As Queensland’s first Grammar School and first Secondary School, Ipswich Grammar School is proud to be one of the founding schools of The GPS Association of Queensland.
The Red and White spirit, borne out of our 155-year heritage, is still alive and well to this day. Our boys live and breathe our motto Labore Et Honore – to work hard with honour.
Our extra-curricular program is designed to enhance the curriculum and enrich the lives of our boys. We believe challenging our boys outside the classroom strengthens their teamwork, resilience and leadership skills. By commending determination and respect for others we impart important ideals to our students. In this way, our program helps develop exceptional leaders and give our boys a sense of belonging and pride in Ipswich Grammar School and in GPS that lasts well beyond graduation.
We won our first GPS premiership in 1918 and to-date have won 67 in a wide range of sports and activities. Early in our history, our boys were frequently reminded that winning was not everything. As Headmaster at the time, RA Kerr commented in 1944 “It must not be forgotten that, in a small school, a larger proportion of the members have the honour and the advantage of playing in leading teams; and it is not winning that counts so much as planning to win and doing one’s share and taking what comes in a manly spirit”. Earle Williams, as Sports Master during the 1970s and 80s, encouraged boys to ‘play the game’ and not allow themselves to be so consumed with avoiding defeat that ‘joy and fun disappear’.
During the 1980s, the school’s sporting prowess fortunes changed dramatically when determined attempts to improve the school’s sporting profile, driven by Headmaster Alan Ladley in conjunction with several dedicated staff members, started to pay off. In 1984, the winning of the first rugby premiership in fifty years as well as the first track and field premiership in the school’s history was nothing less than epoch-making. The momentum was maintained and IGS has won at least one premiership almost every year since 1984, including twenty track and field premierships over the past three decades.
Our approach today is summed up best by the motto that our Sports and Activities team live by “Fear None, Respect All”.
