| Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
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141 Burwood Highway , 3125 Australia | |
| Coordinates | 37°50′52″S145°6′23″E / 37.84778°S 145.10639°E /-37.84778; 145.10639 |
| Information | |
| Type | Independent,single-sex,day andboarding,Christian school |
| Motto | Latin:Lex Dei Vitae Lampas (The law of God is the Lamp of Life[1]) |
| Denomination | Presbyterian[2] |
| Established | 1875[2] |
| Chairman | Mark Chew |
| Principal | Cheryl Penberthy |
| Years | ELC–12 |
| Gender | Girls |
| Enrolment | ~1,600[3] |
| Colours | Blue, black and gold |
| Affiliation | Girls Sport Victoria |
| Website | plc.vic.edu.au |
Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne (PLC), is anindependent,private,Presbyterian,day andboarding school for girls, located inBurwood, an eastern suburb ofMelbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Founded in 1875 atEast Melbourne, PLC was one of the first independent schools for girls in Australia.[4] The College has a non-selective enrolment policy and in 2007 catered for approximately 1,550 students from the Early Learning Centre (ELC) to Year 12, including 100 boarders.[3] PLC features aco-educational Early Learning Centre, and a girls-only environment from Prep to Year 12. The college has been anIB World School since September 1990, and is authorised to offer theIB Diploma Programme.[5]
PLC is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),[6] theJunior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA),[7] the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (AGSA),[8] the Association of Independent Schools of Victoria (AISV),[2] the Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA),[9] is a founding member ofGirls Sport Victoria (GSV), and is an accredited school of the Council of International Schools (CIS).[10]
In 2001The Sun-Herald named PLC Melbourne the best girls' school in Australia on the basis of the number of itsalumni mentioned inWho's Who in Australia (a listing of notable Australians).[11][a]
TheAssembly of thePresbyterian Church of Victoria set up an education committee in 1869 to look into establishing a ladies' college. At this time the Church owned 2 acres (1 ha) in Albert Street,East Melbourne, opposite the currentFitzroy Gardens, and not far from the original site of the school's brother school,Scotch College. A school building and a teachers' home were already built on the site, and were rented to a teacher as a primary school. The committee resolved to build the college and provide advice and support, but the college would be self-supporting.
Joseph Reed drew plans for a building that would house 30 boarders and 150 day students, at an estimated cost of £12,000. They decided to draw a line down the middle of the plans and build one section only.
The building was completed in time for the school's first year, 1875, withCharles Henry Pearson as foundingprincipal. Pearson served as principal until 1879, whenAndrew Harper took over. While other private (church-run) girls' schools had existed before PLC, the school was Australia's first school for girls to offer a program and education equal to that of a boys' school modelled on thegreat English Public Schools.[citation needed]
By 1938 the East Melbourne buildings were at maximum capacity, and the college council began a search for a new site for the school. In 1939 they purchased a property in the suburb of Burwood, called Hethersett. The Junior School was moved in 1939, but the complete move was delayed by the outbreak of the Second World War. The school's currentmotto,Lex Dei Vitae Lampas ("The Law of God is the Lamp of Life"), was introduced during theSecond World War, as the originalGerman motto,Ohne Hast Ohne Rast (Without haste: without rest"), was deemed inappropriate.[12]
On 29 September 1956 Lady Brooks, the wife of General SirDallas Brooks,Governor of Victoria, laid the foundation stone for the new school buildings at Burwood, and the senior school moved in 1958. The school's original buildings at East Melbourne were demolished that same year to make way for a Masonic centre, which was itself later demolished to make way for a further building.
The PLC Boarding House provides accommodation for 100 girls. Boarders have access to the college's recreational and sporting facilities as well ascomputers for study needs.
