Be you. Be Brigidine. BRIGIDINE COLLEGE ST IVES
Prospectus
Welcome...
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we learn and grow, the Garigal people of the Eora nation. We pay our respects to their ancestors and to elders past, present and emerging. May we always walk in harmony with our First Nations people at Brigidine College and respect all people who walk on this land of the Garigal people.
Welcome message from the Principal
It is with pleasure that I welcome you to Brigidine College St Ives.
As I steward Brigidine through its next chapter, I feel privileged to lead a community grounded in faith, learning and a strong commitment to the education of young women. Brigidine College has a proud Catholic tradition enriched with academic excellence, pastoral care and service, and a multitude of cocurricular opportunities, all shaped by the values of the Brigidine heritage and Kildare Ministries.
Our motto, Strength and Gentleness, speaks to the world our students are preparing to enter. At Brigidine, young women are encouraged to develop confidence and courage, balanced with empathy, reflection and respect for others. They are supported to lead with integrity, to act with purpose, and to
make a meaningful difference within their communities, both locally and globally.
Proudly a girls’ school, we see the uniqueness in every individual and shape their education in ways that fill them with a sense of purpose and success about their achievements. The Brigidine journey opens countless possibilities, helping young women become confident future-ready leaders.
I warmly invite you to experience the spirit of Brigidine by attending our annual Open Day or joining a guided College Tour.
MRS KATE QUINANE PRINCIPAL, BRIGIDINE COLLEGE ST IVES
“It’s such a strong, caring community at Brigidine. We have met so many like-minded parents. There’s a great all-inclusive culture and the girls are just simply happy.”
Who we are
We are proud to produce graduates who are “Women of Strength, Women of Gentleness”, embodying the Brigidine values.
Our Values
Courage
Speaking and acting with integrity
Confidence
Upholding our beliefs by living and leading with our values
Compassion
Walking with and having empathy for all
Excellence
Striving for our personal best in all we do
Hope
Bringing a sense of purpose and optimism to every endeavour
Hospitality
Placing community and dignity at the heart of our interactions, welcoming all
Justice
Acting always with fairness and justice, creating equity in the world in which we live
Wonder
Celebrating all that is good with curiosity and gratitude
Our Motto
Fortiter et Suaviter
Strength and Gentleness
Our Vision
Following the path of St Brigid, a woman of vision and courage, our contemporary, holistic approach to Catholic education empowers young women to engage courageously, confidently and compassionately in a rapidly changing world.
Our Mission
We inspire our students to value learning, seek wisdom, act with integrity, and honour their spiritual heritage.
We challenge young women to act as global citizens, with strength and gentleness in their own lives and the lives of others.
About us
Established
in 1954, Brigidine
College is proudly a non-selective Independent Catholic girls’ school catering for students of all abilities and talents.
Framed by our motto, Fortiter et Suaviter, Strength and Gentleness, a Brigidine education combines the spiritual, academic, physical and cultural dimensions of learning. We encourage all students to challenge themselves, find purpose in their learning and realise their personal best.
Our College has an optimum size of 900 students from Year 7 to Year 12 which is
small enough to know all our girls yet large enough to offer a broad range of curriculum and cocurricular offerings. With excellent academic results, a high level of achievement in the performing arts and sport and a strong commitment to service, girls at Brigidine are challenged to think and experience beyond their boundaries, to have the courage to question their world and to be strong and sensitive leaders in their own lives and the lives of others.
We encourage all students to challenge themselves, find purpose in their learning and realise their personal best.
Why Brigidine?
A Brigidine education is one that is committed to excellence and innovation. This, combined with our extensive wellbeing and cocurricular programs, offer our students a rich educational landscape of opportunity to achieve their personal best.
Choice
At Brigidine we offer a wide range of subject choices. With a full HSC curriculum, including VET offerings, we ensure that every student can discover their passion for learning while maximising their academic success.
Opportunity
As well as our subject choices we offer a varied range of cocurricular options. With wide choices for sport, music, dance, drama, debating, public speaking, Duke of Edinburgh and student clubs on offer there is something for every girl at Brigidine.
Personal Best
Brigidine is a non-selective school which welcomes students of all backgrounds and abilities. We are proud of the exceptional results that we achieve not only in academics but also in our cocurricular programs. Supported and guided by our dedicated staff who motivate and inspire students, a key priority at Brigidine is that everyone strives to achieve their personal best.
Character and Leadership
At Brigidine, we recognise that each student has a range of unique abilities and talents. In this fast-paced world, with new opportunities and challenges emerging every day for young women, we aim to develop character and provide leadership opportunities in preparation for life beyond the College gates. College Leadership opportunities commence in our Year 7 junior program and continue throughout the school journey to Year 12 with senior leadership portfolios.
Wellbeing
The wellbeing of our students is interwoven throughout all facets of the educational experience at Brigidine. Our Mentor groups and Pastoral Time programs are just a small part of our Wellbeing program. The College is equipped with a team of Counsellors as well as all our teachers who are focused on building resilience and empowering creative, ethical young women who have an authentic sense of self and optimism for their future.
