Firbank Grammar School is an independent,

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

day A day is the time rotation period, period of a full Earth's rotation, rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours (86,400 seconds). As a day passes at a given location it experiences morning, afternoon, evening, ...

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. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

, situated in the suburb of

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, in the Bayside area of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia. Established on 26 April 1909, by the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of Melbourne, Henry Lowther Clarke, the school currently caters for approximately 1,200 students. The Early Learning Centre and primary school are co-educational, whilst the secondary school (years 7–12) is for girls only. Firbank is a member of the Australian Anglican Schools Network, the British Schools and Universities Foundation and Girls Sport Victoria (GSV). Firbank has close ties with its brother school,

Brighton Grammar School Brighton Grammar School is a private school, private Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican day school for boys, located in Brighton, Victoria, Brighton, a south-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Founded in ...

, a boys' school. Students of the two schools participate in a number of co-educational activities together such as music and drama.

History

Firbank Grammar School was established as a Christian, day and boarding school for girls in 1909, by the

of Melbourne, Henry Lowther Clarke who was left a legacy for ''educational purposes''. The Archbishop purchased 'Gawsworth', a property which stretched between Outer and Middle Crescents, and named the school after Firbank, his birthplace in

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

, England. He chose the

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

, ''Vincit Qui Se Vincit'' ("She conquers who conquers herself") and gave the School his Archbishop crest. The school opened and in 1910 there was an experienced head in charge. Florence Emily Green had founded and run the New England Girls' School before she sold it. She stood in as a temporary head until 1911 but she was in poor health. Under the leadership of Maud Cameron, Firbank's longest serving Headmistress, enrolments grew and further land was purchased, including the 'Pen-y-bryn' estate and 'Atherstone' in

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places Australia * Sandringham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Sandringham, Queensland, a rural locality * Sandringham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station * ...

. Since its foundation, Firbank has maintained a strong connection with St Andrew's Anglican Church, Brighton where formal school services are held.Firbank Girls' Grammar: History
(accessed:15-08-2007) In 1961 Dorothy Whitehead left the headship of

Ascham School Ascham School is an independent, non-denominational, day and boarding school for girls, located in Edgecliff, an Eastern Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1886, the school has a non-selective enrolment policy and c ...

to become the head of Firbank. She served until 1970 and during her time the students were allowed more freedom. She had previously taught with the

Dalton Plan The Dalton Plan is an educational concept created by Helen Parkhurst. It is inspired by the intellectual ferment at the turn of the 20th century. Educational thinkers such as Maria Montessori and John Dewey influenced Parkhurst while she created ...

at Ascham. She replaced exams with tests and removed the streaming of students. New buildings were introduced for physical education and to increase the boarding facility.

Campus

Firbank consists of three educational sections on two campuses: 'Sandringham House', a co-educational primary school in Sandringham (ELC to Year 6); 'Turner House', a single sex girls primary school in Brighton (ELC to Year 6); and the Senior School a single sex girls secondary school in Brighton (Year 7 to Year 12). The houses are Sheppard Tyson, Aylwin Cameron, Tonkin Clarke and Hancock Crowther.

Sport

Firbank is a member of Girls Sport Victoria (GSV). Firbank has competed in

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

since 1992. It has produced many nationally and internationally recognised swimmers.

GSV premierships

Firbank has won the following GSV premierships. * Badminton (2) – 2008, 2015 * Diving (18) – 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 * Soccer (4) – 2010, 2015, 2017, 2018 * Swimming – 2004 * Triathlon, Mini (2) – 2019, 2020 * Triathlon, Sprint – 2015

Media

The Brighton campus was one of the sites for filming the 2005 television series '' We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian of the Year'', in two episodes of the television production ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

'' in 2007, the film '' Any Questions for Ben?'' in 2012, Ja'mie Private school girl in 2013 and Upper Middle Bogan also in 2013.

