Melbourne Girls Grammar
| Melbourne Girls' Grammar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
|
South Yarra, Victoria Australia  | |
| Coordinates | 37°49′53″S 144°59′6″E / 37.83139°S 144.98500°ECoordinates: 37°49′53″S 144°59′6″E / 37.83139°S 144.98500°E |
| Information | |
| Type | Independent, Day & Boarding |
| Motto |
Latin: Nisi Dominus Frustra (Without the Lord, All is in Vain) |
| Denomination | Anglican[1] |
| Established | 1893[2] |
| Founder | Emily Hensley & Alice Taylor |
| Chairman | Professor Katie Allen |
| Headmistress | Catherine Misson |
| Chaplain | Rev. Denise Nicholls |
| Gender | Girls |
| Enrolment | ~950 (P–12)[3] |
| Colour(s) |
Navy blue, light blue and gold |
| Slogan | Integrity, Compassion, Courage, Self Discipline |
| Website | www.mggs.vic.edu.au |
Melbourne Girls' Grammar (also known as MGGS), is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for girls, located in South Yarra, an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Founded in 1893 by Emily Hensley and Alice Taylor, the school has a non-selective enrolment policy and caters for 950 students from Pre-school to Year 12, including 90 boarders.[4]
Melbourne Girls' Grammar is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),[5] the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA),[6] the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (AGSA),[7] the Association of Independent Schools of Victoria (AISV),[2] the Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA),[1] and is a founding member of Girls Sport Victoria (GSV).[8]
History
Melbourne Girls' Grammar was founded in 1893, as a private school in Domain Road, South Yarra, by Miss Emily Hensley and Miss Alice Taylor. In 1900, the School moved to its current location in Anderson Street, and in 1903 it became the first girls' school to be owned by the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne.
Merton Hall, the senior school of Melbourne Girls' Grammar, was named after the house in Cambridge, England, where Newnham College began.[9]
The tenth Headmistress of Melbourne Girls Grammar, Christine Briggs, announced her retirement in 2007. Catherine Misson has been appointed to the position of Headmistress.[10]
Campuses
The Junior Years (Prep - Year 4) learning environment is located at the Morris Hall Campus on Caroline Street, while the Early Learning Centre (3 and 4 Year Old Program) and the Middle Years (5 - 8) and Senior Years (Years 9 - 12) are located at the Merton Hall Campus, Anderson Street, South Yarra.
The Merton Hall Campus provides a chapel, gymnasium, library, dining hall, specialist Art, Drama and Science Centres, assembly hall, multipurpose sports fields and a rowing facility located nearby on the banks of the Yarra River. The Boarding House (which caters for approximately 80 students) and the Enrolments Centre are located on the Merton Hall Campus.
Wildfell, was built in 2011 for the Middle Years Program, which includes an eLearning studio and Learning Studios.
Morris Hall, the Junior Years Campus, incorporates Learning Studios, specialist Art, Music and Science Centres, oval and sustainable gardens.
Buildings and facilities
The school opened its Science Futures Centre in 2005, with a ceremony attended by Sir Gustav Nossal. The Science Futures Centre comprises eight laboratories, three preparation rooms, three laboratory technicians' offices and withdrawal areas.
In 2006, the school re-opened the Nina Crone Library, named after a past Headmistress.
Academics
Melbourne Girls' Grammar offers Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) for its students at Years 11 to 12, with some students beginning their VCE studies in Year 10.
House system
The Middle and Senior School, Merton Hall houses are:
- Batman:, yellow, named after the founder of Melbourne,
- Clarke:, red, named after Archbishop Lowther Clarke, whose particular interest was diocesan education,
- Hensley:, pink, commemorates one of the two first Headmistresses of the school - Miss Emily Hensley,
- Mungo:, green, named after "St Mungo", the house in Domain Road where the school first opened in 1893,
- Taylor:, blue, commemorates the other of the first two Headmistresses of the school - Miss Alice Taylor.
The Junior School, Morris Hall houses are:
- Gould:, yellow. Elizabeth Gould helped her husband with his identification of bird life in the colonies. The Gouldian Finch was named after her,
- Franklin, blue, Lady Jane Franklin endeavoured to establish an educational college for girls, worked to help the plight of convicts and helped discover the North-West passage.
- Chisholm, red, Caroline Chisholm was a social worker who worked with young female emigrants arriving in Sydney.
