Strategic Plan
2026 – 2030
Introduction from the Board Chair and Principal
We launch this Strategic Plan as we celebrate 140 years of excellence in educating girls at Wenona. It is a time when we recognise our proud tradition as a non-selective girls’ school and our enduring commitment to an inclusive and progressive holistic education. We step boldly into the future with clear ambition: to be a world leader in contemporary girls’ education, inspiring the next generation of women to live with courage, lead with purpose and be their authentic selves.
This plan represents our community’s shared vision for our next chapter, grounded in our culture, values and tradition while being responsive to the rapidly changing world our students will navigate. It has been developed through extensive consultation with students, staff, parents and Alumnae, while drawing on research about effective girls’ education, contemporary learning and the future of work. It articulates our continued commitment to educational excellence and preparing our young women to embrace opportunity and challenge, leading their lives with impact and purpose.
We are ambitious for our girls. This generation is growing up in a drastically different world with accelerated access to technology, greater diversity, globalisation and interdependence, and significant environmental and social
changes. We believe that learning in this rapidly changing landscape needs to be holistic, purposeful and personalised, cultivating academic mastery and emotional intelligence. Our aim is to help our girls develop as Renaissance women: creative, articulate, resilient, intellectually curious and purposefully engaged. We want them to develop the resilience to navigate challenge, the wisdom to make thoughtful decisions and the compassion to serve others.
Our strategic priorities, Academic Mastery, Empowering Girls, Valuing People and Culture, Engaged Community and Responsible Stewardship, will guide our decision making, initiatives and resourcing. We look forward to providing updates to our community on how we are advancing these priorities, including celebrating achievements and recognising challenges. Together, we will empower our young women to learn, lead and shape their world with confidence, compassion and ambition.
Ut Prosim. Ms Catherine West, Chair of the Board of Governors
Ms Linda Douglas, Principal
Our Mission, Vision and Values
These four themes drive each of our five strategic priorities, ensuring an interconnected, holistic approach:
Mission
Wenona empowers girls to learn, lead, and shape their world with confidence, compassion and ambition.
Vision
To be a world leader in contemporary girls’ education, inspiring the next generation of women to live with courage, lead with purpose and be their authentic selves.
Values
Lead courageously, be strong, model grace, act wisely, show kindness.
Our Strategic Priorities:
Academic Mastery: We will ensure every girl has the opportunities, support and pathways to flourish academically through research-based approaches, innovative programs and excellent teaching.
Empowering Girls: We will nurture authentic student voice and action to empower Wenonians as resilient and confident Renaissance Women who lead lives of impact and purpose.
Valuing People and Culture: We aspire to be an employer of choice for exceptional staff, providing high quality development opportunities to support professional, personal and organisational growth.
Engaged Community: We will enhance connections between students, staff, parents, Alumnae and the wider community to enrich the Wenona culture, broaden experiences and extend our impact and advocacy.
Responsible Stewardship: We will ensure Wenona’s continued long-term sustainability as a leading girls’ school through sound and visionary governance and leadership.
Academic Mastery
We will ensure every girl has the opportunities, support and pathways to flourish academically through research-based approaches, innovative programs and excellent teaching.
Priority areas of focus:
1. Develop a holistic Kindergarten to Year 12 learning and wellbeing framework, to embed a culture of educational rigour, personal wellbeing and intellectual curiosity.
2. Equip our students to live and learn productively in this digital era, through age-appropriate programs that develop digital literacy, ethical awareness and a people-centred approach.
3. Enhance our academic programs and practices to extend and enrich the learning of every student with a sustained focus on teacher quality, growth and progression.
4. Explore and further develop academic pathways, partnerships and structures to provide increased choice, flexibility and experiential learning for students.
Empowering Girls
We will nurture authentic student voice and action to empower Wenonians as resilient and confident Renaissance Women who lead lives of impact and purpose.
Priority areas of focus:
1. Deliver best practice holistic care and personal growth for students through research-based bespoke programs and staff expertise.