Brigidine is a place to belong and make lifelong connections.
Faith
The Brigidine motto, Fortiter et Suaviter challenges students to be “Women of Strength, Women of Gentleness”. These seemingly opposing virtues are in fact complementary notions of moral courage (fortiter) and consideration of others (suaviter).
Guided by this motto, the College supports the spiritual journey of students within the context of the Catholic faith and practice. Students are inspired to act with strength and gentleness and live out the Gospel values to make a difference in the world.
Through experiences of prayer, liturgy and service to others, students are encouraged to develop a personal spirituality that will sustain them and provide a sense of meaning to their lives.
All Girls Environment
At Brigidine we know girls and we understand the way they learn, develop and communicate. We know that girls thrive in an all-girls environment where they are comfortable to take risks and where all leadership positions are held by girls.
Quality Teaching Staff
We are proud of our professional team of teaching and support staff at Brigidine. Our teachers are passionate, supportive and experts in their fields. The College values professional development programs to ensure that our staff are constantly growing and always renewing their knowledge and skills.
Community
Our Brigidine community is blessed to have a strong culture that comes from the collective contributions of both present and past families. We have a shared sense of purpose, connection and belonging. At Brigidine, each student is encouraged to contribute to their school and the wider community. In turn, each Brigidine girl is known and valued, and grows academically, physically and purposefully in a strong community-centred school.
Our vibrant community spans across our students, parents, extended families, staff and alumni. The College also has an active Parents and Friends Association which is supported by the College.
Academic
Learning at Brigidine College is an experience of imagining and realising the many possibilities that enable girls to flourish and grow into confident, accomplished young women of and for the future.
We understand how girls learn and shape their education in ways that instil a strong sense of purpose and pride in their achievements. We recognise their differences, academic capabilities, interests and challenges, and we explore opportunities to structure a more personalised, relevant curriculum. Our programs are designed to meet their needs in the present while remaining flexible enough to adapt to the demands of the future.
Our students are challenged to take risks with their learning and to extend themselves as they acquire and apply knowledge, understanding and skills. They are encouraged to use resources effectively
to enhance their learning, to think critically about real-world issues, and to be creative and reflective in their search for solutions.
The College’s ideal size and guiding philosophy enable us to offer a diverse and comprehensive curriculum that caters to the needs of every student. Brigidine provides both mandated and elective courses for students of all abilities, including accelerated, extension, remediation, and life skills programs. With a full HSC curriculum on offer, including a well-resourced VET program, the College ensures breadth of choice and opportunity. We are equipped to support extension and acceleration students as well as diverse learners with a range of learning needs.
SEE BRIGIDINE ’ S 2025 HSC RESULTS
Subjects currently offered at Brigidine College
D Biology
D Business Studies
D Chemistry
D Commerce
D Community and Family Studies
D Dance
D Design & Technology
D Drama
D Earth and Environmental Science
D Economics
D Engineering Studies
D English
D English Advanced
D English Extension 1
D English Extension 2
D English Standard
D English Studies
D French
D French Continuers
D Food Technology
D Geography
D Geography Elective
D Health and Movement Science
D History
D History Elective
D History Ancient
D History Modern
D History Extension
D Hospitality (VET)
D Italian
D Italian Continuers
D Languages at NSW School of Languages
D Legal Studies
D Mathematics
D Mathematics Advanced
D Mathematics Extension 1
D Mathematics Extension 2
D Mathematics Standard 1 (Year 12 only)
D Mathematics Standard 2
D Music
D Music 1
D Music 2
D Music Extension
D PASS – Physical Activities & Sports Studies
D PDHPE – Personal Development, Health & Physical Education
D Photographic and Digital Media
D Physics
D Religious Education
D Studies of Religion I
D Studies of Religion II
D Science
D Science Extension
D Society & Culture
D Textiles & Design
D Textiles Technology
D Visual Arts
Cocurricular
Brigidine College strives to provide students with a world-class education that extends well beyond traditional academic expectations and experiences.
Each student at Brigidine has the opportunity to participate in a diverse and challenging experiential program that aims for holistic personal growth, via the development of resilience, creativity, passion, skill, confidence and teamwork.
The Cocurricular program allows for young women to be much more than classroom peers. At Brigidine, every student can also be a part of the crew, the cast, the ensemble, the club, the community, the adventure, the outdoors and the team.
Our cocurricular program offers wonderful opportunities for students to try new activities and further develop current interests. The diverse program allows them to try something new, develop new friendships, learn new skills and become involved in other aspects of College life.
Sports offered at Brigidine College
D AFL
D Athletics
D Basketball
D Cross Country
D Hockey
D Netball
Sport
The Sport program at Brigidine offers a variety of different sports and activities, in both competitive and non-competitive environments. Students can compete for Brigidine in organised interschool competitions throughout the year, within four distinct sporting seasons (one per term).
The College competes in the IGSA sports competition and in many cases extends opportunities and pathways beyond this association. Pathways exist for both elite athletes and social participants alike.
