Ravenswood School for Girls (often referred to as Ravenswood or Ravo) is an independent,

Uniting Church The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church 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 a ...

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 for Prep to Year 12 girls, situated in

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Gordon Heuck ...

, an

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 ...

suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1901 by Mabel Fidler (1871–1960), Ravenswood currently caters for approximately 1100 students from

Prep PowerPC Reference Platform (PReP) was a standard system architecture for PowerPC-based computer systems (as well as a reference implementation) developed at the same time as the PowerPC processor architecture. Published by IBM in 1994, it allow ...

to Year 12, including 20 boarders from Years 10 to 12. The school has been an IB World School since June 2004, and is authorised to offer the

IB Diploma Programme The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry int ...

. Ravenswood is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), the

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

(IPSHA), the Australian Boarding Schools' Association, 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).

Awards

Ravenswood has been named one of Australia’s most innovative schools for the fourth year by The Educator, selected on the 5-Star Innovative Schools 2022 list. Ravenswood was also named on The Educator 5-start Innovative Schools list in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Ravenswood received four Excellence Awards at the 2022 Australian Education Awards: Mrs Anne Johnstone, Principal of Ravenswood, received an Excellence Award for School Principal Of The Year (Non-Government)for her innovative application of Positive Education benefits, improving student and staff wellbeing, academic performance and fostering a collegial culture. Kerrie Besgrove, a Mathematics teacher in the Junior School was also recognised with an Excellence Award for Primary School Teacher Of The Year (Non-Government) for her commitment to student potential and innovative teaching. The School also received an Excellence Award for Boarding School Of the Year and Best Student Wellbeing Program. In October, 2022, Principal Mrs Anne Johnstone was awarded the Phyllis Evans Medal by the Teachers’ Guild of NSW at the Teachers’ Guild NSW Awards Dinner on World Teachers’ Day. The prize is awarded each year to recognise a 'distinguished educator of great standing.' In December, Principal Mrs Anne Johnstone was recognised on the 2022 The Educator Hot List. The List, which is in its eighth consecutive year, recognises educators who represent the cutting edge of educational excellence in Australia.

History

Ravenswood was established with eight students on 28 January 1901 by the first Headmistress, Mabel Fidler, as a

non-sectarian Nonsectarian institutions are secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. Academic sphere Many North American universities identify themselves as being nonsectarian, such as B ...

private day school for girls, with preparatory classes for boys. The first classes took place in a schoolroom erected on the block adjacent to Fidler's home, "Ravenswood", in Henry Street, Gordon. The school remains on this site. Fidler retired from Ravenswood in 1925, a year after the school was purchased by the Methodist Ladies' College, Burwood, thus becoming a school of the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

. Subsequently, the school name was changed to Ravenswood Methodist Ladies' College. At this time, Ravenswood was the largest non-residential, private secondary school in Sydney, with an enrolment of 180, and was highly regarded for the quality of its teaching and its achievements in sport. Ravenswood became a day and boarding school in 1935, with the enrolment of the first two boarders. The 1960s saw the introduction of the school anthem, ''Kindle the Flame'' and a fourth school House, all houses being named by the students after Royal Houses of Britain:

Stuart Stuart may refer to: People *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) * Clan Stuart of Bute, a Scottish clan *House of Stuart, a royal house of Scotland and England Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, ...

, Tudor,

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places *Detroit–Windsor, Michigan-Ontario, USA-Canada, North America; a cross-border metropolitan region Australia New South Wales *Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area Queen ...

and

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. In 1977, as the Methodist,

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

and

Congregational church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

es came together to form the Uniting Church, the school name changed to the current Ravenswood School for Girls. The royal blue and gold uniform was also introduced at this time. In 2015, the Head Girl of the school used her end-of-term speech to accuse the school of peddling an "unrealistic image of perfection", and providing some students with more opportunities than others because "schools are being run more and more like businesses, where everything becomes financially motivated, where more value is placed on those who provide good publicity or financial benefits." She also alleged that the school had attempted to censor her speech by requiring prior copies. Her parents later sued the

, which runs the school, because of disciplinary action taken against their younger daughter.

Campus

Ravenswood is located on its original site, a single campus in suburban Gordon. The school has progressively expanded since 1901, with the acquisition of new properties and the upgrading of facilities. The school grounds feature quadrangles and

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...

s, a multi-purpose complex with heated swimming pool, gymnasium, a "Strength and Conditioning centre" and an

Athletics Field Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

. The Ravenswood Centenary Centre includes a Performing Arts theatre, music centre and exhibition areas. Junior School students are catered for within the Junior School centre with a Resource Centre,

playground A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people wi ...

and play equipment area, adventure playground and Assembly Hall.

Curriculum

In Years 11 and 12, students may choose to take either the Higher School Certificate (HSC) course or the

International Baccalaureate Diploma The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry int ...

Course (IB).

Co-curriculum

Debating

Ravenswood has a tradition of

debating Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

, and students are offered opportunities to participate at competitive or social levels. Ravenswood competes in three inter-school debating competitions: the Independent Schools Debating Association (ISDA), the Archdale Debating Competition and the Independent Primary School Heads of Australia (IPSHA). Girls may also participate in House debating.

