Queenwood School for Girls, often abbreviated as Queenwood, is a multi-campus independent non-denominational Christian primary and secondary day school for girls, located in the suburb of Mosman on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, Australia.
Established in 1925 by Miss Grace Lawrance and named after the Queenwood Ladies' College in East Sussex, Queenwood has a non-selective enrolment policy and currently caters for approximately 900[citation needed] students from Kindergarten to Year 12.
The first five students enrolled at Queenwood, 1925
Queenwood was established on 21 September 1925 by Grace Lawrance, assisted by Beatrice Rennie, as an independent, day and boarding school for girls.[citation needed]
The two women had met in 1918 at the Glennie Memorial School in Toowoomba, Queensland, where Lawrance was Principal, and Rennie first assistant-mistress. They travelled to England in 1921, where they visited many of the best girls' schools. Neither of them was without health issues but they resigned from the Glennie in 1925. They wanted to create a school in Sydney and they chose a large, old house in Mosman.[8]
The school was named "Queenwood" after the now defunct Queenwood Ladies' College at Eastbourne, in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, which had been founded by Miss Lawrance's mother in 1871, and which was similarly located on a hill overlooking the sea. The site at Mandalong Road was chosen because of its view over Balmoral Beach and its northeasterly aspect. As Queenwood grew, the school expanded to a second site at Mandalong Road.[9]
By 1926 Queenwood was a registered secondary school, and three years later Miss Rennie was teaching, running the school and caring for her ailing co-Principal. In 1932, a combination of the Depression, Lawrance's death in November, and Rennie's illnesses, meant that Violet Maude Medway often assisted in managing the school. The two women became co-Principals in 1942. Queenwood prospered despite the Depression and Second World War, and by 1950, Rennie was president of the New South Wales branch of the Headmistresses' Association of Australia.[8] The school phased out its boarding program in the 1950s.[10]
In 1962 Rennie retired as co-Principal but the school remained her home as she worked in the library and helped with the students, as far as her health permitted. In 1966, the school became a non-profit private company, named Queenwood School for Girls Ltd.[8]
The Junior School moved to the Medway Centre at Queen Street, Mosman in 1990, and later the Visual Arts Department moved to a separate site on The Esplanade at Balmoral Beach.[9]
Principals
The following individuals have served as Principal of the Queenwood School for Girls:
Queenwood has four campuses,[11] each located in suburban Mosman. The site at 47 Mandalong Road on which Queenwood was founded, was completely redeveloped in 2002/03 and became operational in Term 4 of 2003.[12] This campus caters for the Senior School (Years 7 to 12), and houses most of the academic activities of the School, including classrooms, integrated technology, a 600-seat tiered Auditorium, an underground car park, library, and music and drama facilities. In 2009/10 the Lawrance Campus at 44 Mandalong Road was completely redeveloped and opened for use in Term 3, 2010. The building has a 25m pool, a learn to swim pool, a 110-seat lecture theatre and numerous class rooms and science labs.[13]
Curriculum
Queenwood is registered and accredited with the New South Wales Board of Studies, and therefore follows the mandated curriculum for all years. It offers the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program and the Higher School Certificate in Years 11 and 12.
House system
As with most Australian schools, Queenwood uses a house system through which students may participate in intra-school competitions and activities. The school currently has three houses:
Queen
Wood
School
The motto
The motto is, Per Aspera ad Astra, or 'through struggles to the stars.' (Extended by Miss Rennie to be: 'it is only by struggling to overcome difficulties that we can hope ever to reach our highest ideals.') Miss Rennie said, "Per Aspera precedes Ad Astra and so it is that strength and courage are necessary, for the highest and best are not attained without struggle. Self-control, self-discipline are necessary with strength, to stand up for the right and courage to stick with one's convictions."[14]
Notable alumnae
Alumnae of Queenwood are known as Old Girls, some notable 'Old Girls' of Queenwood include:
Sue VardonAO – Chief Executive of the Department for Families and Communities, South Australia; inaugural CEO of Centrelink (1997–2004), Chief Executive of the Department of Correctional Services (SA) (1994–1997); Telstra SA Businesswoman of the Year 2005; Recipient of the Centenary Medal 2003[16]
Anna Chrisp - Australian Ambassador to the Republic of Colombia
Katherine Bennell-Pegg - Astronaut
Sammy Robinson - Social media personality, Founder and owner of One Mile The Label[17]
Sport
Nicola Barr – First draft pick for the Giants in the inaugural Women's AFL season
^"New South Wales". AHISA Schools. Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. April 2007. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2007.
^Butler, Jan (2006). "Member Schools". Members. The Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia. Retrieved 1 October 2007.
