Pymble Ladies' College is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, non-selective, day and

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

for girls, located in

Pymble Pymble is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Pymble is north of the Sydney Central Business District in the local government area of Ku-ring-gai Council. West Pymble is a separate suburb ...

, a suburb on the Upper North Shore of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

History and description

Pymble Ladies' College was founded in 1916 by Dr John Marden, due to the increasing enrolments at the

Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney The Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney (PLC Sydney) is an independent school, independent Presbyterian Church of Australia, Presbyterian Single-sex school, single-sex Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primary and Secondary sc ...

, another school established by the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

of the Presbyterian Church of NSW. The college, formerly a school of the

Presbyterian Church of Australia The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. (The larger Uniting Church in Australia incorporated about two-thirds of the PCA in 1977.) History Beginnings When captain James Cook lande ...

, is now administered by the

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...

. 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. 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, the Senior School Centre - Kate Mason Building in 2011, and the Centenary Sports Precinct in 2016. 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. There are three houses in the Preparatory and Junior Schools named after famous Australian authors, Gibbs (after

May Gibbs Cecilia May Gibbs MBE (17 January 1877 – 27 November 1969) was an Australian children's author, illustrator, and cartoonist. She is best known for her gumnut babies (also known as "bush babies" or "bush fairies"), and the book '' Snugglepot ...

), Mackellar (after

Dorothea Mackellar Isobel Marion Dorothea Mackellar, (1 July 1885 – 14 January 1968) was an Australian poet and fiction writer. Her poem ''My Country'' is widely known in Australia, especially its second stanza, which begins: "''I love a sunburnt country/ ...

) and Turner (after

Ethel Turner Ethel Turner (24 January 1870 – 8 April 1958) was an English-born Australian novelist and children's literature writer. Life She was born Ethel Mary Burwell in Doncaster in England. Her father died when she was two, leaving her mother Sarah J ...

). Recently, the preparatory and junior schools have transitioned into the eight houses of Marden, Lang, Goodlet, Wylie, Bennett, Ingleholme, Hammond and Thomas - Gibbs, Mackellar and Turner houses no longer exist after only 8 years in existence.

Activities

In 2014, the school participated in the Community Development and Leadership Summit in India, hosted by the Modern School,

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. Pymble Ladies' College is a founding member of the

Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools The Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools (AHIGS), is an association for independent girls' schools, based in North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1916 as The Association of Head Mistresses of New South Wales, t ...

(AHIGS).

Principals

Notable alumnae

;Entertainment, media and the arts *

Jenny Coupland Jenny Coupland (born in 1961) was awarded the title Miss Australia in 1982. She was also Miss New South Wales the same year. She was married to Angus Martin in 1987. Her father was a surgeon, Professor Graham Coupland. She spent her early years ...

–

Miss Australia Miss Australia was the title for the winner of the Miss Australia Quest or the Miss Australia Awards, which ran from 1954 until 2000, when the last Miss Australia was named. From 2002, the Miss World Australia contest has been held, and the Miss ...

1982 *

Jacqueline McKenzie Jacqueline Susan McKenzie (born 24 October 1967) is an Australian film and stage actress. Early life Born in Sydney, New South Wales, McKenzie attended Wenona School in North Sydney until 1983 then moved to Pymble Ladies' College, where she ...

– actress, singer, artist *

Melissa Doyle Melissa Jane Doyle (born 10 February 1970) is an Australian television presenter, author and journalist. She was previously co-host of the Seven Network's breakfast television program ''Sunrise'' from 2002 to 2013 alongside David Koch and ho ...

– co-host of the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

breakfast television programme ''

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology Al ...

'' * Dame

Joan Hammond Dame Joan Hilda Hood Hammond, (24 May 191226 November 1996) was an Australian operatic soprano, singing coach and champion golfer. Early life Joan Hilda Hood Hammond was born and baptised in Christchurch, New Zealand. Her father, Samuel Hood, w ...

– soprano, singing coach and golferPapers of Dame Joan Hammond (1912- )
''National Library of Australia'' * Amber Higlett – finance presenter/reporter and newsreader,

National Nine News ''Nine News'' (stylised ''9News'') is the national news service of the Nine Network in Australia. Its flagship program is the hour-long 6:00 pm state bulletin, produced by Nine's owned-and-operated stations in TCN, Sydney, GTV (Australia) ...

