You don’t know who your real mates are until you really need to ‘lean on’ your mates. Most boys gather other boys around them as they move through life, but only some of those connections stand the test of time and endure through triumph and disaster, famine and feast and the general wear and tear of life.
Of all the value adds which IGS provides for our boys perhaps the most significant is that of an opportunity to forge what our Old Boys’ Association describes as, “mates for life”.
Real mates look out for each other, pick each other up and dust off the dirt when they fall and remain present and involved.
At times real mates also give their mates a lesson in reality based on some hard truths when it is required.
A boy’s education is often as much provided by the boys whom he is connected to as it is by his teachers and school.
Our job at Ipswich Grammar School is to ensure our boys behave and interact in a respectful manner, that we support the development of strong role models in our cohorts and on our staff and that we are explicit about what being a mate at IGS should be and what it should not be.
Like you, we want the boys influencing your son to be providing a positive influence.
If you think about why your son is enrolled at IGS, I would be sure that one of the reasons you chose this school was because you wanted well behaved, positive boys around your boy.
We want this also.
We observe wonderful mateship every day at IGS. It’s something that happens organically but something which we also deliberately scaffold and support.
This is a great investment in the futures of our boys and in many ways is the gift that keeps giving throughout their lives.
Richard Morrison
Headmaster