No doubt about it, our physical environment is unique.
Sprawling across an expansive 32-acre park-like campus, our environment embodies space and growth. It’s lush, green and abundant. Our learning and social spaces are places of possibility; purposefully designed to foster the knowledge and skills required for future-focused workplaces.
Inspired Spaces
Treetops Restaurant & Café
Our dining precinct offers a recreational and leisure space for students and staff to enjoy quality food, relaxation time and great company. Treetops Restaurant provides sophisticated sit-down dining options and a function centre. The Meeting Place Café is perfect for a quick hot-chocolate (or coffee for the big kids), a sandwich and chat with friends while you soak up the sun. Many ‘foodie friendships’ flourish here.
Early Learning Centre
Our Early Learning Centre (ELC) is an architecturally designed, child-safe facility that promotes the attributes inherent in our International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. Natural and built indoor and outdoor spaces are perfect for play-based and inquiry-based learning and an adventure playground strengthens little minds, muscles and fundamental movement skills.
Technical & Applied Studies Facility
The TAS facility is an industrious space where innovation, creation and design move from the theoretical to the practical. The facility offers safe, flexible and resource and technology-rich learning opportunities. It houses a digital fabrication suite, three fully-equipped modern wood and metal workshops, a welding bay and spray booth, two commercial kitchens, 3D printers, a textiles room and a major works store. It’s also not uncommon to see robots beeping-and-booping in here.
HVGS Farm & Agriculture Program
Our working farm located in South Maitland, is home to show steer, alpacas, pigs, sheep, lambs, calves and goats! Senior students visit the farm regularly for agriculture lessons and the HVGS Cattle Team meet there each morning before school to prepare their steer for showing. There’s also an agriculture plot located on the main school campus which includes three raised research plots, a commercial glasshouse and a poultry farm.
Rowing Complex – Rayward Boathouse
HVGS rowers race and train at our modern rowing complex located right on the banks of the Hunter River at Berry Park. Thirteen ergometer machines, a gym, modern change rooms, a kitchen and function centre keep our athletes in tip-top shape. Our impressive fleet of boats include one flagship VIII, twelve quad sculls, five double sculls and sixteen single sculls.
Sport Facilities
You won’t find what we have at any other school in the region! A full-size rugby field, football pitch and cricket oval are used all year round. The Cameron Centre (multipurpose sport stadium) is a prominent feature in our School accommodating two indoor basketball and netball courts, a gymnasium, PDHPE classrooms, a full commercial kitchen and changing facilities. Outdoors, three cricket nets, three all-weather floodlit tennis courts and two multipurpose courts have all undergone refurbishment in recent years.
Music and Performing Arts
HVGS students make beautiful music in our amazing Music Centre. There are fifteen music studios for instrumental lessons, a fully equipped recording studio, an orchestra room, a percussion studio, a chamber room, a keyboard and computer lab, two Junior and three Senior music classrooms, two dedicated rehearsal classrooms, and two student instrument storage areas. Our drama studios are also located in the Centre.
The Weeks Library
Located in the heart of the School, the Weeks Library is the resource hub for students in Years 3 – 12. Reading and research programs, on-line facilities, up-to-date technologies, study spaces and casual reading areas provide opportunities for students to really connect with their learning. Students can also access Futures and Careers advice and information here. Our newly refurbished Lecture Theatre is also located here.
Students K – 2 can read all their favourite books in their own library located in the Junior School.
Green by looks and by nature…
Looking around there’s no denying it – we’re green (and in more ways than you may realise!) Managing such a large campus comes with environmental responsibilities, so we embed sustainable practices wherever possible.
- We recycle 95% of our paper, 100% waste metals and 50% green waste.
- Our food waste is recycled and donated to local farmers to feed their stock.
- We’ve invested over $100k in energy efficient lighting and control systems.
- The solar-power systems we’ve installed means that while we continue to grow in size/population, our consumption is lower than ever.
- We’re rolling out energy efficient air conditioning systems.
- We reuse rainwater to irrigate our ovals and gardens.
- We recycle toner cartridges and technology waste where possible.
Visit Us
To really appreciate our fantastic learning environment, it’s best to visit us. We’d love to show you around.