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

, non-selective,

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 ...

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 t ...

, a suburb on the

Upper North Shore The North Shore is a region within Northern Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia, generally referring to suburbs located on the northern side of Sydney Harbour up to Berowra, and suburbs between Middle Harbour and the Lane Cove River. The ...

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 Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

History and description

Pymble Ladies' College was founded in 1916 by John Marden, due to the increasing enrolments at the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney, 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. In 1921

Nancy Jobson Nancy Jobson (17 April 1880 – 22 June 1964) was an Australian teacher and headmistress. She attended the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne and in time became the head of Pymble Ladies' College. Biography Jobson was born at Clunes, Vi ...

became principal of the college. after the resignation of

Gladys Gordon Everett Gladys Gordon Everett MBE known as Miss Gordon Everett (6 May 1888 – 18 June 1971) was a New Zealand born headmistress. She led the Abbotsleigh private school for over twenty years during a time of expansion and rising attainments. Life Gordo ...

. During Jobson's tenure, enrolments increased from 256 in 1921 to 414 in 1929 and the number of boarders from 95 to 161, however the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

later caused a slump in enrolments to only 208 by 1932. Jobson left the school following a disagreement with the school council over proposed downsizing measures prompted by the economic downturn. She was succeeded by the Scottish born Grace Mackintosh who had been a head in New Zealand. Mackintosh had not been successful in New Zealand where she had suffered with the climate, her arthritis and routine decisions, Now at Pymble College she failed to impress. Younger students found her accent difficult and as the depression hit then the number of students began to fall. Mackintosh decided to introduce new ideas including her ideas about Presbyterianism. She lost her faith in 1936 and decided to resign. In July 1936 Dorothy Isabel Knox

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

AM became the school's replacement Principal. She had been the head of the Presbyterian Ladies’ College, Orange. Knox was at the college until she retired in 1967 having overseen the expansion of the school during her leadership. During Knox's final year the Wyndham scheme was introduced that restructured secondary education encouraging

comprehensive education Comprehensive may refer to: * Comprehensive layout, the page layout of a proposed design as initially presented by the designer to a client. *Comprehensive school A comprehensive school is a secondary school for pupils aged 11–16 or 11–18, th ...

in New South Wales. Knox approved of the changes.

Description

The college, formerly a school of the

Presbyterian Church of Australia The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA), founded in 1901, is the largest Presbyterian and Reformed denomination in Australia. The PCA is the largest conservative, evangelical and complementarian Christian denomination in Australia. The Presby ...

, is now administered by the

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most Wiktionary:congregation, congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church o ...

. Girls of any faith may attend the school, although they are expected to also attend a weekly 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 Order of the British Empire, 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"), ...

), 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 1872 – 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 ...

). 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

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 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).

Principals

School Performance

The Sydney Morning Herald ranked Pymble Ladies' College the 20th highest performing school in NSW in 2022 based on their HSC Success Rate, up from 25th in 2021.

Notable alumnae

Academics, educators, teachers

* Margaret Gillett (1930–2019), founder of the

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...

courses at

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

in Canada

Business

* Vanessa Hudson – Qantas CEO

Entertainment, media and the arts

* Jenny Coupland –

Miss Australia Miss Australia was an Australian beauty pageant held from 1908 until 2000. It was replaced by Miss World Australia from 2002, and Miss Universe Australia from 2004. From 1926 to 1991 the program operated as the Miss Australia Quest, after which ...

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, New South Wales, North Sydney until 1983 then moved to Pymb ...

– 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 h ...

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

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 – Miss Australia 2007 * Sarah Song – television host in Hong Kong. * Anita Jacoby – TV and film producer (expelled) * Alex the Astronaut – artist * Sophie Serafino - Canada-based Australian violinist and composer.

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 ori ...

– first female solicitor in New South Wales, mountaineer, explorer, author and feminist (also attended the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney) *

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 f ...

– judge of an Australian federal court

Sport

Sophie Ferguson Sophie Ferguson (born 19 March 1986) 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 No. 109 on 1 ...

– professional tennis player *

Ellyse Perry Ellyse Perry (born 3 November 1990) is an Australian cricketer and former soccer, soccer player. Having debuted for both the Australia women's national cricket team, national cricket and Australia women's national soccer team, national soccer t ...

– member of Australian women's national football team and cricket team * Edwina Tops-Alexander – 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 launched ...

– Australian Olympic Diving Team 2016 * Chloe Dalton – Australian Women's Rugby Sevens Team (2014–present), Olympic gold medallists * Mackenzie Little – Olympic javelin thrower * Sarah Hunter – Professional soccer player (2022–present) * Zara Pasfield – figure skater * Katie Pasfield – figure skater * Grace Whyte – member of the NSW swifts

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 Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia 1916 establishments in Australia