The Southport School

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The Southport School (or TSS) is an Anglican day and boarding school for students from Reception to Year 12. The Preparatory School (Reception-7) is located on Lupus St, with the Senior School (8-12) located nearby on Winchester St and Ferry Rd, Southport, on the Gold Coast of Australia. It was founded in 1901. The school is regarded among the Gold Coast community as exclusive and according to a recent Courier Mail investigation, it is the most expensive secondary school in the state.

TSS is a member of the Greater Public Schools (GPS) Association of Queensland, the only such school on the Gold Coast. It is the only boys school in the region and the only such school to provide boarding. Its sister school is St Hilda's, 3km north near the Gold Coast Hospital. TSS is one of only three schools on the Gold Coast to provide boarding facilites, the other ones are sister school St Hilda's and All Saints Anglican School in the nearby suburb of Merrimac.

TSS was a participant in the first football match between secondary schools in Queensland, in an August 1918 match against Brisbane Boy's College.

TSS provides for compulsory cadet service in Year 9, which is also optional for students in other senior years, where cadets may serve either with the Australian Air Force Cadets, Australian Army Cadets or Australian Navy Cadets.

Notable Old Boys:

Military:

  • General Robert Harold Nimmo (Head of UN Military Observer Group in Pakistan & India 1952-1966)
  • Major Hugh Quinn (killed at Gallipoli; Quinn's Post is named for him)
  • Lieutenant John Fraser (killed in Vietnam)

Business and Politics:

  • Rob Borbidge (Former Premier of Queensland)
  • The Hon. John Moore (former Defence Minister)
  • Former National Party Senator Bill O'Chee
  • Matthew Perrin (former chief executive of Billabong)
  • Richard Storie (Woolworths supermarket tycoon)

Media:

  • Rod Young (ABC and Seven Network news anchor)
  • Perry Cross (Noted motivational speaker who was made quadriplegic in a scrum collapse at a rugby match at the School in 1994)
  • James Blundell (country music singer)
  • Scott Beveridge (Channel 10 anchor)

Sport:

  • John Buchanan (Coach of Australian Cricket Team)
  • Duncan Free (3 time Olympian)
  • Trent Durrington (professional baseball-player in USA)
  • Mat Rogers, Nathan Grey and Nathan Sharpe (professional rugby union players)
  • Andrew Baildon (Short distance swimmer)
  • Courtney Atkinson (triathlete)
  • Mathew and Daniel Belcher (Olympic level racing sailors)

The House System

The House System was introduced in the 1920's from England by Charles Thorold, a master at the School. It was designed to foster competition and fraternity between students in sports and other endeavours. The original boarding houses were Delpratt, McKinley and Thorold, all co-located in what is now the Clocktower building. Presently, Delpratt House occupies this site, with the other boarding houses having been relocated to new facilties. Houses are generally named for notable former headmasters or housemasters at the School. Each House has a housemaster and several tutors, one for each year group within the house.

Senior School Day Houses

  • Atkinson
  • Kaiser
  • Maughan
  • Melbourne
  • Radcliffe
  • Surman
  • Turnock
  • Walker
  • Morse (Yr 8 day students)

Senior School Boarding Houses

  • Biddle
  • Delpratt
  • McKinley
  • Thorold

Preparatory School Day Houses

  • Dixon
  • Mitre
  • Musgrave
  • Shepard

Preparatory School Boarding Houses

  • Rodgers

Headmasters of the School

  • Rt. Rev. Horace Henry Dixon (1901-1929)
  • Bertram George Lawrance (1930-1935)
  • Rev. Verney Lovett Johnstone (1936-1940)
  • John Norman Radcliffe (1941-1950)
  • Cecil Garton Pearce, OBE (1950-1971)
  • John Henry Day, AM (1972-1987)
  • Paul John McKeown, AM (1987)
  • Bruce Alexander Cook (1988-2003)
  • Greg Wain (2003-present)