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Pymble Ladies' College
Pymble Ladies' College
Location
	Pymble, New South Wales; Australia
Coordinates	33°44′50″S 151°08′09″E / 33.7471°S 151.1359°E
Information
Type	Independent, day and boarding
Motto	All' Ultimo Lavoro; (Strive for the highest; —Dante)
Denomination	Uniting Church
Established	1916
Chairman	Chris Fydler
Principal	Kate Hadwen
Chaplain	Lorenzo Rodriguez Torres, Punam Bent
Employees	~210
Gender	Girls
Enrolment	~2,100 (K–12)
Colour(s)	Scarlet, navy blue and white;
Affiliations	AHIGS; JSHAA
Website	www.pymblelc.nsw.edu.au

Pymble Ladies' College is an independent, non-selective, day and boarding school for girls, located in Pymble, a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

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 of the Presbyterian Church of NSW.

In 1921 Nancy Jobson became principal of the college.^[2] after the resignation of Gladys Gordon Everett.^[3]

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 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.^[4] She was succeeded by the Scottish born Grace Mackintosh who had been a head in New Zealand.^[5]

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.^[5] In July 1936 Dorothy Isabel Knox OBE 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^[6] that restructured secondary education encouraging comprehensive education in New South Wales. Knox approved of the changes.^[7]

Description

The college, formerly a school of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, is now administered by the Uniting Church in Australia. 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.^[8]

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.^[9] There are three houses in the Preparatory and Junior Schools named after famous Australian authors, Gibbs (after May Gibbs), Mackellar (after Dorothea Mackellar) and Turner (after Ethel Turner). 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 (AHIGS).

Principals

Period	Details^[10]
1916–1920	John Marden, Principal of Croydon 1887–1920, Principal of both Colleges from 1916, founder of the college
1920–1921	G. Gordon Everett^[11]
1922–1933	Nancy Jobson^[4]
1933–1936	Grace Mackintosh^[5]
1936–1967	Dorothy Knox^[12]
1967–1989	Jeanette Buckham
1989–2007	Gillian Moore
2008–2019	Vicki Waters
2019–present	Kate Hadwen^[13]

School Performance

The Sydney Morning Herald ranked Pymble Ladies' College the 20th highest performing school in NSW in 2022^[14] 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 courses at McGill University in Canada

Business

Vanessa Hudson – Qantas CEO

Entertainment, media and the arts

Jenny Coupland – Miss Australia 1982
Jacqueline McKenzie – actress, singer, artist
Melissa Doyle – journalist
Dame Joan Hammond – soprano, singing coach and golfer^[15]
Amber Higlett – finance presenter/reporter and newsreader
Kerrie Lester – artist
Amy Lyons – internet personality active in China^[16]^[17]
Caroline Pemberton – Miss Australia 2007
Sarah Song – winner of Miss Sydney Chinese 2006 and Miss Chinese International 2007. She is currently working as an actress in TVB in Hong Kong.
Anita Jacoby – TV and film producer (expelled)^[18]
Alex the Astronaut – artist

Politics, public service and the law

Marie Byles – first female solicitor in New South Wales, mountaineer, explorer, author and feminist (also attended the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney)^[19]
Elizabeth Evatt – judge of an Australian federal court

Sport

Sophie Ferguson – professional tennis player
Ellyse Perry – member of Australian women's national football team and cricket team
Edwina Tops-Alexander – equestrian athlete representative to 2012 London Olympics^[20]
Brittany O'Brien – Australian Olympic Diving Team 2016^[21]
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)

Notes

^{^} P.L.C council had acquired further land between 1916 and 1924. The reason for the sale is unknown.

References

^ ^a ^b "Pymble Ladies' College Annual Report 2005". Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2007.
^ Turney, C. (1969). Pioneers of Australian Education: Studies of the development of education in Australia, 1900-50. Sydney University Press. p. 176.
^ Teale, Ruth, "Gladys Gordon Everett (1888–1971)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 27 September 2023
^ ^a ^b Sherington, G. E. "Jobson, Nancy (1880–1964)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c Sherington, G. E., "Grace Mackintosh (1890–1954)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 7 January 2024
^ Teale, Ruth, "Dorothy Isabel Knox (1902–1983)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 23 November 2023
^ "The Wyndham Scheme". DEHANZ. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
^ "PLC – New Senior School Centre". Archived from the original on 7 April 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
^ 2009 - Year in Review, p. 9, archived from the original on 2 March 2011, retrieved 19 April 2011
^ "Heads of New South Wales Independent Girls' Schools". Archived from the original on 16 March 2007. Retrieved 23 July 2007.
^ Teale, Ruth, "Gladys Gordon Everett (1888–1971)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 27 September 2023
^ Teale, Ruth, "Dorothy Isabel Knox (1902–1983)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 23 November 2023
^ "New Principal for Pymble Ladies' College". Pymble Ladies' College. 16 November 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
^ "See where your school ranked in the 2022 HSC". The Sydney Morning Herald. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
^ Papers of Dame Joan Hammond (1912– ). National Library of Australia
^ McNab, Alexander Cecil (24 February 2018). "Kung Fu Foreigner". The World of Chinese. Retrieved 10 December 2019. [...]Lyons graduated from Pymble Ladies' College, in a suburb of Sydney, with a degree in marketing,[...] - The article misidentifies Pymble as her university (as "college" in American English means a university).
^ "Sydney's Amy Lyons is raking it in as a Chinese social influencer". news.com.au. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2019. As her fan base grew, the former Manly Seabirds cheerleader and Pymble Ladies' College alumnus[...]
^ "Anita Jacoby: Why my success would surprise my former teachers". Women's Agenda. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
^ "Marie Byles: A Spirited Life" (PDF). National Trust Online Exhibition. The National Trust of Australia (NSW). 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2006. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
^ "London 2012 – Edwina Tops-Alexander Athlete Profile". Retrieved 4 August 2012.
^ "Sydney Schoolgirl Brittany O'Brien dives into first Olympics after late call". The Daily Telegraph. 1 August 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.