Colin Yates & Prof Anne-Maree Kelly
Vale Colin Yates
Colin Yates sadly passed away 26/10/2026.
We extend our sincere condolences to Anne-Maree and to all
who knew and loved Colin. Through the Colin Yates
Scholarship, his memory will live on in our community,
and his generosity will continue to open doors for
students for generations to come.
Our connection with Ballarat Grammar
We both benefited greatly from the foresight of our mothers (June and Kay respectively) who placed a very high value on the difference a good education could make to life and the opportunities it could bring. For Colin (1977), this involved encouraging him to sit a scholarship exam for Ballarat Grammar. This resulted in a part scholarship, without which attending a school like Ballarat Grammar would not have been possible.
“Happiness is not made by what we own.
It is what we share.”
- Jonathan Sacks (1948-2020)
Colin attended Ballarat Grammar as a day student from Grade 5 to year 12, graduating in 1977. He had inspiring teachers and made lifelong friends. The rounded education at Ballarat Grammar was not just academically stimulating, but opened the worlds of sport, music, theatre, outdoor pursuits and teamwork, all of which enriched Colin’s later life. Colin was the first person in his family to attend university, graduating from Latrobe University with a Bachelor of Behavioral Science with Honours. Thereafter, there followed a 40-year career in human resources, industrial relations and organisation and cultural change management working for both public and private organisations locally and internationally. Later he worked in human research ethics at Victoria University.
Why we give to Ballarat Grammar
We both share a passion for education and medical research, especially in the field of Emergency Medicine (Anne-Maree’s area of specialty), supporting both causes philanthropically. We have supported the Ballarat Grammar School Foundation with Annual Giving for several years before deciding to establish a Named Scholarship – our way of ensuring that future students continue to have the opportunities we were so fortunate to receive.
Our hopes for the future
Our hope is that the support of the Scholarship will help its recipients reach their full potential and fully participate in and contribute to their community. Our experience is that, like a ripple in a pond, the benefit magnifies and touches the lives of people far from the source ‘pebble’.
Encouraging others to give
We had always planned to make philanthropic bequests in our wills, but as we reached our later careers, we saw the opportunity to bring this forward. It made practical sense but also allowed us to set the scholarship up as we wanted it to be through conversations with the Foundation. The result has been much happiness in seeing our vision start to materialize.
Acknowledgement of Country
Ballarat and Queen’s Anglican Grammar School acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we learn, live and work, the Wadawurrung People, and recognises their continuing connection to the land and waterways. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend this to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.
Commitment to Child Safety
Ballarat Grammar maintains a zero-tolerance approach to all forms of child abuse and actively implements measures to identify and manage any risks of harm to students within our school environment. The care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people are central and fundamental responsibilities of the School. We are firmly committed to fostering a child-safe culture that provides an environment where students are safe and feel safe, where their participation is valued, their views respected, and their voices heard in decisions that affect their lives. Ballarat Grammar values diversity and strictly prohibits any racist or discriminatory practices. All members of our school community share the responsibility to care for children and young people by promptly raising any concerns regarding their safety, promoting their wellbeing, and protecting them from all forms of harm or abuse.
