The Hermitage story: 1960-1975

Master of EducationThe position of independent schools in Victoria has always been a prominent one, although the girls' schools have not received quite the same standing as those schools which are members of the Association of Public Schools. Yet the underlying principle of both boys' and girls' schools has been the same - they offer parents a choice in schools, one that used to be based on religion, but this factor now appears to be of lesser importance. As Dr. J. Darling, former Headmaster of Geelong Grammar School is quoted as saying, "The danger of socialism in education is two-fold - uniformity and regulation. You cannot give everyone equal chances of education without giving everyone the same education and without preventing at least some people from having the educational experience they wish. The Hermitage, Church of England Girls' Grammar School had been established in Geelong in 1906, and by 1960 it was a growing school with an established reputation as a traditional girls' independent, boarding school. In the following fifteen years the school experienced changes of great magnitude, and finally in 1975 an offer was accepted from Geelong Grammar School to amalgamate and form a coeducational school in 1976. Between 1960 and 1975, changes, surveys, and experiments took place and some of these may have introduced an uncertainty about the future of the school. The school had reached its peak in 1963, when there were over five hundred girls enrolled, but from the mid-1960's, numbers started to decrease. Why did the school fall from such a relatively strong position in a short period of time? Changes in leadership, especially after the resignation of the long-serving Miss Krome at a crucial stage in the school's development; the decision to move the school to an outer suburb (Highton) from a central city area (Newtown); changes in government policy, the general economic trends of the time; the idea of co-education; and even the growth of state secondary schools must all be considered. Special emphasis must be placed on the early 1970's when 'equality of opportunity' was the key phrase in so many government reports. The contribution of independent schools had to change as state schools gained more resources, more opportunity to experiment and more autonomy. All independent schools were affected, and had to examine themselves closely - or merely become (or remain) bastions of tradition. There is no doubt that the Hermitage looked closely at its position as a small girls' independent school; it was not in the metropolitan area, and it did try to meet the challenges of the times. The wisdom of the decision to amalgamate in 1975 can be regarded as debatable - particularly with hindsight. At the time, it was a brave decision by the School Council, and it cannot be explained by any one dominating factor. It must also be noted that an event which occurred less than seven years ago is difficult to study objectively. Sentimental, as well as educational and economic factors cannot be avoided, and a decision which caused disagreement in the school community, much of which was only expressed by word of mouth and not recorded, is difficult to present without bias and emotion