Seymour College

For related schools, see Presbyterian Girls' College.

Seymour College is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school predominantly for girls', located at Glen Osmond, a suburb 5 km from the Central Business District of Adelaide, South Australia.

Established in 1922 as the Presbyterian Girls' College, Seymour has a non-selective enrolment policy and currently caters for approximately 765 students from Pre-School (3 years of age) to Year 13, including 105 boarders.^[3] The school is co-educational in Pre-School, and girls only from Preparatory (4 years of age) to Year 13.

The college is affiliated with the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (AGSA),^[4] the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA),^[5] the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),^[6] and the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA).^[3]

History

Seymour College for girls was founded in 1922 as the Presbyterian Girls' College (PGC), following a desire of the Reverend Dr John Alfred Seymour, of the Scots Church, Adelaide, to provide South Australians with a Presbyterian day and boarding school for girls. It was established at its current location in Glen Osmond, then the site of the estate of "Wooton Lea".^[7]

"Wooton Lea" is a large, plain Georgian house consisting of 17 rooms. It was built in 1861 for Francis Hardey Faulding, the founder of F.H. Faulding & Co, and his wife Eliza. Its next owner, G.S. Fowler, a principal of the firm of D.& J. Fowler, enlarged the building.^[8] South Australian & New South Wales pastoralist Arthur Crossing purchased "Wooton Lea" in 1913 and with his wife, Emily, lived there until 1921. The adjacent 'Crossing Street' is named after him.

In 1977, following the amalgamation of the Presbyterian, Congregational and Methodist Churches to form the Uniting Church, PGC was renamed Seymour College after the Reverend Dr John Alfred Seymour.^[7]

Since Rhodes Scholarships were first awarded to South Australian women in 1980, three have been awarded to Seymour old scholars: 1988 Kathryn Brown; 1997 Elizabeth Wall; 2004 Rachel Swift.^[9]

Campus

Seymour College is situated on a single 10 hectare campus,^[10] located 5  km from the Adelaide central business district, in the foothills of Adelaide.^[2] The campus is a blend of both old and new buildings. Some of the College's notable older buildings include the historic "Barr Smith House" (formerly the "Wooton Lea" mansion),^[7] the bluestone and brick former laundry, stables and cottages, pump house, and the former coach-house turned music room.^[8] Other facilities include: two theatres, a recreation centre including facilities for indoor basketball, netball, tennis, badminton, weights training and exercise, a science centre, two libraries, four computer labs, squash courts, swimming pool, an oval for athletics, softball, soccer and hockey, and a Boarding house including dining hall and health centre.^[11]

House system

As with most Australian schools, Seymour College utilises a house system; however, it is unique in that it is referred to as a "Clan" system.^[7] The four clans are as follows: Bruce (White); Cameron (Yellow); Douglas (Blue) and Stewart (Red).

Notable alumnae

Alumnae of Seymour College/Presbyterian Girls' College are known as Old Collegians' and may elect to join the schools alumni association, the Old Collegians' Association.^[12] Some notable Old Collegians' include:

Academic

• Jennifer Ann Marshall Graves - Professor of the Research School of Biological Sciences at the Australian National University; Director of the Australian Research Council Centre for Kangaroo Genomics; Recipient of the Centenary Medal 2003^[13][14]
• Linley Margaret Martin - Vice-President (Academic and Information Services) and Council Secretary of Deakin University^[15]
• Professor Janice Clare Reid AM - Vice-Chancellor and University President at the University of Western Sydney; Recipient of the Centenary Medal 2003^[16]
• Judith Mary Roberts AO AM - Deputy Chancellor of Flinders University; Trained Nurse/Voluntary Community Worker; Former President of The Cancer Council Australia, and the Family Services Council Aust; Foundation Chair of the Helpmann Academy Board; Former President of Relationships Australia; Former Director of the Office for the Ageing SA Government^[17]
• Professor Christina Mary Slade - Conjoint Dean of Arts and Social Sciences at City University, London; Professor of Media Theory at the Universiteit Utrecht Netherlands^[18]
• Claire Ann Woods - Professor of Communication and Writing at the University of South Australia; Recipient of the Max Harris Literary Award 2002 (also attended Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School)^[19]

Business

• Leonie Jane Clyne - Managing Director of Angus Clyne Australia Pty Ltd; Recipient of the Inaugural Enterprising Woman of the Year Award^[20]
• Carolyn Judith Hewson (née Somerville) - Company Director; Director of AGL Energy Ltd, and Westpac Banking Corp.^[21]
• Elizabeth Lewis-Gray - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gekko Systems Pty Ltd; Director of Austmine Limited^[22]

Entertainment, media and the arts

• Janet Bridgland - Artist and Illustrator^[23]
• Helen Louise Leake - CEO of the South Australian Film Corporation (2004–07), Company Director/Producer of Duo Art Productions (1996–2004)^[24]
• Penny Matthews (née Vigar) - Children's Author^[25]
• Georgina McGuinness - Weekend News Presenter for National Nine News Adelaide^[26]
• Poh Ling Yeow - runner-up in Masterchef Australia

Medicine and science

• Freda Evelyn Gibson - Pioneering Flying Doctor^[27]

Politics, public service and the law

• Hon. Justice Catherine Margaret Branson - Judge of the Federal Court of Australia^[28]
• Hon. Diana Laidlaw AM - Vigneron; MLC (Liberal) for South Australia (1982–2003), SA Minister for Transport and Urban Planning (1997–2002), The Arts (1993–2002), the Status of Women (1993–2002), (Transport) 1993-97; SA Shadow Minister for Transport, Marine, Arts and Cultural Heritage, Status of Women, Local Govt Relations (1992–93), Tourism (1986–93)^[29]
• HE Susan Elizabeth Tanner - Australian Ambassador to Spain and Andorra (2003–06), Assistant Secretary Europe Br. DFAT (2000–02), Australian Ambassador to Chile, Bolivia and Peru (1997–99)^[30]

See also

• List of schools in South Australia
• List of boarding schools

References

External links

• Seymour College Website