| Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | |
 | |
207 Barkers Road ,, 3101 Australia | |
| Coordinates | 37°48′49″S145°2′19″E / 37.81361°S 145.03861°E /-37.81361; 145.03861 |
| Information | |
| Type | private school,single-sex,day andboarding school |
| Motto | Latin:Deo Domuique ("For God and for Home") |
| Denomination | Non-denominational |
| Established | 1882; 143 years ago (1882) |
| Principal | Julia Shea |
| Gender | Girls |
| Enrolment | ~2,200 (ELC–12)[1] |
| Colours | Green & silver |
| Affiliation | Girls Sport Victoria |
| Alumnae | MLC Old Collegians |
| Website | mlc.vic.edu.au |
Methodist Ladies' College (commonly referred to asMLC) is a non-selective, non-denominationalprivateday andboarding school for girls, located inKew, an eastern suburb ofMelbourne,Victoria, Australia. The school has two additional outdoor education campuses known as "Marshmead" and "Banksia".
Established in 1882 on its current campus by theMethodist Church of Australasia, MLC caters for approximately 2000 students from the Early Learning Centre (MLC Kindle) to Year 12, including more than 100 boarders.[2]
The College is a member ofGirls Sport Victoria,[3] the Australian Boarding Schools' Association,[4] theJunior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA),[5] the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),[6] and the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia.[7]
MLC offers students both theVictorian Certificate of Education and theInternational Baccalaureate.[8]
Fees are up to $36,000 per student per year.[9]
William Henry Fitchett was secretary of a committee formed in 1879 to start a secondary school for girls.[10]MLC was founded on its current campus inKew on 14 February 1882 as amodern school of the first order, with buildings that formeda collegiate institution for girls unsurpassed in the colonies.[citation needed] It was the first Australian girls' school established by theWesleyanMethodists and Fitchett was the first principal. The goal of its founders was to provide ahigh-class Christian education for girls, comparable with that provided elsewhere for boys.[citation needed] As the first Australian girls' school established by the Wesleyan Methodists, MLC attracted boarders from allAustralian colonies.[citation needed]
In 1990, MLC became the first school in the world to introduce laptop computers for all students from Year 5 to Year 12.[11] In 1991, MLC Marshmead opened, providing Year 9 students with an eight-week residential experience with a focus on outdoor education.[citation needed]
In 2001,The Sun-Herald reported a 1988 study which ranked MLC third in Australia's top ten girls' schools, based on the number of itsalumni mentioned in theWho's Who in Australia (a listing of notable Australians).[12][a] In 2002, MLC won the title of 'Australian School of the Year', as published inThe Australian newspaper.[4]
There have been a total of nine principals, or formerly headmasters, of MLC since the school was founded in 1882.[13]
| Period | Principal |
|---|---|
| 1882–1928 | Rev. Dr William H. Fitchett |
| 1929–1938 | Rev. John W. Grove |
| 1939–1966 | Rev. DrHarold A. Wood,OBE |
| 1967–1978 | Rev. Ron A.W. Woodgate |
| 1979–1996 | David Loader |
| 1997–2012 | Rosa Storelli |
| 2012–2013 | Debbie Dunwoody |
| 2014–2022 | Diana Vernon |
| 2023–present | Julia Shea |
As with most Australian schools, MLC has ahouse system through which students partake in inter-house competitions and activities. The college currently has five houses:
In the past, there was a Tiddeman house (colour red), which was specifically for boarders.
MLC offers a range ofVCE andVocational Education Training (VET) courses, as well as theIB Diploma Programme. It has one of the largest VCE subject selections in the state. The school's success with the IB Programme is internationally renowned, with students achieving in the top global percentile each year.[citation needed] Its physical education program includes summer and winter sports. It participates in theGirls Sport Victoria competition.
The music school has an auditorium, and a department for woodwind, strings, keyboard, percussion and brass, with ensembles including a concert orchestra, senior strings, choirs and bands. The music school is known for its excellence.[citation needed]
The school offers a speech and drama program from early years and theatre arts and drama at VCE level, as well as studio arts subjects.
MLC is a member ofGirls Sport Victoria (GSV).
MLC has won the following GSV premierships.[14]
In 2024, MLC won all 4 x GSV Carnival Premierships for Athletics, Cross Country, Diving & Swimming (the only GSV school to do so). And, won 25 x GSV weekly sport Premierships.
MLC has worked with the Yalari scholarship programme to support Indigenous girls from regional, rural and remote communities to study and board at MLC. Yalari is a not-for-profit organisation that offers secondary education scholarships at leading Australian boarding schools.[15] MLC includes Indigenous issues in its mainstream curriculum, maintains a student Aboriginal Reconciliation Committee, grows an Indigenous garden, and appoints a senior Year 12 prefect to an Indigenous portfolio. MLC holds annual sporting and cultural exchanges with Worowa Aboriginal College at Healesville, Victoria.[16][17]
 | This article's list of alumnimay not follow Wikipedia'sverifiability policy. Pleaseimprove this article by removing names that do not have independentreliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this articleand are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriatecitations.(September 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
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Alumnae of the Methodist Ladies' College are known as 'Old Collegians' and automatically become members of the 'MLC Old Collegians' Club' upon graduation. The club was established on 29 October 1904 for the purpose of providing an ongoing relationship between the college and its alumnae.[18]
Some notable "Old Collegians" include:
In September 2012 the school board sacked the then principal of 15 years, Rosa Storelli, leading to calls by Storelli plus many parents and Old Collegians for the board's dismissal.[30] There were also protests outside the school by parents and students. The action by the board was made possible by changes to the school's constitution. This became a cautionary tale for other independent schools in Australia about the relationship between principals and the boards of those schools and the power-sharing relationships among the various stakeholders.[31][32] Rosa Storelli subsequently joinedLa Trobe University as an adjunct professor.[33]