In 2008 PLC opened a new extension to the Boarding House, adding sixty individualbedrooms for senior girls, newbathrooms, three music rooms, a laundry and one computer lab.[9]
PLC is divided into three school zones:
TheEarly Learning Centre (ELC) caters for students from 6 months to five years of age. The academic program for three-, four- and five-year-old children is influenced by theReggio Emilia approach to early childhood education. Students at this stage are introduced tomathematics,language,reading,writing,science,social studies,drama,dance and movement, and Christian Education, through individual and group activities.[13]
The program for children under three years of age is designed to develop basic skills such as independence, listening, communication and sharing. Indoor and outdoor activities are utilised in order to encourage development incognitive,social,emotional andmotor areas.[13]
TheJunior School curriculum is based on the Australian Curriculum, and is designed to cater for the different needs of students.[14] Curriculum areas are inter-related, with mastery of the English language seen as a priority. Subjects studied at this stage includeLiterature,Mathematics, Science,Technology, Studies of Society and Environment,Music,Art, Drama,Religious Education andPhysical education.French is introduced at the lower Primary level.[15]
In Years 7 to 10, the school follows a core curriculum determined by the Australian Curriculum Standards. Two languages from a selection of French, Japanese, Indonesian, Latin, German and Chinese are taken during Years 7 and 8. This is dropped to one language from Year 9 onwards, but French can be taken as an elective in addition to another language, if the student so wishes. An elective program is offered to Years 9 and 10, allowing for a wide subject choice, enabling students to study subjects intensively or follow a new field of learning.[16] Students in Year 9 also undertake a semester of a program called Outlook, which involves examining public transport, sustainability, accessibility and charity work. The program culminates in several days of a city program in the Melbourne CBD. In addition to the standardVictorian Certificate of Education theInternational Baccalaureate is also offered at the school. Furthermore, the school offers a wide range of extracurricular activities including involvement in music concerts such as the annual Gala Night held in August, optional chess tournaments and more. The school offers interschool debating through the Debating Association of Victoria from Years 7 to 12.
Drama and dance studies are part of the compulsory curriculum in the Early Learning Centre, Junior School and in year 8. It may be chosen as an elective subject in Years 9 and 10. PLC also offers VCE Theatre Studies.[17]
Musical and drama performances are held by the school each year to cater for students with an interest in an instrument, singing, acting, dancing or backstage. PLC also features a number of annual traditions, such as House Concerts and massed choirs and orchestras on stage atHamer Hall, for the Senior School Speech Night. The Year 9/10 drama and Senior School drama productions are conducted in collaboration withScotch College.[17]
Musical instrument instruction is available. Girls sing in assembly three mornings a week.
The music director from 1915 to 1935 was the Bohemian-born pianistEdward Goll, a pupil ofEmil von Sauer, grand-pupil ofFranz Liszt, and teacher of Australian musiciansMargaret Sutherland andNancy Weir.
The sequential Outdoor Education program begins with a Year 3 teddy bears sleep-over, and carries through to the Year 11 Leadership Camp. From Years 4 to 12, there are a wide range of outdoor, adventure, curriculum and special interest camps including art, biology,Christian Convention,The Duke of Edinburgh Award,IB, geography, music, physics,leadership,astronomy,skiing, rowing andsurfing.
PLC's sporting program includes specialist sports such assport aerobics,fencing,triathlon,rowing,taekwondo,karate,surf lifesaving, andequestrian. PLC also participates in the full range of sports on offer byGirls' Sport Victoria:athletics,basketball,badminton,cricket,cross country,diving,golf,hockey,netball,soccer,softball,swimming,indoor cricket,tennis,volleyball, andwater polo, as well as timetabled physical education classes with a broader focus on skills and fitness.
PLC has won the following GSV premierships.[18]
Chess is offered as an optional after-school activity from Years 3-6 and has a weekly club within the Senior School. Students are often given the opportunity to take part in inter-school tournaments, one of which PLC will host every year. They set and currently hold the record for winning the Australian Schools' Teams Championships (ASTC) most years in a row in their category after winning it in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. PLC also holds an annual Chess Championships within the school to find its strongest player, on top of House Chess.
The Junior School and Senior School have separatehouse systems, with different colours representing each House. The Junior school has four houses:
In the Senior School, the houses compete in all areas to gain points in order to win the House Cup at the end of the year. House events include concerts, athletics and swimming. However, small-scale activities range from maths todebating tochess are also included. House colours are awarded through a point system, in which a student is awarded the house colour if she gains a certain number of points for participating in house activities.
The Senior school has six houses, each named after Scottish castles:
Alumnae of Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne are known as "Old Collegians", and automatically become members of the school'salumni association, the PLC Old Collegians' Association (PLCOCA). PLCOCA was formed in 1903 as a way of keeping PLC women in touch with each other and with the college.[19]
In 2001,The Sun-Herald named PLC Melbourne the best girls' school in Australia on the basis of the number of itsalumni mentioned inWho's Who in Australia.[11][a] Among them women were thesopranoHelen Mitchell, better known as Nellie Melba;[20]Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson, the author published as Henry Handel Richardson;[21]Marion Phillips, aLabour politician and the first Australian woman to win a seat in theBritish parliament,[22] andVida Goldstein, asuffragette and the first woman to stand for election to theAustralian Parliament.[23]
1. PLC Melbourne 2.SCEGGS Darlinghurst 3.MLC Melbourne4.PLC Sydney5.Melbourne Girls Grammar School6.Mac.Robertson Girls' High School7.North Sydney Girls High School8.Sydney Girls High School9.MLC Sydney10.University High School, Melbourne