Kerrie Lester Kerrie Lester (31 May 1953 – 5 April 2016) was an Australian artist''Who's Who in Australia'', ConnectWeb, 2016. who was a frequent finalist in the Archibald Prize for portraiture, although she never won the main prize. She was born to John L ...

– artist * Amy Lyons - internet personality active in China *

Caroline Pemberton Caroline Pemberton is an Australian beauty pageant contestant, who was crowned Miss Australia in 2007. Career Pemberton was won the 2007 Miss Australia at Star City, Sydney on 4 April 2007. She went on to contest the Miss World title on 1 D ...

– Miss Australia 2007 *

Sarah Song Sarah Song (; born 9 August 1985) is a Chinese-Australian television host, actress, professional MC, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Chinese International 2007. Previously Song was crowned Miss Sydney Chinese 2006. Ear ...

– winner of Miss Sydney Chinese 2006 and

Miss Chinese International 2007 Miss Chinese International Pageant 2007 was held on January 20, 2007 in Foshan, China. Foshan would go on to host the pageant for two more years. Miss Chinese International 2006 Ina Lu of Johannesburg, South Africa crowned Sarah Song of Sydne ...

. She is currently working as an actress in

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...

in Hong Kong. * Anita Jacoby – TV and film producer (expelled) *

Alex the Astronaut Alexandra Lynn (born 3 March 1995), known professionally as Alex the Astronaut, is an Australian folk-pop singer-songwriter. Her debut album ''The Theory of Absolutely Nothing'' was released on 21 August 2020, and peaked at number 22 on the ...

– artist ;Politics, public service and the law *

Marie Byles Marie Beuzeville Byles (8 April 1900 – 21 November 1979) was an Australian conservationist, pacifist, the first practising female solicitor in New South Wales (NSW), mountaineer, explorer and avid bushwalker, feminist, journalist, and an o ...

– first female solicitor in New South Wales, mountaineer, explorer, author and feminist (also attended the

) *

Elizabeth Evatt Elizabeth Andreas Evatt (born 11 November 1933), an eminent Australian reformist lawyer and jurist who sat on numerous national and international tribunals and commissions, was the first Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia, the fi ...

– judge of an Australian federal court ;Sport *

Sophie Ferguson Sophie Ferguson (born 19 March 1986, in Sydney) is a former professional Australian tennis player. She won nine titles on the ITF Women's Circuit (six in doubles) and played on the WTA Tour. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world ...

– Professional Tennis Player *

Ellyse Perry Ellyse Alexandra Perry (born 3 November 1990) is an Australian sportswoman who has represented her country in cricket and association football. Having debuted for both the national cricket team and the national soccer team at the age of 16, s ...

– member of Australian women's national football team and cricket team *

Edwina Tops-Alexander Edwina Tops-Alexander (born 29 March 1974) is an Australian showjumper known for her participation in three Olympics, finishing in the top ten twice. She is the first Australian to place in the top 10 at the World Equestrian Games and the firs ...

– equestrian athlete representative to 2012 London Olympics *

Brittany O'Brien Brittany Mae O'Brien (born 27 May 1998) is an Australian diver. She competed at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. She attended Pymble Ladies' College and graduated in 2016. She also owns a Jewellery Brand called Draco Jewellery which she launche ...

– Australian Olympic Diving Team 2016 * Chloe Dalton – Australian Women's Rugby Sevens Team (2014–present), Olympic gold medallists * Mackenzie Little- Olympic javelin thrower

Notes

* P.L.C council had acquired further land between 1916 and 1924. The reason for the sale is unknown.

References

External links

Pymble Ladies' College website
{{Authority control Girls' schools in New South Wales Boarding schools in New South Wales Educational institutions established in 1916 Uniting Church schools in Australia Rock Eisteddfod Challenge participants Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools Junior School Heads Association of Australia Member Schools Private secondary schools in Sydney Private primary schools in Sydney Presbyterian schools in Australia Pymble, New South Wales Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia 1916 establishments in Australia