Chair’s Message

I am honoured to have been appointed as the Chair of Wenona’s Board of Governors and to have taken up the baton from outgoing Chair, Mr Gary Turner.

Wenona has a very experienced and stable board, and I thank them all for volunteering their time in the service of Wenona and for their continued commitment and support. On behalf of the Board and our whole community, I would like to thank Mr and Mrs Turner for their dedication and impeccable service to the School. Serving 11 years on the board overall, Mr Turner has been an extraordinary Chair, and under his stewardship, Wenona has gone from strength to strength. Mr Turner has served with humility, clarity, and foresight. He has enabled Dr Briony Scott to lead Wenona to its current outstanding position.

We are incredibly privileged to have Dr Scott lead our School. Her strong and courageous influence resonates across Australia and the world, as indicated by her receipt this year, not only of the title of School Principal of the Year (non-government), but a place on the Australian Financial Review’s list of the five most powerful people in education in the country.

One of the key pillars of Wenona’s strategy is to be an employer of choice. It invests in its teachers and their training and development. The School’s incredible response to the difficult circumstances of the past several years is a testament to the quality of the Wenona staff. I commend and thank Dr Scott, her leadership team and all the staff for demonstrating such a strong commitment to the School and for their ability to adapt and thrive. They can also be very proud of their instrumental role in Wenona achieving another strategic objective – that of being a top-performing non-selective school and providing a wealth of opportunities for all our students.

Wenona is performing exceptionally well academically. It has ranked in the top 25 across all schools in NSW and the top 15 among non-selective schools in the state each year, for the last three years, achieving ninth place among non-selective schools in 2021. Over a consistent period, substantially more than 55% of our students have received an ATAR above 90; in 2021 30% of students received an ATAR of 95 or above. In the last three years, the School has achieved at least nine places on the All-round Achievers List (students with the highest Band 6 in at least 10 units of study) and at least six places on the Top Achievers in Course List. In 2021, Wenona’s top placings included first in Drama, third in Textiles and Design and fifth in both Spanish Extension and Textiles and Design. Wenona’s young alumnae attend the best universities in Australia and overseas. The School has a holistic approach and a wellbeing focus, supporting students facing challenges and celebrating all its students for who they are and what they have achieved.

Beyond academic achievements, Wenona is developing true Renaissance women with the ability to reflect on their world. The School excels in so many different fields, from Music to Drama and Visual Arts to Sport, as it seeks to educate and empower young women of spirit to serve and shape their world in whatever way they choose.

One of the most important aspects of Wenona is its community.

As an alumna and current parent, I am fortunate to have been a part of the Wenona community since the 1970s. I am forever indebted to my parents for choosing Wenona as the place to educate my sister Deborah and me. Wenona and then Principal Ms Barbara Jackson inspired our generation and taught us that we could achieve anything.

When I think about Wenona, I think of a pebble being dropped in a pond with the ripples extending outward in repeating circles. Wenona has a positive impact on so many lives, its influence - those ripples - reverberating for decades and far across the world. The stories in this 2022 Edition of Ut Prosim are a wonderful demonstration of the vibrancy and impact of the Wenona community - across so many generations, continents, and fields.

I would like to thank each member of the Wenona community, in particular our parents, guardians, and grandparents. It is the involvement, energy and passion of each and every one of you, alongside the School, which makes Wenona such an outstanding and special part of all our lives.

The Board and I are very confident in Wenona’s future under the inspirational leadership of Dr Scott and her team as they continue to educate and empower young women in a global learning environment. I hope you enjoy reading Ut Prosim and finding out how the Wenonians of all generations featured in these pages are serving and shaping their world.

Ms Catherine West (1986) Profile

Ms West has been on the Board of Governors of Wenona since 2017 and was appointed Chair in August 2022. She is a non-executive director and strategy advisor whose wide-ranging expertise includes the media, the arts, and the medical and automotive sectors in Australia and Europe.

Ms West is a non-executive director on the boards of three ASX-listed companies: Nine Entertainment, Peter Warren Automotive and Monash IVF. She is also on the board of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), the NIDA Foundation Trust and the Sydney Breast Cancer Foundation Limited. Ms West was a practising solicitor before becoming a full-time non-executive director in 2016. She is a Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Ms West is a past student of Wenona (1986). She graduated Dux of her year, was Head of Hooke House, a Prefect, and a member of both the Firsts Hockey team and the Year 12 Debating team.

After leaving Wenona, Ms West completed a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and a Bachelor of Economics degree from the University of Sydney where she resided at Women’s College.

She has three daughters, Isabelle Fouter, who graduated from Wenona in 2021, Zoe Fouter (Year 11) and Charlotte Fouter (Year 9). Her sister and extended family members also attended Wenona and her niece is currently in Year 5.