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The International Boys’ School Coalition (IBSC) is a guild of 270 boys’ schools from around the world, including Brisbane Grammar School, and its great strength is its common goal to provide the best possible education for boys through diversity.

Headmaster Anthony Micallef is a Trustee of the IBSC’s Board of Trustees, and last week, amidst a busy schedule of end-of-year events, he savoured the opportunity to sit down and play host to CEO of the IBSC, Tom Batty, to talk all things boys’ education.

Mr Batty believes the answer to ensuring boys’ education progresses in the years ahead is not just science and research, but also global networking.

In an ever-changing environmental landscape, and particularly in a world where single-sex education continues to be in question, Tom and Anthony agree that a boys’ education is one we know better than we ever have before.

“We know how they like to learn, and we are getting better at teaching them,” Tom said.

“The advantage of attending a boys’ school remains that the teaching is catered to boys’ known rates of development, which is something we know for certain. Boys and girls develop at different times and different rates… Boys develop slower and later on average… It takes time.”

Mr Micallef said, “I think what’s really interesting for the Brisbane Grammar School staff is the fact that research is being done… A lot of our staff have had the opportunity to be a part of that and they see the benefit because it’s evidence driven.”

Tom believes a rudimentary facet of growth in the domain of educating boys—one that continuously solidifies the relevance of an all-boys’ education—is the intercontinental conversations that have been increasingly easier to facilitate in recent years with the ability to more readily share online.

In addition to the online conversations the IBSC facilitate, they host annual conferences connecting educators from around the globe, drawing 650 odd delegates together each year, because the magic of knowledge growth in this industry happens outside of the formalities.

It’s inside these forums that conversations offer fresh perspectives and help educators contextualise their thoughts and theories. All these higher-level conversations become evidence for the ISBC’s research and consequently their online programs.

Mr Batty says there is always conjecture coming from all sides of education, which is one of main reasons he advocates for specialist conversations, research and evidence in making the difference.

The crystallised conversations, shared experiences, and challenged ideas that are conjured at the IBSC’s events throughout the year help them to develop evidence-based research to create their suite of online programs, often frequented by BGS staff for professional development.

“We have government schools, Catholic schools, low-fee independent, high-fee independent, and boarding schools in the mix too,” Mr Batty shared.  

Mr Batty and Mr Micallef share in the sentiment that this is an exciting and imperative measure that ensures the lens of knowledge is broad and evolving, so that we can best care for our students.

When asked “What is your charter for care?”, Mr Batty responded with a knowing that the influence of the online world and contemporary social realm have their own set of challenges in which the goal posts continually shift, emphasising the importance of good role modelling and being available to intentionally create a sense of belonging.

“That comes from feeling all right where you are… I like it here and I am cared for,” he said.

We thank Mr Batty for his visit and insights.

The IBSC’s official research processes are currently conducted through the University of New South Wales.

 

Watch the full interview with Headmaster Anthony Micallef and Tom Batty below.