Established in 1897, Loreto has a current enrolment of approximately 1,200 students from Year 5 to Year 12, including over 200 boarders, and is the largest girls' boarding school in New South Wales.[4] In 2006, the school was named among the top ten innovative schools in Australia.[4] Commencing in 2015, the school reopened their primary school for girls in years 5 and 6.
Loreto Normanhurst is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),[5] the Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales (AISNSW),[6] the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA),[1] the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (AGSA),[7] and is a member of the Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools (AHIGS).[8]
Mother Gonzaga Barry led the Loreto nuns to Sydney from Ballarat, Victoria in 1892, establishing a school in rented premises at Randwick. Within five years, the school had grown significantly, and a separate school for the boarders was deemed necessary.[9] Mother Gonzaga's prayers for an appropriate site were answered during a visit to Sydney in 1896, as Mother Oliver explained:
Buildings and gardens, 1897
Mr Frank Coffee of Wahroonga sent her an urgent message to come and see a property that was for sale a short distance from his home. It had been raining, but as the nuns arrived at the site, the sun burst through the clouds and formed a beautiful rainbow over the estate.[9]
This land was purchased, and the foundation stone for the new convent was laid on 28 February 1897[9] by Cardinal Moran.[10] The school opened late in 1897 as "Loreto Convent, Hornsby" with 15 boarders, many of them girls who had come from Randwick.[9]
Although primarily a boarding school at this time, Loreto did accept a small number of day students from the local Hornsby area, including some young boys. Enrolments grew over the following decades; however, the Wars and Depression proved difficult times. Following World War II, the surrounding shire developed and day girl numbers began to equal that of boarders, gradually overtaking them to the present situation where there are many more day girls than boarders.[9]
As with most Australian schools, Loreto Normanhurst utilises a house system. The school currently has eight houses, which play an important role in the pastoral program at the school. They are:
House
Colour
Details
Aston
Purple
Named after Aston Lodge which became the first Loreto school in Sydney in 1892. Built in 1865 by John Watkins, and designed by Edmund Blacket, it is now part of the Emanuel School in Stanley Street, Randwick.[12]
Barry
Gold
Named after Mother Gonzaga Barry who led the first group of Loreto sisters to Australia from Ireland in 1875. She began the first Loreto school in Ballarat, Victoria, and soon after followed that with schools in other states.[12]
Kendall
Aqua
Named after Mother Evangeline Kendall IBVM, a teacher and art critic, who contributed profoundly to Loreto Normanhurst from 1948 until her death in 1996. Mother Evangeline is buried in the school's bush cemetery.[12]
Kuring-gai
Orange
Named after the Kuring-gai people who first cared for the land on which the school is located.[12]
Maye
Maroon/Pink
Named after Sister Kevin Maye, who came from Ireland to Ballarat in 1920, and shortly after to Normanhurst. She is buried in the school's cemetery.[12]
Mornane
Green
Named after Mother Stanislaus Mornane who began at Loreto Ballarat in 1876. Here she met Mother Gonzaga Barry and other pioneering Loreto nuns who had come from Ireland the year before, and subsequently, in 1879, she joined them as the first Australian to become a member of the order. In 1916 became Superior at Loreto Normanhurst, moving in 1924 to Loreto Kirribilli as Superior. Her last years were spent in the Normanhurst community, and upon her death in 1943 she was buried in the Loreto Normanhurst cemetery.[12]
Mulhall
Red
Named after Mother Stanislaus Mulhall, one of the women who laid the foundations of the Loreto tradition in Australia. Mulhall worked as the Mistress of Novices for 30 years, and was largely hidden from most people.[12]
Ward
Blue
Named after Mary Ward, foundress of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM). Born in England in 1585, she travelled across Europe, founding schools in many countries.[12]
The houses are an important part of the schools community. To keep the members of the houses together, they make sure the lockers are surrounded by the house mates.
^ ab"Loreto Normanhurst". Schools. Australian Boarding Schools' Association. 2007. Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. Retrieved 19 December 2007.
^"AHISA Schools". New South Wales. Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. November 2007. Archived from the original on 2 November 2007. Retrieved 19 December 2007.
^"Metro North North West". NSW Independent Schools by Region. The Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2008.
^Butler, Jan (2006). "Member Schools". Members. The Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 19 December 2007.
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