The College is committed to providing a sports program that is holistic and well supported by outstanding coaching, resourcing and athletic development for all.
D Fitness/Strength and Conditioning
D Football (soccer)
D Rugby 7s
D Sports Aerobics
D Swimming
D Taekwondo
D Tennis
D Touch Football
D Volleyball
D Water Polo
The College also provides opportunities for girls to follow school sport representative pathways in equestrian, golf, gymnastics, rowing, sailing and snow sports.
“The schooling that our daughter received at Brigidine has created a strong foundation for her future. The wonderful teachers, close-knit community, focus on individual strengths and opportunities for personal growth, set students up for success.”
Music and Performing Arts
All our Performing Arts programs are supported by exceptional facilities, professional and experienced teaching as well as experienced artistic direction. Like many cocurricular activities, the Performing Arts program provides a wonderful enrichment and complementary learning pathway to the Academic program. Our musicians, singers, actors, directors, designers, choreographers, dancers and technicians all share a common love of performance and produce uplifting creative and artistic works that are celebrated and enjoyed within the broader College community.
Students are able to participate in an array of programs in Dance, Drama, Music, Girls in Black and our Musicals as well as the Year 11 Play.
Speech and Debating
Both the Speech and Debating programs at the College are well resourced, with healthy participation rates to enable students to compete in various competitions.
The Public Speaking program develops confidence, persuasive speaking skills, critical thinking skills, and raises in students an awareness of global issues through selfdirected research. Competitions are open to all students.
Outdoor Education
The Duke of Edinburgh program is a thriving cocurricular program at Brigidine with many of our participants progressing through to achieve their Gold Award in Year 12. The Duke of Edinburgh Award provides the opportunity for students to experience a sense of personal achievement through individual challenge, teamwork and fun.
The Award is designed to individually challenge its participants in:
D Service: Volunteering time to assist others or your community.
D Physical Recreation and skills: Improving fitness and discovering new sports or active recreational activity.
Find out more about Brigidine’s cocurricular and performing arts opportunities:
D Adventurous Journey: Embarking on a journey in an unfamiliar environment, creating opportunities for team building through shared planning, role allocation, problem solving and accommodating physical and personality differences.
There are three levels of the program (Bronze, Silver and Gold) with four components at each level. At Brigidine, Bronze is open to Year 9 students, Silver to Year 10 students and Gold to Years 11 and 12 students.
Clubs & Activities
Covering a diverse range of interests, the Clubs at Brigidine are student centred groups, run by passionate student leaders, for students within their clubs. All clubs are supported by staff and are generally run during lunchtimes. They offer a wonderful opportunity for like-minded students to collaborate, socialise, extend their learning and develop leadership capabilities in areas of specific interest, skill and passion. Currently, the following clubs are offered and supported at the College: Art, Creative Writing, Drama, History, Languages, Science, and a student Book Club.
Tours & Immersions
The College encourages students to develop a contemporary and informed world view, that is supported by personal experience and insight. Each student’s developmental journey toward strength and gentleness at Brigidine, involves opportunities that promote empathy, understanding and wonder. Travel is among the greatest learning experiences, and each year our students are given opportunities to participate in a variety of tours that allow them to encounter, consider and prepare to make a positive difference in the world.
“A Brigidine education is one where your daughter will not only learn, but also thrive, and be inspired to reach their personal best.”
COCURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES
DANCE AT BRIGIDINE
MUSIC AT BRIGIDINE
Join us
Brigidine College is a non-selective independent girls’ school from Year 7 to Year 12. We are a Catholic school which opens its doors to warmly welcome students of all faiths. The College accepts applications at any time for all year levels with our main intake year being Year 7.
1. Application for Enrolment
Our main point of entry is Year 7 but we accept applications for all years and for mid-year enrolments. Simply complete our online application form, upload supporting documentation and pay the application fee.
2. Interview Process
Once an application is submitted online, applicants and their parents are required to attend an Enrolment Interview. This process will commence approximately 2½ years prior to girls entering Year 7, which is when girls are in Year 4.
For students entering in Years 8-11, each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis, once an application is received. The interview is an integral part of the enrolment process.
3. Offer of a place
Upon successful completion of the interview process, offers of places are made, subject to availability, and at the discretion of the Principal.
4. Acceptance of Offer
Parents will then be given the opportunity to accept an offer by payment of the non-refundable Enrolment Fee of $2,000 and completing the Acceptance of Offer, which needs to be signed by both parents. The Enrolment Fee reduces to $1,000 when a sibling is attending the school at the time of enrolment.
College Fee Structure
Scan the QR code or click here for Brigidine’s Fee Structure.
Visit Us
We invite you and your daughter to come and see our campus at a College Tour. These small groups, led by our Enrolments Manager, are available throughout each term. You will have the opportunity to meet some of our students, teachers, key staff and our Principal. For further information you are welcome to contact our enrolments team: enrolments@brigidine.nsw.edu.au
For enrolment applications and enquiries or to book a College Tour please register at our website.