brisbane Grammar School and Ipswich Grammar School first having a rowing contest in 1890.

Headmasters The following is a list of the headmasters of the school. Period Details Notes 1901–1929 The Revd (later Rt Revd) Horace Henry Dixon 1930–1935 Bertram George Lawrance 1936–1940 Verney Lovett Johnstone 1941–1950 John Norman Radcliffe 1950–1971 Cecil Garton Pearce 1972–1987 John Henry Day 1988–2003 Bruce Alexander Cook 2004–2020 Greg Wain 2021– Andrew Hawkins

House system The Southport School utilises a house system. The Senior School is divided vertically into the twelve houses: eight day boy houses and four boarding houses. The Preparatory School is divided into four houses. The Senior Houses are:The Southport School Admissions Book (accessed:2007-05-18)

Name Day/boarding Colours Atkinson Day Biddle Boarding Delpratt Boarding Kaiser Day Maughan Day McKinley Boarding Melbourne Day Radcliffe Day Surman Day Thorold Boarding Turnock Day Walker Day Rogers Boarding year 7 only Musgrave Prep-day Shepherd Prep-day Dixon Prep-day Mitre Prep-day

The three original houses – Delpratt, McKinley and Thorold – were founded in 1909, 1909 and 1908, respectively.

Sport

TSS has a strong sporting tradition and over the years has produced many Australian and international athletes of note. The school currently offers the following activities to its students: basketball, chess, cricket, cross country, debating, soccer, gymnastics, rowing, rugby, swimming, sailing, tennis, and track and field. TSS has been a member of the Great Public Schools' Association Inc (GPS) since 1920. TSS fields soccer teams within the development divisions of Football Queensland South Coast. The school has achieved many sporting premierships during its membership.

GPS Premierships (official GPS records): Rowing (22) 1918, 1920, 1921, 1923, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1953, 1954, 1958, 1959, 1970, 1978, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 2000, 2006, 2018, 2024, 2025, 2026 Cricket (24) 1920, 1923, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1980, 1981, 1982, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 Rugby (12) 1922, 1926, 1933, 1938, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2017, 2019, 2022 Tennis (9) 1921, 1924, 1926, 1930, 1934, 1956, 2000, 2001, 2018 Swimming (8) 1922, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2016 Gymnastics (7) 1935, 1936, 1962, 1963, 2008, 2009, 2010 Sailing (7) 2002, 2003, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022 Athletics (5) 1918, 1919, 1922, 1929, 1933 Football (4) 2012, 2013, 2014, 2020 Basketball (4) 2009, 2012, 2021, 2023 Cross Country (1) 1990 Shooting (4) 1956, 1963, 1967, 1971 (suspended 1974)

Associated Schools Championships: Basketball 1980–81 (1979–1986) Soccer 1978, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1988, 1990 (1978–1991)

State Championships Basketball (3) 2012, 2021, 2023

Basketball Team Achievements

Championship Men (Open) Australian Schools Championships Champions: 2023

Academics The Southport School employs a team of gifted and talented staff, constituting the school's 'Academic Talent Development' (ATD) program. The program is composed of enrolled students who have displayed exceptional results in their respective ACER tests, and encourages them to pursue their academic prowess by championing initiatives and competition such as Future Problem Solving (FPS), Tournament of the Minds (TOMs), DaVinci Decathlon, F1 in schools, Maths Olympiads, and various model united nations conferences, including a TSS-run competition including other schools from around South-East Queensland known as TSSMUN, and Bond University's High School Model United Nations competition, BUHMUN.

Notable alumni

The Old Southportonians Association (OSA) is the alumni organisation for Old Boys of the school. All Old Boys of the school become a member of the OSA, which boasts a proud list of members such as Nathan Sharpe, Michael Neser, and more. The OSA is run by Old Boys and other volunteers The OSA celebrated its 100 years as a recognised body in 2007.

Historic figures also include past choirmaster Henry John King.

Student exchange program

The Southport School is a member of Round Square and as such has an extensive network of partner schools with which it performs many student exchanges. TSS is involved in a student exchange program with the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States; and with Collingwood School in West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Pacific Cable Station The two surviving buildings of the Pacific Cable Station were relocated to the school in the year of 1982 for use as the school's music department. Largely untouched from their original form, they are listed on the Gold Coast Local Heritage Register.

The Southport School

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