New England Girls' School

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New England Girls' School
New England Girls' School crest. Source: www.negs.nsw.edu.au (NEGS website)
Quodcumque Facitis Ex-Animo Operamini
(Latin:"Whatsoever you do, do it heartily")
Established 1895
School Type Independent, Single-sex, Day and Boarding
Denomination Anglican
Key People Mr. Mark Harrison (Principal)
Miss Florence Emily Green (Founder)
Mr. John Cassidy (Chairman)
School Fees AU$3,600–14,820 p.a (Day)
AU$20,400–31,830 p.a (Boarding)[1]
Location Armidale, New South Wales, Australia Flag of Australia
Coordinates 30°31′9″S 151°38′24″E / -30.51917, 151.64Coordinates: 30°31′9″S 151°38′24″E / -30.51917, 151.64
Enrolment ~250 (P–12)[2]
Employees ~39[2]
Colours Navy Blue, Red and Light Blue             
Homepage www.negs.nsw.edu.au

The New England Girls' School (NEGS), is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for girls, located in Armidale, a rural city in northern New South Wales, Australia.

Established in 1895 by Florence Emily Green, NEGS is a non-selective school, and currently caters for approximately 250 girls from Pre-Preparatory (4 years old) to Year 12 (18 years old),[2] including 200 boarders from Years 4 to 12.[3] N.E.G.S began enrolling boys and girls in years P to 6 from 2007.

NEGS is affiliated with the Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales (AIS NSW),[4] the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA),[5] the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA),[3] the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (AGSA),[6] and is an affiliate member of the Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools (AHIGS).[7] The school is administered by the Anglican Diocese of Armidale.[8]

Contents

[edit] History

The New England Girls' School was founded in 1895, by Florence Emily Green,[9] a deeply religious educator from Oamaru, New Zealand.[10] The aim of the school was to provide an all-round education for girls, with a strong emphasis on Christian values, in order to prepare students for the challenges of the new century. The schools first building was named 'Akaroa', and contained a large classroom, an office and boarding facilities. Today the building is the school’s administration centre, with the original classroom now used for meetings and functions, and named the 'W.H Lee Room' after the school’s architect.[9]

Under Green's guidance, NEGS became one of the largest girls' boarding schools in Australia,[10] and in 1907, NEGS was purchased by the Anglican diocese and a school Council was appointed.[9] Green subsequently moved to Victoria in 1910, to act as caretaker headmistress of Firbank Church of England Girls' Grammar School, in Brighton.[10]

NEGS' first brick building, later known as "Northern and Southern", was opened in 1911. This building contained an assembly hall, gymnasium and boarding facilities.[9]

In 2006, due to financial difficulty and falling enrolments, the Armidale Diocesan Council announced that NEGS was to be sold to the Presbyterian Church and would be merged with the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Armidale.[11] A 'Save NEGS group' was immediately formed by the Parents and Friends Association, the NEGS old girls union and members of the community in order to campaign against the sale of the school, and formulate an alternative plan.[12] On 19 October, the Anglican Diocese of Armidale accepted the proposal submitted by the group, the $4 million funding of which was underwritten by John Cassidy, the chancellor of the University of New England. It was agreed that a company limited by guarantee, known as 'NEGS Limited' would acquire the school and operate it as an independent Anglican school, with Cassidy as chairman of a new interim council, thus preventing the sale of NEGS.[13]

[edit] Principals

NEGS Chapel, 1949
NEGS Chapel, 1949
Period Details[7]
1895 – 1907 Miss Florence Green, Founder
1907 Miss May Bird
1907 – 1913 Miss Margaret Murray
1913 – 1917 Miss Clarinda Murray
1918 – 1925 Miss Juliet Lyon
1925 – 1939 Miss Nona Dumolo
1939 – 1959 Miss Ethel Colebrook
1959 – 1969 Miss Loyalty Howard
1969 – 1972 Miss Yvonne Grubb
1973 – 1989 Dr Jan Milburn
1990 – 2000 Mrs Anna Abbott
2000 – 2004 Mrs Helen Trebilcock
2004 Interim Head – Mrs Denise Thomas
2004 – 2006 Dr Rebecca Ling
2007 – present Mr Mark Harrison

[edit] Campus

The New England Girls' School is situated on over 40 hectares (99 acres) of landscaped gardens and parkland, in a rural environment. The school is located in the city of Armidale, situated midway between Sydney and Brisbane on the New England Tablelands of New South Wales.[14]

Some notable current facilities of the college include:

