Cranbrook School
Our Vision and Mission
At Cranbrook our vision is to be a world class School which encourages and enables all of our students to explore, enjoy and fulfil their potential. We lead our students to discover and make the most of their talents, give of their best and thrive in and love the pursuit of excellence.
As a School we energise the educational environment by offering a rich and distinctive schooling both within and beyond the curriculum and give powerful pastoral support. We uphold the character of our Anglican foundation in order to promote the moral and spiritual development of each student and foster the principles of service.
Cranbrook builds resilience and confidence so that each student can face the challenges of the twenty-first century with personal confidence, intellectual versatility, academic hunger and optimism. We inspire and support them to respect the integrity of differences, lead adventurous, courageous and generous lives contributing to the betterment of society.
Curriculum, Co-curricular Activities & Pastoral Care Programmes
We offer the International Baccalaureate’s MYP programme for Years 7 to 10. The Australian Curriculum and NSW syllabus requirements are fully-delivered within an MYP context. It builds on the knowledge, skills and attitudes developed by the IB Primary Years Programme currently being delivered by Cranbrook Pre-schools and Cranbrook Junior School. The MYP comprises eight mandatory subject groups. In Years 7-8 students will study mandated courses in each of these subject groups, and in Years 9-10 students are able to adopt a more individual pattern of study with elective courses. In Years 11-12 we offer the NSW HSC as the leaving credential.
Co-curricular activities include AV club, bands, ceramics, chess, choir, debating, drama and music productions, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, ensembles, lunchtime concerts, Open Day hosting, orchestras, outdoor education programmes, photography club, production crew, public speaking, robotics, Student Representative Council, theatre sports, Explorers and Travellers Overseas Partnership, and magazine editing. All boys in Years 7 to 12 are encouraged to be actively involved in community service.
The Pastoral care programme recognises that the promotion of student wellbeing and a safe and secure learning environment that challenges, encourages and supports all students is fundamental to the achievement of the School’s aims. It promotes a whole-school approach and supports other initiatives to create an environment in which students feel safe, valued, engaged and purposeful.
The Arts and our Sports Programmes
As a School we place great importance on the enduring value of the arts. Participation in these programmes aims to develop skills in leadership, performance, creativity and decision-making. We engender a love of the arts in children from Pre-school through to Year 12 and firmly believe that creativity is a process which must be stimulated, encouraged and nurtured.
Physical fitness and mental agility go hand in hand, reinforcing an acuteness of perspective. The Cranbrook School sports programme is both deep and wide, and one of inclusiveness, opportunity, and competition. We encourage the balance between the team and the individual within each sport as well as place great importance on the ongoing cultivation of skills, training and conditioning.
Weekend competitions are arranged with other schools in most major sports, including AFL, basketball, cricket, cross-country, football, rowing, rugby union, sailing, skiing, swimming and tennis.
Facilities
Our Junior School campus was opened in 2011 and is an inspiring campus with purpose-built educational facilities which include a library, art rooms, a music centre, IT and science laboratories, a double gymnasium and tennis courts. The Senior School is housed in modern classroom blocks, has 21st-century IT resources and sporting fields, an indoor swimming pool, a gymnasium and a strength and conditioning centre. This campus is in the process of an exciting redevelopment that will provide our senior students with a world class learning environment. Cranbrook’s Year 12 college is an excellent working environment for the school’s most senior students as they prepare for their final year examinations. Modelled on a university college, the Year 12 college eases the transition between and school and university introducing the boys to life as part of a community of scholars.
Coeducation at Cranbrook
We are excited about our move to coeducation. While Cranbrook’s two Pre-Schools are already coeducational, we will welcome girls to the Senior School in 2026 for Year 7 and Year 11 and be fully coeducational by 2029.
Cranbrook has always been a progressive school and the transition to coeducation is a natural step for us, allowing us to keep pace with societal change, helping us to foster positive relationships and preparing students for life beyond the School gates.
Boarding at Cranbrook
Boarding offers a powerful and remarkably contemporary form of schooling. Being at the centre of school life gives an experience filled with valuable activities and engagements: living, and working, alongside peers and mentors enables the growth both of self-belief and of inter-personal skills. The boarding houses have undergone a renovation befitting their heritage building and spectacular setting. The renovations have reinvigorated boarding at Cranbrook and reaffirmed the school’s commitment to this important aspect of Cranbrook life.