College Spirit

The College has been making changes to our Student Wellbeing program, based on comprehensive data collected from parent, staff and student surveys and focus groups conducted in late 2019 and 2020. The broad aim of these changes is to embed evidence-based Wellbeing practices into every aspect of learning at Pymble.

One strategic intent of our enhanced program is to increase our girls’ sense of belonging and connection – the two key elements of a flourishing student – through our Spirit House system. We believe that aligning our Houses across our 13 year groups will help to achieve this goal.

Girls who are in the same House throughout their time at the College will have an opportunity to develop strong and authentic relationships with their peers and staff across the year groups, through College events, House-based community service initiatives and interHouse competitions. Aligning Houses across our sub-schools will also provide more opportunities for our Preparatory and Junior School girls to apply for House leadership roles and to increase their student voice and agency. The alignment of Kindergarten to Year 12 Spirit Houses at Pymble commenced at the start of 2021.

What did this mean for girls in Kindergarten to Year 6 girls?

• All girls from Kindergarten to Year 6 will join their Secondary School peers by being allocated one of eight

Houses named after people who have shaped the history of Pymble.

• The current Preparatory and Junior

School Houses, Gibbs, Mackellar and Turner (named after Australian female authors), retired, with our fond memories and gratitude for the role they played in building House spirit among our younger girls.

KEEPING HOUSE SPIRIT IN THE FAMILY

Happily, as a result of this alignment, girls in the Preparatory and Junior School girls have been allocated the same House as their grandmother, mother, relative(s) or sibling(s). The faces behind the Pymble House system:

Bennett (Sky Blue) Mr Joseph Arthur Bennett taught painting, drawing and modelling when the College first opened in 1916 until his retirement in 1926. He is responsible for the design of the College Hat Badge and the College Medallion.

Goodlet (Royal Blue) Colonel John Hay Goodlet was a member of a sub-committee appointed to draw up a general plan for the College buildings. Colonel Goodlet was a very generous benefactor to the Church, and was known as ‘Sydney’s great Christian philanthropist’.

Hammond (Orange) Dame Joan Hammond attended Presbyterian Ladies’ College, Pymble. She excelled at all sports, especially golf, and learned violin and voice. She became widely known and very popular as an opera singer.

Ingleholme (Green) Ingleholme was Pymble's first Junior School, purchased in 1959 in Turramurra. Ingleholme opened with 69 girls aged from four to nine years and was known as Ingleholme Presbyterian Ladies’ College, until it closed in 1976. Lang (White) Reverend John Dunmore Lang was born in Scotland in 1799. He arrived in Sydney in 1823 to establish Presbyterianism in the colony and thereby raise moral standards. For the next 50 years he continued his fight against immorality. He was a powerful force in education.

Marden (Red) In 1916, Dr Marden was appointed Principal of Presbyterian Ladies’ College, Pymble. He believed that “the welfare of the girls came before anything else” and in his opinion, “women should be given the best that education had to offer.”

Thomas (Purple) Barbara Thomas was a student at Presbyterian Ladies’ College, Pymble from 1919 to 1924. She was Dux of the College in 1923 and 1924, College Prefect in 1924, and played Hockey and Netball. In 1930, Barbara toured overseas as a member of the first Australian women’s hockey team.

Wylie (Yellow) Miss Mina Wylie taught swimming at the College for 42 years – from 1928 until her retirement in 1970. Mina was one of two women to represent Australia in the Stockholm Olympic Games where she won a silver medal. She held the record for every swimming stroke and was the first woman to achieve a Diploma from the Royal Life Saving Society in Australia.