What are St Augustine's College students really like?

You can tell a lot about a school by what happens when a stranger walks through the gate.

On his first morning, before the boys had any idea who he was, Mr Wickham stood at the front gate and watched most of them do something small and telling. "There would have been at least half to three-quarters who greeted me, eye contact, and said good morning sir. And how are you? It was that sense of community that you got straight away."

Ask the people who teach here what the boys are like, and the same themes come back again and again. The answers are warmer and more honest than a list of values.

Rough around the edges and better for it

The staff don't reach for polish when they describe the boys. "They are a little rough around the edges," says Mr Byrne, and he means it as a compliment. Ms Earle, the Deputy Principal, puts it another way: "What you see is exactly what you get. They're lovable rogues, which I completely love about the boys. They're a little bit cheeky, and that's okay."

There's a lot in that "and that's okay." It would be easy for a school to value neatness over personality. Here the cheek and the spirit are seen as part of the boy, not something to erase. The aim isn't a uniform product. It's a real young man who is still recognisably himself.

Boys who stay curious

What the staff notice first is the boys' energy. "The thing I like most about the students is just their energy, their curiosity and willingness to learn," said Mr Foresto. Another teacher notices something quieter but just as telling: "They thank you when you help them. They thank you at the end of class. They'll have a conversation with you."

That openness doesn't fade as they get older, which is the part teachers seem to treasure most. As one teacher puts it, "boys that you teach in year seven and eight will still want to show you in years 11 and 12 what they're making. Look what I made, look what I've been doing." A senior still wanting to show a teacher his work is a boy who hasn't learned to hide his enthusiasm. That says something about the kind of school he's been growing up in.

Looking out for each other

For all the talk of rogues and cheek, the thread underneath it is care. "We genuinely care for the boys, and I think the boys genuinely care for each other too," one staff member says. "They look after each other. Boys who are going to be mates for a big part of their lives."

Maybe that's why the cheek and the kindness never seem to contradict each other. The same boys the staff call a little cheeky are the ones who greet a stranger at the gate, thank their teachers at the end of class, and leave with friendships that last. The rogues are the ones holding the door.

In loving memory of Harrison Foresto, whose kindness, warmth and spirit continues to live on in our hearts and will always be remembered.