  • The NEGS Multi-Purpose Centre with gym facilities
  • The Aytoun Young Resource Centre
  • Arts and Crafts complex
  • Outdoor swimming pool
  • All-weather tennis courts
  • Several sports ovals
  • Indoor and outdoor netball and basketball courts
  • Hockey field
  • Indoor and outdoor equestrian arenas
  • Equestrian cross-country course
  • Polocrosse field
  • Computer Laboratories
  • Library
  • Four Boarding Houses
  • Health Centre
  • Chapel of St. Michael and All Angels

[edit] Badge

The New England Girls' School badge was designed shortly after the opening of the school, and is highly symbolic. The badge colours of scarlet and sky were chosen by Miss Green to be the official school colours. They were derived from her brother's academic gown and hood when he received his degree of Doctor of Laws at the University of Sydney. The shield of the badge is surmounted by the Bishop's mitre symbolising the power of the Holy Spirit, and the authority of the Church. On the shield itself, three figures are depicted:

All three together are drawn from the final verse of the school reading:

“ So faith hope and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. ”
 
— 1 Corinthians 13.1-13

Beneath the shield is the school motto, Quodcumque facitis ex animo operamini, which comes from Colossians 3.23, and may be translated as "Whatsoever you do, do it heartily".[15]

[edit] Notable alumni

Alumnae of NEGS are known as Old Girls and may elect to join the schools alumni association, the NEGS Old Girls' Union (NEGSOGU).[11] Some notable NEGS Old Girls include:

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Academic
Entertainment, media and the arts
  • Barbara Mary Vernon – Playwright[18]
  • Judith Wright – Australian Poet and author
Medicine and science
  • Ursula Hope McConnel – Anthropologist[19]
Sport

[edit] References

  1. ^ 2008 Fees Schedule (PDF). Enrolment Procedure & Fee Shedule p.4. New England Girls' School. Retrieved on 2007-12-12.
  2. ^ a b c 2006 Annual Report (PDF). Publications. New England Girls' School (2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
  3. ^ a b New England Girls' School. Schools. Australian Boarding Schools' Association (2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-12.
  4. ^ North West. NSW Independent Schools by Region. The Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
  5. ^ JSHAA New South Wales Directory of Members. New South Wales Branch. Junior School Heads' Association of Australia (2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
  6. ^ Butler, Jan (2006). Member Schools. Members. The Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
  7. ^ a b Heads of New South Wales Independent Girls' Schools. AHIGS. The Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools (2007). Retrieved on 2007-08-06.
  8. ^ Diocesan Schools. Diocesan Profile. Diocese of Armidale. Retrieved on 2008-01-28.
  9. ^ a b c d History. About NEGS. New England Girls' School. Retrieved on 2007-07-08.
  10. ^ a b c Robin, Kelvin Grose (1983). "Green, Florence Emily (1862 - 1926)". Australian Dictionary of Biography (Online) 9. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. pp.90-91. Retrieved on 2007-08-07. 
  11. ^ a b NEGS OGU. Wider Community. New England Girls' School. Retrieved on 2007-07-10.
  12. ^ "Board to decide on offer to save school", National, Sydney: Sydney Morning Herald, 2006-10-19. Retrieved on 2007-08-10. 
  13. ^ "NEGS rescued", Local, The Northern Daily Leader, 2006-10-20. Retrieved on 2007-08-10. 
  14. ^ Campus. Our Campus. New England Girls' School. Retrieved on 2007-07-23.
  15. ^ The Badge. About NEGS. New England Girls' School. Retrieved on 2007-08-07.
  16. ^ "OGILVIE Bridget Margaret, Dame". Who's Who in Australia Live!. (2006-11-17). Ed. Suzannah Pearce. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd. Retrieved on 2007-09-26. 
  17. ^ "RALSTON Deborah Eileen". Who's Who in Australia Live!. (2006-11-17). Ed. Suzannah Pearce. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd. Retrieved on 2007-09-26. 
  18. ^ Connors, Jane (2002). "Vernon, Barbara Mary (1916 - 1978)". Australian Dictionary of Biography (Online) 16. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. pp.448-449. Retrieved on 2007-08-07. 
  19. ^ O'Gorman Perusco, Anne (2000). "McConnel, Ursula Hope (1888 - 1957)". Australian Dictionary of Biography (Online) 15. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. pp.178-179. Retrieved on 2007-08-07. 
  20. ^ "KENNEDY Edwina Jane". Who's Who in Australia Live!. (2006-11-17). Ed. Suzannah Pearce. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd. Retrieved on 2008-02-28. 

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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Members of the Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools, New South Wales, Australia