MLC School began by breaking the traditions of girls’ education, announcing that the school would ‘make provision for those who wish to prepare for university honours’, just two years after the legal rights of women at the University of Sydney had been secured. These first students distinguished themselves as university entrants and graduates; commencing MLC School’s enviable tradition of academic excellence.
The radical recognition that much more should be expected of girls during their schooling established MLC School at the vanguard of girls’ education, and the tradition of setting new benchmarks for what girls can and should achieve remains a hallmark of MLC School today.
MLC School’s pioneering approach includes constructing the first purpose-built Kindergarten in 1890, being integral to the establishment of the Trinity College London Musical Theory Examinations in Australia, holding the first athletics carnival for girls in Australia in 1906, being the first school to present girls for the Leaving Certificate in Physics in 1920s and introducing the first Apple Macintosh computer to the school in 1978.
MLC School was one of the earliest in NSW to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma for Years 11 and 12 as an alternative to the HSC, and today around 40 per cent of girls sit for the IB each year.
“The MLC School motto is ‘dare to be more’, and we have embraced that in our educational approach from the very outset,” principal Ms Lisa Moloney says.
“We challenge our girls to question and query, to stretch themselves and take on challenges that are beyond their level of comfort. We enable girls to feel safe, to take risks, and benefit from the rewards that follow.”
MLC School’s innovative approach continues as learning moves beyond the traditional classroom into flexible spaces that enhance student learning and embrace the future. Junior School girls thrive in bright, open studios that are warm and welcoming. These are spaces that have been designed to encourage creativity and collaboration in learning.
Senior School girls are utilising the innovative new Senior Centre, which was completed at the beginning of 2019. The building is a cutting-edge design, incorporating open spaces that encourage adaptability and teamwork. These spaces contain bean bags, large conference tables, small pop-out pods, and ‘beach-hut’ style work areas, where students and teachers can interact and collaborate, or retreat for individual study. The glass-walled classrooms are designed to offer abundant light and air, and have advanced technology and furniture designed to be moved to respond to the style of class being delivered.
Through their experience in the Senior Centre, Senior School girls will seamlessly transition to university or modern workplaces, where similar architecture and design is being unveiled.
Women in 10 years’ time will be looking at careers which do not even exist today. MLC School’s aim is to equip the girls to be agile and adaptable, to instil in them a resourcefulness that will enable them to successfully respond as society changes and evolves.
For further enquiries contact Registrar, Nerida Coman
enrol@mlcsyd.nsw.edu.au
+61 2 8741 3165
MLC School
Rowley St
Burwood 2134
+61 2 9747 1266
www.mlcsyd.nsw.edu.au
MLC School’s mission is to educate young women to be fearless thinkers, with moral courage and compassion to be agents […]