Pymble Ladies' College
Pymble Ladies' College | |
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Location | |
, | |
Information | |
Type | Independent, Day and Boarding |
Motto | All'Ultimo Lavoro ("Strive for the highest" —Dante) |
Denomination | Uniting Church |
Established | 1916 |
Chairman | Braith Williams |
Principal | Vicki Waters |
Chaplain | Greer Dokmanovic |
Employees | ~210[1] |
Gender | Girls |
Enrolment | ~2,100 (K–12)[1] |
Colour(s) | Red, Navy Blue and White |
Affiliations | AHIGS JSHAA |
Website | www.pymblelc.nsw.edu.au |
Pymble Ladies' College is an independent, non-selective, day and boarding school for girls, located in Pymble, a suburb in the North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Twenty hectares in size, the grounds of the College feature a 50m swimming pool, gymnasium, several fields, tennis courts, an agriculture plot, library, buildings dedicated to specific subjects: an art building, a technology and applied studies building, a languages building, and a science block. There is also a music building, a chapel, healthcare centre, three boarding houses (Lang, Goodlet and Marden) and the most recent additions - the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts in 2005 and the Senior School Centre - Kate Mason Building in 2011.[2]
The college, formerly a school of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, is now administered by the Uniting Church in Australia, and is a founding member of the Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools (AHIGS). Girls of any faith may attend the school, although they are expected to also attend a fortnightly chapel service. The school caters for all classes from Kindergarten to Year 12.
There are eight houses in the secondary school, including the original three, Lang, Goodlet and Marden, and five more added in 2009, Wylie, Bennett, Ingleholme, Hammond and Thomas.[3] There are three houses in the Preparatory and Junior Schools named after famous Australian authors, Gibbs (after May Gibbs), Mackellar (after Dorothea Mackellar) and Turner (after Ethel Turner).
History
Pymble Ladies' College was founded in 1916 by Dr John Marden.
Principals
Period | Details[4] |
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1916 – 1920 | John Marden, Principal of Croydon 1887 – 1920, Principal of both Colleges from 1916 |
1920 – 1921 | G. Gordon Everett |
1922 – 1933 | Nancy Jobson |
1936 – 1966 | Dorothy Knox |
1967 – 1989 | Jeanette Buckham |
1989 – 2007 | Gillian Moore |
2008 – | Vicki Waters |
School uniform
The school uniform has undergone considerable changes through the years. The College's Presbyterian heritage has meant that the fabric of the uniform takes on the blackwatch tartan, even though it is now a school of the Uniting Church. Currently, Pymble has a summer uniform and a winter uniform.
The summer uniform consists of a white hat, green tartan dress, blue socks with a green stripe at the top and regulation black shoes for all girls. Upper school girls (Years 10-12) used to wear a belt with their summer uniform, however, this changed at the beginning of 2006, and with a new manufacturer, the uniform has now been changed to include concealed buttons, and adjustable tabs in lieu of the belt and no buttons going down to the bottom but end near the waist. With the changing of the senior year system to include the Middle School (Years 7-8), Upper School (Years 9-10) and Senior School (Years 11-12), the uniform was changed again. Middle School students wear the green tartan dress, Upper School students wear the tab dress and Senior School students now wear a white blouse and skirt. The socks, shoes and hat remain constant throughout the schools.
The winter uniform consists of a white blouse, tie and woollen tunic for younger girls - Preparatory school and Junior school girls wearing knee-length black socks or 10 denier black stockings. Senior school girls (that is, both Middle School, Upper School and Senior School) wear 10 denier black stockings. Upper School and Senior School girls wear a skirt instead of a tunic, and their colour of jumper and blazer are bottle green instead of navy blue. (All blazers are now navy blue with Senior School student blazers having a different emblem on the pocket and red and white stripes on the sleeves.)
The Tam O'Shanter was well known for many a year as being a part of the Pymble uniform, however it has been replaced by a navy felt hat that predates it in Pymble history. It is said that it was replaced because it was difficult to get students to wear it properly. A recent addition to the Pymble uniform has been a vest.
Notable alumnae
- Academic
- Angela Cummine - Rhodes Scholar (2007)[5]
- Patricia Dyson - Educator; former Principal of the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney (1978–1985)[6]
- Entertainment, media and the arts
- Jenny Coupland - Miss Australia 1982
- Jacqueline McKenzie - Actress, Singer, Artist.
- Melissa Doyle - Co-host of the Seven Network breakfast television programme Sunrise
- Dame Joan Hammond - soprano, singing coach and golfer [7]
- Amber Higlett - Finance Presenter/Reporter and Newsreader National Nine News
- Caroline Pemberton - Miss Australia 2007
- Sarah Song - Winner of Miss Sydney Chinese 2006 and Miss Chinese International 2007. She is currently working as an actress in TVB in Hong Kong.
- Sophie Wilcox - Anchor for Channel WT5-Idaho's "Shopping with Sophie" segment
- Polly Porter - Winner of The Block 2011 and television presenter and weather girl on Channel 9
- Paula Joye - Editor - Madison Magazine, Guest Judge - Project Runway Australia
- Shannelle Tedja - 2014 My Kitchen Rules Finalist
- Anita Jacoby - TV and film producer (expelled)[8]
- Politics, public service and the law
- Marie Byles -Female solicitor in NSW, Mountaineer, Explorer, Author and Feminist (also attended the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney)[9]
- Elizabeth Evatt, Judge of an Australian federal court
- Sport
- Sophie Ferguson - Professional Tennis Player
- Ellyse Perry - Australian Football team and member of Australian cricket team
- Edwina Tops-Alexander - Equestrian Athlete representative to 2012 London Olympics[10]
- Ming Xiu Ong - Commonwealth Games Swimmer
Notes
- ^ P.L.C council had acquired further land between 1916 and 1924. The reason for the sale is unknown.
See also
References
- ^ a b Pymble Ladies' College Annual Report 2005 (accessed:24-04-2007)
- ^ "PLC - New Senior School Centre". Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ^ 2009 - Year in Review, p. 9, retrieved 19 April 2011
- ^ Heads of New South Wales Independent Girls' Schools (accessed:23-07-2007)
- ^ "NSW Rhodes Scholars" — University of Sydney list, (retrieved 27 June 2007)
- ^ "Principals of P.L.C Sydney". History. Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney. Archived from the original on 2 July 2007. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
- ^ Papers of Dame Joan Hammond (1912- ). National Library of Australia
- ^ "Anita Jacoby: Why my success would surprise my former teachers". Women's Agenda. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- ^ "Marie Byles: A Spirited Life" (PDF). National Trust Online Exhibition. The National Trust of Australia (NSW). 2006. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
- ^ "London 2012 - Edwina Tops-Alexander Athlete Profile". Retrieved 4 August 2012.
Further reading
- Coleman, M. 1991. This is Pymble College: The First 75 years, 1916-1991. Pymble Ladies' College.
- McFarlane, J. 1998. The Golden Hope: Presbyterian Ladies' College, 1888-1988. P.L.C Council, Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney. ISBN 0-9597340-1-5.
External links
- Girls' schools in Australia
- Boarding schools in New South Wales
- Educational institutions established in 1916
- Uniting Church schools in Australia
- Private schools in New South Wales
- Schools in Sydney
- Rock Eisteddfod Challenge participants
- Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools
- Junior School Heads Association of Australia Member Schools
- High schools in New South Wales
- Primary schools in New South Wales
- Presbyterian schools in Australia