Brigidine 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 Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

secondary

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...

for girls located in St Ives, on the North Shore of

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia. Established in 1954 by the Brigidine Sisters, Brigidine has a non-selective enrolment policy and it caters for approximately 900 students from

Year 7 Year 7 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand. It is the seventh full year (or eighth in Australia and England) of compulsory education and is roughly equivalent to grade 6 ...

Year 12 Year 12 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is sometimes the twelfth or thirteenth year of compulsory education, or alternatively a year of post-comp ...

. The majority of students are drawn from the

Northern Beaches The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the ...

, North Shore and Forest areas of Sydney. The school is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), the Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales (AIS NSW), the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia, and is a member of the

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

(AHIGS).

History

The Brigidine Sisters opened Brigidine College, a secondary college for girls, on its current site in St Ives, on 9 February 1954, with nine foundation pupils. The site on which the college was built had previously been an

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

and

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

, and was still surrounded by semi-

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

properties. The Brigidine Sisters remained the administrators and teachers of the college until 1995.

Motto

The Brigidine motto, Fortiter et Suaviter challenges students to be "Women of Strength, Women of Gentleness". These seemingly opposing virtues are in fact complementary notions of moral courage (fortiter) and consideration of others (suaviter). This motto originates from the foundation of the Brigidine Congregation in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

by Bishop Daniel Delany in 1807.

Principals

Campus

The current facilities of the college include: *Multi-purpose International standard competition court. *The Convent – Administration area, including Reception and Student Services for all Year groups. *McCammon Wing – Year 11 and 12 classroom and recreation areas, Centre for Excellence, Independent Learning Centre, Senior Study Areas, Student Services (including Counsellors and Youth Minister) *Gymnasium – Two classrooms; full sized court for netball, basketball, volleyball; change rooms *Bowie Hall – A 1,000 seat hall for assemblies, functions and performances *St Brigid's Chapel and Religious Education Centre – Religious Education and Learning Support classrooms and offices; Chapel seating 160 people. *Romuald Visual Arts Centre – A dedicated Visual Arts Centre with senior studio, three classrooms, sculpture courtyard and multi-media area. *McMahon Wing – classrooms and courtyard; Textile and Design areas *Murray Wing – Year 12 Commonroom and courtyard, IT Centre and "Fresh Taste Sensations" Canteen. *Synan Wing – Classrooms for Years 7–9, offices for Year Co-ordinators. *Connolly Wing – Ground Floor: Design and Technology workshops. *Adrian Wing – classrooms *Anita Murray Centre – Performing Arts and Science facilities including 220 seat Theatre, Drama/Dance studio, music classrooms and practice rooms, band rehearsal room, seven new science laboratories and 7 classrooms. *Kinkead Library – Library resources; wide reading area; information laboratory; digital library for staff resources. *College Green – Recreation area for students *Quadrangle – Shaded recreation area

Governance

In 1999 the college was incorporated as a Company Limited by Guarantee and a board was appointed, with responsibility for governance and leading the college in pursuit of its mission. The board is appointed by the trustees of the Sisters of the Brigidine Congregation. Parents are represented on the college board, as are the Brigidine Sisters and other members of the Catholic educational community. The principal of the college is appointed by the board and is charged with the responsibility of administering the college.

Notable alumnae

* Annette Andre – star of 1960s cult

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

series, ''

Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) ''Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)'' is a British private detective television series, starring Mike Pratt (actor), Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope respectively as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk. The series was created by Denn ...

'' * Lisa Hensley – television and movie actress * Alex Hope – songwriter * Sarah Stephens – model

References

External links

Brigidine website

The Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools

2014 Annual Report
{{Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia schools, state=autocollapse Educational institutions established in 1954 Catholic secondary schools in Sydney Girls' schools in New South Wales Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools 1954 establishments in Australia Brigidine schools St Ives, New South Wales Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia