New England Girls' School (NEGS) is an independent Anglican school. Located in Armidale, Northern NSW, NEGS provides an educational experience for both boys and girls in Junior School and a tailored learning environment for young women in Senior School, with boarding houses to facilitate the educational needs of students located outside of Armidale. Established in 1895 by Florence Emily Green, NEGS is a non-selective school, and currently caters for approximately 310 students from pre-preparatory (4 years old) to Year 12 (18 years old), including 140 boarders from Years 5 to 12. NEGS is affiliated with the Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales (AIS NSW), the

Junior School Heads Association of Australia The Independent Primary School Heads of Australia (IPSHA) formerly Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA), is an incorporated body representing the heads of independent primary schools in Australia. Officially established in Septem ...

(JSHAA), the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA), the

Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia The Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (abbreviated as AGSA) is a non-profit organisation that promotes the education of girls in single-sex girls' schools, and promotes the image of, and support the development of, girls' schools in Australa ...

(AGSA), and is an affiliate 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). NEGS Limited in its capacity as Trustee administers the school on behalf of the

Anglican Diocese of Armidale The Anglican Diocese of Armidale is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Australia located in the state of New South Wales. As the Diocese of Grafton and Armidale, it was created (from the Diocese of Newcastle) by letters patent in 1863. When t ...

History

NEGS was founded in 1895 by Florence Emily Green, a deeply religious educator from

Oamaru Oamaru (; ) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast; State Highway 1 (New Zealand), Sta ...

, New Zealand. The aim of the school was to provide an all-round education for girls, with a strong emphasis on Christian values, to prepare students for the challenges of the new century. The school's first building was named 'Akaroa', and contained a large classroom, an office and boarding facilities. Today the building is the school's administration centre, with the original classroom now used for meetings and functions, and named the 'W.H. Lee Room' after the school's architect. Under Miss Green's guidance NEGS became one of the largest girls' boarding schools in Australia. In 1907, NEGS was purchased by the Anglican diocese and a school Council was appointed. Miss Green subsequently moved to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

in 1908 to act as caretaker headmistress to Firbank Church of England Girls' Grammar School, in

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 ...

. NEGS' first brick building, later known as "Northern and Southern", was opened in 1911. This building contained an assembly hall, gymnasium and boarding facilities. In 1936 the Florence Green Memorial chapel was opened by John Moyes, the Bishop of Armidale in 1936. Its external walls are of blue brick and its internals are of oak. During the principalship of Anna Abbott from 1990 to 2000, the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...

was introduced, the Music program was expanded, and an ordained woman appointed to be the school's chaplain.

Principals

Campus

NEGS is situated on over of landscaped gardens and parkland, in a rural environment. The school is located in the city of Armidale, situated midway between Sydney and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

on the New England Tablelands of New South Wales. Some notable current facilities of the school include: *The NEGS Multi-Purpose Centre (MPC) with gymnasium facilities *The Aytoun Young Resource Centre *Arts and Crafts complex *All-weather tennis courts *Several sports ovals *Indoor and outdoor netball and basketball courts *International standard synthetic hockey field *Indoor and outdoor Equestrian arenas *Equestrian cross-country course *Polocrosse field *Computer laboratory *Library *Four Boarding Houses *Health Centre *Chapel of St Michael and All Angels

Badge

The New England Girls' School badge was designed shortly after the opening of the school, and is highly symbolic. The badge colours of scarlet and sky were chosen by Miss Green to be the official school colours. The shield of the badge is surmounted by the Bishop's

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of ...

symbolising the power of the Holy Spirit, and the authority of the Church. On the shield itself, three figures are depicted: *The seated lady is

Charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

or Mother Love. *The

dove Columbidae is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with small heads, relatively short necks and slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. ...

Hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's own life, or the world at large. As a verb, Merriam-Webster defines ''hope'' as "to expect with confid ...

, while the

olive branch The olive branch, a ramus of '' Olea europaea'', is a symbol of peace. It is generally associated with the customs of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, and is connected with supplication to divine beings and persons in power. Likewise, it is f ...

represents

Peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

. *The open Bible on the Cross represents

Faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

. All three together are drawn from the final verse of the school Bible reading: Beneath the shield is the school

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 ...

, ''Quodcumque facitis ex animo operamini'', based on

Colossians The Epistle to the Colossians is the twelfth book of the New Testament. It was written, according to the text, by Paul the Apostle and Timothy, and addressed to the church in Colossae, a small Phrygian city near Laodicea and approximately f ...

3:23, which may be translated as "Whatsoever you do, do it heartily".

Coursework

All pupils at NEGS follow the NSW academic curriculum, completing numeracy and literacy tests in junior school, and the NSW Higher School Certificate in year twelve. Senior school students are also tested in all of their subjects at the middle and end of each academic year, allowing classes in English and Mathematics to be streamed according to ability. In the coeducational junior school, students study English, Mathematics, HSIE, PDHPE and technology with their classroom teachers. They also learn languages (German, French or Latin), Music, Drama and Art from specialist teachers in the senior school. Girls in the senior school have the opportunity to develop their interests through taking additional study units and their class choices. Girls select a language to learn in year eight, two elective subjects in year nine (choosing from Art, Music, Drama, French, Japanese or Design and Technology) and may change one of these subjects at the beginning of year ten. In years eleven and twelve classes are also offered at Vocational Education Training (VET), the Armidale Combined Schools Program and the Open High School to allow girls to further pursue their interests and prepare for tertiary education and their chosen careers.

Boarding

NEGS has four boarding houses – Kirkwood, Dickens, White and Saumarez – to accommodate its many boarders. Boarders from years five to ten share a room with girls from their own year group, and all girls in years eleven and twelve have their own private room. In year twelve, girls move into Saumarez House. The senior boarding house allows girls to concentrate on their studies without the distraction of younger years and gives the girls more freedom with later bedtimes and more opportunities to visit town. Throughout their time at NEGS most girls will experience boarding in some way, either as a full boarder, part-time boarder or a casual stay. Boarding enhances the community feeling of the school and is a fun and friendly experience.

Notable alumnae

Alumnae Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...

of NEGS are known as Old Girls and may elect to join the schools

alumni association An alumni association or alumnae association is an association of graduates or, more broadly, of former students ( alumni). In the United Kingdom and the United States, alumni of universities, colleges, school A school is the educati ...

, the NEGS Old Girls' Union (NEGSOGU). Some notable NEGS Old Girls include: * Ursula Hope McConnel – anthropologist *

Dame ''Dame'' is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronet, Baronetesses Suo jure, in their own right also u ...

Bridget Margaret Ogilvie – scientist; visiting professor at the

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

* Molly Taylor – racing driver * Barbara Mary Vernon – playwright *

Judith Wright Judith Arundell Wright (31 May 191525 June 2000) was an Australian poet, environmentalist and campaigner for Aboriginal land rights. She was a recipient of the Christopher Brennan Award and nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 196 ...

– Australian poet and author

References

External links

NEGS website
{{Authority control Girls' schools in New South Wales Boarding schools in New South Wales Educational institutions established in 1895 Anglican secondary schools in New South Wales Anglican primary schools in New South Wales Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools Junior School Heads Association of Australia Member Schools Schools in Armidale 1895 establishments in Australia Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia