History
One of the oldest schools in Australia, Pulteney Grammar School has a rich history steeped in achievement, tradition and innovation.
The original trustees met in May 1847 to establish a school for the children of Adelaide and after 12 months, on Monday, May 29, 1848, Pulteney Street School opened its doors. The School was a foundation of the Church of England but was open to those of all faiths and denominations. Town Acre No 228 at the corner of Pulteney and Flinders Streets was purchased and a school building was erected immediately north of the present St Paul’s Creative Centre. At the end of the first week there were 50 names on the roll and by December, 270.
Since those humble beginnings, the School has expanded in good times and contracted in times of depression or administrative uncertainty. Of the 22 Principals, some have guided the School’s destiny for many years (W S Moore, 24 years, W P Nicholls, 41, and W R Ray, 26) while others have been in charge for as little as three months. Through it all, on three different sites, Pulteney has prospered and earned its place among the schools of South Australia.
Explore Pulteney's diverse history
Appreciation of diversity
Importance of the individual
High respect for intellectual endeavour
Commitment to tradition and dignity within school life
Sense of social responsibility
Anglican tradition
The Archives
On Monday 1 November, Pulteney’s current oldest Old Scholar Mr Colin Wagener (1933), and third generation Pulteney Grammarian Ali Smit (Year 2) (mother Catherine (2000), grandfather David (1967)) joined Chairman of the Board of Directors Allen Candy, Principal Cameron Bacholer and Deputy Principals Deb Dalwood and Katherine Adnett, to commemorate the ‘turning of the sod’ of what will be the most significant legacy project from Pulteney’s anniversary in 2022, the 175th Anniversary Quadrangle Redevelopment Project.
On this day, initial works commenced on the refurbishment of Ray Wing North as the new staff common room replacing what was previously housed upstairs in the Nicholls Building until 2020; to be followed in due course by the landscaping of the Quadrangle.
On Thursday 15 October, the much anticipated, Nicholls Performing Arts Centre was opened with some fanfare. A small but enthusiastic crowd gathered to witness the rebirth of the Nicholls Building, once again re-imagined as it has been before since it’s inception in 1920. Principal, Cameron Bacholer, spoke about the importance of Performing Arts educational programs and opportunities for our students in the past, today and into the decades ahead.
Cameron Bacholer commenced in 2020 as Pulteney Grammar School’s 22nd Principal.
Cameron joins Pulteney from The Knox School in Melbourne, where he was Vice Principal since 2016. In 2019, Mr Bacholer was named by Educator Australia magazine in its ‘Hot List’ top 50 educators. A feature of his approach to education is his commitment to develop colleagues and students through student agency and personalised learning. This approach enables learning through activities meaningful and relevant to the learner, driven by their interests and often initiated by them with appropriate guidance from their teacher.
Mr Bacholer holds a Master of Business (Strategy and Organisational Culture) from the Melbourne Business School along with a Master of Education, a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Teaching, all from The University of Melbourne.
2019 marked an exciting and significant milestone for Pulteney, as the School celebrated the 20th anniversary since the reintroduction of co-education at the school. The School celebrated with various events across the year, with an official recognition of the milestone celebrated at Founders’ Day, on 29 May 2019.
The anniversary also allowed the School to celebrate the incredible advantages that co-education offers girls and boys as they grow to become young women and men.
Watch ‘Celebrating 20 Years of Coeducation at Pulteney Grammar School’ on Youtube
On 7 March 2019, Putleney’s Kurrajong (ELC – Year 2) launched its newly completed Nature Play space.
This beautiful space, which features a wooden slide, tree house, a ‘potions’ area, fairy houses, a mine, herb garden and much more, promotes natural play. Studies have shown that this contributes to the overall physical, cognitive and emotional development of children. Getting outdoors has many benefits, and nature play helps children score higher on tests for concentration and self-discipline, helps them experience more diverse and imaginative play, strive toward advanced motor fitness and become healthier overall.
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Image credit to Climbing Tree
On 7 September 2018, Pulteney’s new Middle School was officially opened by His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le AC, Governor of South Australia.
The new Middle School creates a vibrant, contemporary hub, with leading edge classrooms and technology for Years 7, 8 and 9 at Pulteney, which replaces an outdated, traditional style classroom with a more integrated, modern space that are adaptable and flexible to suit their changing education needs and contemporary learning frameworks. The completion and launch of the new Middle School realises an exciting milestone and stage of Pulteney’s Master Plan.
Watch ‘Pulteney Grammar School’s new Middle School’ on Youtube
In 2017, Pulteney Grammar School was thrilled to celebrate its 170th anniversary.
As one of the oldest schools in Australia, Pulteney celebrated this significant milestone with a number of events throughout the year, namely a wonderful Founders’ Day service and morning tea, and a black tie ball in August of that year.
The Official Opening of the Centre for Senior Learning on Tuesday 28 April was a significant moment in the life of our School and our community as it marked another innovation in the ongoing development of the dynamic learning opportunities we provide for our students. We were thrilled to have the Governor of South Australia, His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le and his wife Mrs Lan Le in attendance; they are incredibly proud past parents of Pulteney and their advocacy for our School was evident throughout the Governor’s address to the gathered guests.
Anne Dunstan commenced in 2014 as the 21st Principal in Pulteney’s 166 year history and is the first woman to lead the School.
Anne was previously the Deputy Principal and Head of Senior School at Scotch Oakburn College, a 1200 student, co-educational school in Launceston.
An Adelaide person originally, Anne held positions of responsibility at St John’s Grammar, Wilderness and Scotch before moving to Tasmania.
Anne Dunstan brings to Pulteney a strong focus on driving teacher and teaching quality, as well as in ensuring improved student outcomes.
Pulteney’s affiliation with Nepal began in 2012 when a group of students visited Blue Sky School and Dalit Women’s Uplift Centre Orphanage. In 2013 a party including 14 students traveled to Nepal. They were welcomed at Blue Sky Public High School and later travelled to the Nepal Dalit Mahila Utthan Kendra Children’s Orphanage where they were met by 70 orphans and Mother Rajan. They were involved in the laying of the foundation stone for the new school next to the orphanage, which Pulteney was able to fund.
In partnership with ZoosSA and Zambia’s Chipembele Wildlife Education trust Pulteney’s Conservation Corps students travelled to Zambia to participate in hands on conservation activities and programs and building transferable skills in conservation and leadership.
In April 2014 Chipembele Conservation Club students were hosted on a return visit to Adelaide.
The Pulteney War Memorial Room houses the WWI and WWII honour rolls and a collection of artefacts from all wars. It also houses individual framed tributes to Pulteney Old Scholars killed at war between the Boer War and Afghanistan.
The Queens Room houses the Queen’s WWII honor roll and the Queens Archival Collection. When Queens College closed in 1949 many students came to Pulteney. The link with Pulteney grew with the establishment of the Queens War Memorial Scholarship with funds donated by Queens Old Boys. The room honours the memory of Queen’s Old Scholars.