Sport

Primary School students may partake in competitive sport through the Ravenswood's membership of the Independent Primary Schools Association of Australia (IPSHA). These competitions are usually held on Saturday mornings and include sports such as: Softball, Tennis, Netball, Cricket, Hockey, and Soccer. Secondary School students compete against 28 other similar type schools in the

Independent Girls' Schools Sporting Association The Independent Girls' Schools Sporting Association (formerly known as IGSSA now trading as IGSA Sport), was established in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in 1922 with five founding members, all of them independent girls' schools. Today, t ...

(IGSSA) competition. These competitions occur on Saturday mornings or in the form of carnivals and include sports such as: Softball, Swimming, Diving, Cricket, Tennis, Hockey, Soccer and Gymnastics. Students who perform well at IPSHA or IGSSA level may be invited to compete in NSW Combined Independent Schools' (CIS) competitions.

Community

It has been nominated for an "Employer of Choice for Women" classification by the

Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency Equal(s) may refer to: Mathematics * Equality (mathematics). * Equals sign (=), a mathematical symbol used to indicate equality. Arts and entertainment * Equals (film), ''Equals'' (film), a 2015 American science fiction film * Equals (game), ''E ...

(EOWA).

Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize

The Ravenswood Australian Women’s Art Prize is an initiative led by Ravenswood School for Girls, which aims to address the paucity of art prizes available for female artists in Australia. It has been run since 2017. It is an acquisitive prize, offering the following prizes: * Professional Artist Prize — $35,000 * Emerging Artist Prize – $5,000 * Indigenous Emerging Artist Prize – $5,000 * People’s Choice Award – $2,000 (non-acquisitive)

Winners

;Professional artist prize *2018: Angela Tiatia *2019: Joanna Braithwaite *2022: Lara Merrett *2024: Gaypalani Wanambi

Principals

Notable alumnae

;Media, entertainment and the arts *

Julia Baird Julia Baird may refer to: * Julia Baird (teacher) (born 1947), British retired teacher and half-sister of John Lennon * Julia Baird (journalist) (born 1970), Australian journalist {{hndis, Baird, Julia ...

– journalist, author and host of '' The Drum'' * Ros Bower (1923-1980) – TV producer and inspiration for the Ros Bower award for community arts. *

Gretel Killeen Gretel Killeen (born 3 February 1963) is an Australian comedian, television presenter, media personality and author. She is known for being the host of ''Big Brother (Australian TV series), Big Brother Australia'' from its inception in Big Broth ...

– author and host of '' Big Brother'' *

Tammin Sursok Tammin Sursok (born 19 August 1983) is an Australian and American actress. She is best known for her roles on television as Dani Sutherland on ''Home and Away'', Colleen Carlton on ''The Young and the Restless'', and Jenna Marshall on ''Prett ...

– Dani from ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip to Kangaroo Point, N ...

'' and Jenna from ''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery teen drama television series created by I. Marlene King, which aired on Freeform (TV channel), Freeform from June 8, 2010 to June 27, 2017, based on the novel series Pretty Little L ...

'' * Whitney Duan – multiple

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

finalist artist * Rachel Merton - Liberal Member, Legislative Council NSW Parliament ;Medicine and science *

Grace Cuthbert-Browne Grace Cuthbert-Browne (2 January 1900 – 17 December 1988) was an Australian medical doctor instrumental in improving the health of mothers and babies, and the consequent reduction in maternal and infant deaths in Australia. She was Direc ...

, MBE – doctor and Director of Maternal and Baby Welfare in the New South Wales Department of Public Health from 1937 to 1964 * Winifred Marion Petrie (1890–1966) nurse and hospital founder ;Politics, public service and the law *

Juanita Nielsen Juanita Joan Nielsen (; 22 April 1937 – disappeared 4 July 1975) was an Australian newspaper publisher, urban conservationist, and heiress. She disappeared after attending a meeting at the Carousel nightclub (also called Les Girls) in Kings C ...

– publisher, anti-development campaigner, heiress to the

Mark Foy's Mark Foy's Limited or Mark Foy's was a department store in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, founded by Francis Foy and his brother Mark Foy. The department store was named after their father, Mark Foy (senior), and traded between 1885 and ...

retail fortune. Disappeared in mysterious circumstances (believed

kidnap Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...

ped and

murdered Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excu ...

) from Kings Cross, in 1975. Subject of films, ''Heatwave'' (1982) and ''The Killing of Angel Street'' (1981) *

Catherine West Catherine Elizabeth West (born 14 September 1966) is an Australian-born British politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Hornsey and Friern Barnet, previously Hornsey and Wood Green, since 2015. A member of the Labour Party ...

– Labour Party politician * Jillian Broadbent – economist, company director, director of Sydney Dance Company ;Sport *

Tiffany Thomas Kane Tiffany Thomas Kane, (born 9 August 2001) is a retired Australian Paralympic swimmer. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, winning a gold and three bronze medals, and at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, winning a further two bronze ...

– world record holding Paralympian

References

External links

Ravenswood School for Girls website
{{Authority control Girls' schools in New South Wales Boarding schools in New South Wales Educational institutions established in 1901 Uniting Church schools in Australia 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 International Baccalaureate schools in Australia Buildings and structures awarded the Sir John Sulman Medal Gordon, New South Wales Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia 1901 establishments in Australia