Notable alumnae
- Academic
- Frances Elizabeth Allan – statistician[11]
- Dame Margaret Blackwood – botanist[12]
- Enid Joske – Headmistress[13]
- Margaret Loch Kiddle – historian (also attended St Catherine's School, Toorak)[14]
- Sally Walker – Vice Chancellor of Deakin University[15]
- Community and philanthropy
- Vera Deakin White – Red Cross worker[16]
- Entertainment, media and the arts
- Kate Alexa – singer[17]
- Caroline Craig – actress
- Georgie Jennings- actress
- Portia de Rossi – aka Amanda Rogers, Actress[15]
- Helen Gifford – composer
- Stephanie McIntosh – singer and actress (Neighbours)
- Yumi Stynes - television presenter (also attended Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne)
- Eveline Winifred Syme – painter and printmaker[18]
- Gwendoline Varley – sports organiser and broadcaster[19]
- Caroline Wilson - journalist- Chief football writer of "The Age".
- Medicine and science
- Mary Ellinor Lucy Archer – librarian and scientist[20]
- Lucy Meredith Bryce – Haematologist[21]
- Margaret Mary Henderson – consultant physician and Consultant Emeritus, Royal Melbourne Hospital (also attended Presbyterian Ladies' College, Perth)[22]
Associated schools
Melbourne Girls' Grammar School is the sister school of Melbourne Grammar School with which it has a strong association, as the two stream productions, formals, workshops and concerts together. The student bases also enjoy a strong association throughout the secondary years as many MGGS girls attend Grimwade House (Melbourne Grammar School's co-educational primary campus).
See also
References
- 1 2 "Melbourne Girls' Grammar School". Schools. Australian Boarding Schools Association. 2005. Archived from the original on 2007-11-17. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- 1 2 "Melbourne Girls Grammar". Find a School. Association of Independent Schools of Victoria. 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ↑ Melbourne Girls' Grammar School- School Structure (accessed:26-06-2007)
- ↑ Melbourne Girls' Grammar School Annual Report 2006 (accessed:26-06-2007)
- ↑ "Victoria". School Directory. Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-03-07. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ↑ "JSHAA Victorian Directory of Members". Victoria Branch. Junior School Heads' Association of Australia. 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-02-13. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ↑ Butler, Jan (2006). "Member Schools". Members. The Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ↑ Mawkes, Leonie (2005). "Member Schools". Profile. Girls Sport Victoria. Archived from the original on 2007-10-07. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
- ↑ Melbourne Girls' Grammar School- Our Heritage (accessed:26-06-2007)
- ↑ Melbourne Girls Grammar School: Announcement of new Principal (accessed:10-08-2007)
- ↑ Australian Dictionary of Biography: Allan, Frances Elizabeth (1905 - 1952) (accessed:27-07-2007)
- ↑ Carey, Jane (2007). "Blackwood, Dame Margaret (1909–1986)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- ↑ Australian Dictionary of Biography: Joske, Enid (1890 - 1973) (accessed:27-07-2007)
- ↑ Australian Dictionary of Biography: Kiddle, Margaret Loch (1914 - 1958) (accessed:27-07-2007)
- 1 2 Crikey.com.au: Famous alumni on Latham's hit list Archived 2007-09-26 at the Wayback Machine. (accessed:26-04-2006)
- ↑ Australian Dictionary of Biography: White, Vera Deakin (1891 - 1978) (accessed:27-07-2007)
- ↑ "Whole school notices". Daily Bulletin. MGGS. 2005-10-05. Retrieved 2008-11-05.
- ↑ Australian Dictionary of Biography: Syme, Eveline Winifred (1888 - 1961) (accessed:27-07-2007)
- ↑ Australian Dictionary of Biography: Varley, Gwendoline (1896 - 1975) (accessed:27-07-2007)
- ↑ Australian Dictionary of Biography: Archer, Mary Ellinor Lucy (1893 - 1979) (accessed:27-07-2007)
- ↑ Australian Dictionary of Biography: Bryce, Lucy Meredith (1897 - 1968) (accessed:27-07-2007)
- ↑ Suzannah Pearce, ed. (2006-11-17). "HENDERSON Margaret Mary". Who's Who in Australia Live!. North Melbourne, Vic: Crown Content Pty Ltd.
Further reading
- McCarthy, R. and Theobald, M.R. 1993. Melbourne Girls Grammar School Centenary Essays 1893-1993. Hyland House, Melbourne. ISBN 1-875657-03-7.