2. Enhance our co-curricular programs and structures to maximise student participation, learning and talent pathways and elevate coach education.
3. Develop a Kindergarten to Year 12 leadership learning program to enrich the aspirations and perspectives of all students.
4. Create unique experiential learning experiences to enhance independence, social responsibility, and leadership through adventure, service and student agency.
Valuing People and Culture
We aspire to be an employer of choice for exceptional staff, providing high quality development opportunities to support professional, personal and organisational growth.
Priority areas of focus:
1. Further develop practices and programs to actively support and promote staff wellbeing.
2. Research and review workplace practices to offer sustainable flexibilities that enhance organisational productivity and staff motivation.
3. Create appropriate time, space and opportunities for faculty collaboration, learning and research to advance and implement our strategy.
4. Support staff growth and expertise through enhanced feedback, training and leadership development opportunities.
Engaged Community
We will enhance connections between students, staff, parents, Alumnae and the wider community to enrich the Wenona culture, broaden experiences and extend our impact and advocacy.
Priority areas of focus:
1. Review our programs and processes to strengthen current and future parent engagement and inclusivity
2. Enhance the clarity, consistency, and efficiency of communications to optimise interaction and engagement across our community.
3. Continue to strengthen Alumnae engagement and networking through extended local and global events and connection with current students.
4. Broaden our local and global connections and partnerships to enrich learning and service opportunities for students and staff.
Responsible Stewardship
We will ensure Wenona’s continued long-term sustainability as a leading girls’ school through sound and visionary governance and leadership.
Priority areas of focus:
1. Develop a robust, self-sustaining financial model to secure the School’s long-term success, maintaining strong enrolments and diverse offerings, while preserving relative affordability for families.
2. Further cultivate our philanthropic culture to create lasting impact by transforming students’ lives, our campus and our programs.
3. Develop an adaptive and sustainable campus master plan to enhance learning, co-curricular, boarding and community spaces, while exploring long-term opportunities for sporting grounds and outdoor pursuits.
4. Continue to ensure a secure, innovative and seamless digital environment that supports our learning ambitions and operational practices.
Our Approach
These four themes drive each of our five strategic priorities, ensuring an interconnected, holistic approach:
• Girl Centred – Educating girls is our core purpose, empowering each girl to pursue her ambitions with confidence. We nurture the social, emotional, physical and intellectual potential of each girl through research-led and data-informed practice.
• Innovation and Research – We continue to advance our culture of innovation and excellence, encouraging creative and critical thinking, growth mindset and resilience in our students and staff through intentional and informed strategy.
• Culture of Personal Best and Collaboration – We seek to define and embed a broader understanding of success to encompass the diversity of student achievement and acknowledge individual endeavour while embracing personal development and team work.
• Service: Ut Prosim, That I May Serve – Our motto Ut Prosim, that I may serve, underpins the ethos of Wenona, fostering a heart for service to the broader community. Our students and graduates are compassionate citizens, recognising a Wenona education positions them to be a voice for others.
Achieving our Strategic Priorities
A snapshot of focus projects for 2026 to 2027
• Develop the Wenona learning and wellbeing framework to embed our holistic approach to educating girls across all facets of the student experience.
• Create innovative academic signature programs that cultivate deep thinking, academic resilience and student choice.
• Embed leadership learning as a key strand in our Renaissance Women Program for all students.
• Review our co-curricular sports and arts programs to ensure our offerings and instruction support and inspire student engagement, skill development and excellence.
• Develop a tailored Staff Wellbeing Program in collaboration with staff to best meet current and emerging needs.
• Launch a new communications model to provide our community with access to timely, personalised and relevant information.
• Strengthen connections with Alumnae through targeted communications, professional mentoring and social networking events, both locally and internationally.
• Create our long-term Campus Master Plan to enhance curricular, co-curricular, boarding and community spaces, including an environmental sustainability plan.
• Undertake a digital learning and device review that includes pedagogy and curriculum alignment, infrastructure and digital tools, digital citizenship and safety and staff and student training.