Notable alumnae

Prue Acton Prue Acton, (born 26 April 1943) is an Australian fashion designer, often referred to as "Australia's golden girl of fashion" during the 1960s. Early life Prudence Leigh Acton was born in Benalla, Victoria and educated at Firbank Anglican G ...

– fashion designer * Shaniera Akram – philanthropist, wife of cricketer Wasim * Amanda Bateman – rower * Marjorie Bick – biochemist *

Diana Bryant Diana Bryant (born 13 October 1947) is an Australian jurist who served as Chief Justice of the Family Court of Australia from 5 July 2004 to 12 October 2017. Early life and education Bryant was born in Perth, Western Australia and attended ...

– Chief Justice of the

Family Court of Australia The Family Court of Australia was a superior Australian federal court of record which deals with family law matters, such as divorce applications, parenting disputes, and the division of property when a couple separate. Together with the Fed ...

* Jane Bunn – meteorologist, ''

Seven News Seven News (stylised 7NEWS) is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia. National bulletins are presented from Seven's high definition studios in South Eveleigh, Sydney, while its flags ...

'' * Deb Cox – screenwriter * Judy-Joy Davies – Olympic swimmer and journalist * Beverley Dunn – actress *

Moya Dyring Moya Dyring (10 February 1909 – 4 January 1967) was an Australian artist. She was one of the first women artists to embrace Modernism and exhibit cubist paintings in Melbourne. For several years she was a member of the modern art community ...

– artist *

Mavis Freeman Mavis Anne Freeman (November 7, 1918 – October 1988) was an American competition swimmer who competed for the Women's Swimming Association of New York and represented the United States in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Early s ...

– bacteriologist and biochemist * Chris Gallus – politician * Jennifer Hansen – former co-presenter, Channel 10 News * Christie Jenkins – trampoline gymnast * Amie Kaufman – New York Times bestselling author * Kirstie Marshall, – Labor MP for Forest Hill and former Aerial Skiing World Champion, also went to Mentone Girls' Secondary College * Ida Elizabeth Osbourne, – founder of A.B.C. Radio's national Children's Session''The Argus'' 4 January 1949
/ref> * Jeannette Patrick – politician *

Thérèse Rein Thérèse Virginia Rein (born 17 July 1958) is an Australian entrepreneur who is the founder of Ingeus, an international employment and business psychology services company. Rein is married to Kevin Rudd, who was the Prime Minister of Austra ...

– wife of former Australian Prime Minister

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and June to September 2013. He held office as the Leaders of the Australian Labo ...

and founder of employment agency Ingeus * Susan Renouf – socialite *

Deborah Richards Deborah Richards is an Australian journalist, of English descent from the Edwards family. Richards has worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Essential Viewing Group, and Special Broadcasting Service. Life Richards attended Bright ...

– journalist *

Nina Taylor Nina Taylor is an Australian politician. She has been a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, representing the district of Albert Park since November 2022. She was previously a member of the Victorian Legislative Council b ...

– politician * Hayley Verbunt – rowing coxswain *

Jan Wade Jan Louise Murray Wade (née Noone; born 8 July 1937) is an Australian former politician. She was born in Sydney to John Murray Noone and Lillian, ''née'' Knight. She attended Sydney High School and Firbank Girls' Grammar School in Melbour ...

– Attorney General in

Jeff Kennett Jeffrey Gibb Kennett (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian former politician who served as the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999, Leader of the Victorian Liberal Party from 1982 to 1989 and from 1991 to 1999, and the Member for ...

's government

Notable staff

* Maud Cameron and Dorothy Whitehead

References

External links

*
Brighton Grammar School
{{Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia schools, state=autocollapse Girls' schools in Victoria (state) Boarding schools in Victoria (state) Anglican schools in Melbourne Educational institutions established in 1909 Junior School Heads Association of Australia Member Schools 1909 establishments in Australia Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia Buildings and structures in the City of Bayside