From the Chair of Council

Coeducation at Barker

Living in Kurrajong Heights at the time Reverend Henry Plume founded Barker College were William and Charlotte Bowman and their family of five daughters.

Rev Plume persuaded the Bowmans that their four school-aged daughters would be better off at his school than being tutored at home. Thus among the 18 students enrolled at Barker College in 1891, were the four Bowman sisters – Mary (aged 17), Lois (aged 15), Kitty (aged 13) and Lottie (aged 10). In 1892 however, the Bowman family left the district and Barker ceased to be a coeducational school. In 1896 Rev. Plume moved the School to its present site in Hornsby and for another 79 years, Barker College would remain a boys-only school. In February 1972, the School Council endorsed the recommendation of Barker’s sixth Head, Trevor McCaskill, for the formation of a designated Senior School on the existing Barker site. The Senior School would accommodate all boys in fifth and sixth forms (Years 11 and 12) and any girls wishing to enrol. When, on 3 February 1975, 59 fifth form girls walked through the Mint Gates, Barker became the first independent school in Sydney to introduce coeducation. Twenty five years later the Senior School was extended to include Year 10 students. From 2000, Year 10 girls were enrolled at Barker. In March 2001, the School Council resolved that the Head could appoint two School Captains, one boy and one girl. In 2002, the first girl School Captain was admitted to office. In June 2016, the School Council resolved to move to full coeducation at Barker from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12. On 4 November 2016, this was announced to the Barker community with the commencement of girls in the Prep School from 2019, in Year 3 and Year 7 from 2020, and growth through to completion by 2022. On 28 January 2022, we marked the first day of full coeducation at Barker. 1,041 girls are now enrolled from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12. Having girls across all Year groups provides us with the opportunity to fulfil more completely Barker’s Vision to be a leader in education that inspires global hope. Underpinning the Vision is Barker’s Christian framework, a framework established by Rev. Plume in his early work at Kurrajong Heights, including with the Bowman girls, and continued by his successors. I believe coeducation is a mighty contributor to the culture and spirit of Barker. Our curriculum has broadened with new offerings such as Society and Culture, Dance, Food Technology, and Accelerated Business Studies. These subjects are popular with boys and girls. Coeducation has brought the impetus for the Primary Years Programme (PYP) in the Junior School and also for Barker becoming a member of the Round Square group of world schools. With Junior School and Middle School girls we also have new sports on offer like Rowing. Indeed, the benefits of coeducation are significant in most areas of personal growth for our young people. Without doubt, coeducation complements the education of the heart. This year completes the work started by Rev. Plume in 1891. With full coeducation at Barker, we recognise, as Barker’s sixth Head put it, “one of the earliest and finest traditions of the School”.

David Charles (75) Chair of Council

Coping in a World of Flux

2022 has begun as another year of uncertainty. Shifting restrictions and changing plans have once again characterised the start of school.

I’d like to think that through the persistence of the pandemic we have developed our resilience and ability to cope in a world of flux. We may feel that uncertainty is not normal, however most cultures throughout history have had to live with far less dependable structures that our modern Western world. The First Century Roman era was such a world – without banks, refrigeration, mortgages or job security. And yet into this situation Jesus spoke the words, “…do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear” (Matthew 6:25). When he says this, he is not advocating a laissez-faire approach to life; a life with no planning, no worrying. Instead, Jesus was saying don’t expend unnecessary worry about those things that are out of your control. Those elements of life that belong in the domain of your Heavenly Father. Rather than expend anxiety attempting to foresee every disaster and playing these out in your mind ahead of time, Jesus encourages us to trust God to provide what we need in the day-to-day. Jesus points to God’s care of the “birds of the air” and “flowers of the field” to highlight how much more God cares for his own children. Rather than worry, Jesus encourages people to seek God, as a Father, as a treasure. And our daily needs will fall into place. As we begin 2022, we may not know what is coming, but may we come to look back on this time as one where we grew, not only in resilience, but also in our trust in our Heavenly Father.

Rev Peter Tong Senior Chaplain