Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne
Encyclopedia
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
, non-selective, day
Day school
A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...
and boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
for girls, located in Kew
Kew, Victoria
Kew is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara. At the 2006 Census, Kew had a population of 22,516....
, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia. The school has two additional outdoor education campuses known as 'Marshmead' and 'Banksia'.
Established in 1882 on its current campus by the Methodist Church of Australasia
Methodist Church of Australasia
The Methodist Church of Australasia was a Methodist denomination based in Australia.It ceased to exist in 1977 when most of its congregations joined with the many congregations of the Congregational Union of Australia and the Presbyterian Church of Australia to form the Uniting Church in...
, MLC is now a school of the Uniting Church in Australia
Uniting Church in Australia
The Uniting Church in Australia was formed on 22 June 1977 when many congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, the Presbyterian Church of Australia and the Congregational Union of Australia came together under the Basis of Union....
, and caters for approximately 2200 students from the Early Learning Centre (MLC Kindle) to year 12, including more than 100 boarders.
The college is a member of Girls Sport Victoria
Girls Sport Victoria
Girls' Sport Victoria was established in 2001, and is one of the largest independent school sporting association in Victoria, with 24 member schools from around Melbourne....
, the Australian Boarding Schools' Association, the Junior School Heads Association of Australia
Junior School Heads Association of Australia
The Independent Primary School Heads of Australia formerly Junior School Heads Association of Australia , is an incorporated body representing the heads of independent primary schools in Australia....
(JSHAA), the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), and the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia.
MLC offers students both the Victorian Certificate of Education
Victorian Certificate of Education
The Victorian Certificate of Education or VCE is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete high school level studies in the state of Victoria, Australia. Study for the VCE is usually completed over two years, but it can be spread over a longer period in some cases...
and the International Baccalaureate.
History
William Henry FitchettWilliam Henry Fitchett
William Henry Fitchett was an Australian journalist, minister, newspaper editor, educator and founding president of the Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne.-Early life:...
was secretary of a committee formed in 1879 to start a secondary school for girls.
MLC was founded on its current campus in Kew
Kew, Victoria
Kew is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Boroondara. At the 2006 Census, Kew had a population of 22,516....
on 14 February 1882 as a modern school of the first order, with buildings that formed a collegiate institution for girls unsurpassed in the colonies. It was the first Australian girls’ school established by the Wesleyan
Wesleyanism
Wesleyanism or Wesleyan theology refers, respectively, to either the eponymous movement of Protestant Christians who have historically sought to follow the methods or theology of the eighteenth-century evangelical reformers, John Wesley and his brother Charles Wesley, or to the likewise eponymous...
Methodists and Fitchett was the first principal. The goal of its founders was to provide a high-class Christian education for girls, comparable with that provided elsewhere for boys. As the first Australian girls’ school established by the Wesleyan Methodists, MLC attracted boarders from all Australian colonies.
In 1990, MLC became the first school in the world to introduce laptop computers for all students from Year 5 – 12. In 1991, MLC Marshmead opened, providing Year 9 students with an eight-week residential experience with a focus on outdoor education.
In 2001, The Sun-Herald
The Sun-Herald
The Sun-Herald is an Australian tabloid newspaper published on Sundays in Sydney by Fairfax Media. It is the Sunday counterpart of The Sydney Morning Herald. In the 6 months to September 2005, The Sun-Herald had a circulation of 515,000...
reported a 1988 study which ranked MLC third in Australia's top ten girls' schools, based on the number of its alumni mentioned in the Who's Who in Australia
Who's Who in Australia
The Who's Who in Australia is an Australian biographical reference first published by Fred Johns in 1906 as Johns's Notable Australians. It has been used by academics as a resource that identifies Australia's leading individuals, and has been analysed when studying the social backgrounds –...
(a listing of notable Australians). In 2002, MLC won the title of 'Australian School of the Year', as published in The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
newspaper.
Although never exclusively denominational, the original College motto 'Deo Domuique' - For God and for Home - still remains today. In recent times, the College has adopted an international outlook, embracing diversity and the UNESCO principles of being an internationally-minded school.
House system
As with most Australian schools, MLC has a house systemHouse system
The house system is a traditional feature of British schools, and schools in the Commonwealth. Historically, it was associated with established public schools, where a 'house' refers to a boarding house or dormitory of a boarding school...
through which students partake in inter-house competitions and activities. The college currently has five houses:
- Berry - Colour: Purple, Mascot: Turtle.
- Cato - Colour: Blue, Mascot: Bear.
- Fitchett - Colour: Yellow, Mascot: Lion
- Krome - Colour: Green, Mascot: Frog
- Nevile - Colour: Pink, Mascot: Pink Panther
In the past, there was a Tiddeman house. This was a specific house for boarders.
Curriculum
MLC offers an extensive range of VCEVictorian Certificate of Education
The Victorian Certificate of Education or VCE is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete high school level studies in the state of Victoria, Australia. Study for the VCE is usually completed over two years, but it can be spread over a longer period in some cases...
and Vocational Education Training (VET)
Vocational education
Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...
courses, as well as the IB Diploma Programme
IB Diploma Programme
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a two-year educational programme for students aged 16–19that provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education, and is recognised by universities worldwide. It was developed in the early to mid-1960s in Geneva by...
. It has one of the largest VCE subject selections in the state. The school's success with the IB Programme is internationally renowned, with students consistently achieving in the top global percentile each year. Its physical education program includes rowing, gymnastics, cheerleading, kayaking as well as typical girls' sports. It participates in the Girls Sport Victoria
Girls Sport Victoria
Girls' Sport Victoria was established in 2001, and is one of the largest independent school sporting association in Victoria, with 24 member schools from around Melbourne....
competition. MLC has achieving multiple state and zone level pennants in swimming, athletics, tennis, netball, hockey and soccer.
The music school features an auditorium, and a department for woodwind, strings, keyboard, percussion and brass, with multiple ensembles including a concert orchestra, senior strings, choirs and bands. The music school is known for its excellence. The state of the art auditorium is often used for external performances.
The college's drama department collaborates on productions with Camberwell Grammar School
Camberwell Grammar School
Camberwell Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, day school for boys, located in Canterbury, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
. The school offers a speech and drama program from early years and theatre arts and drama at VCE and IB level.
Notable alumnae
Some notable 'Old Collegians' include:
Entertainment, Media and the Arts
- Joyce NicholsonJoyce NicholsonJoyce Nicholson was an Australian author, business woman and a significant contributor to an Australian political organisation, the Women's Electoral Lobby....
, author, political philanthropist - Alice Marian Ellen Bale - Artist
- Cate BlanchettCate BlanchettCatherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
- Actress (also attended Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar SchoolIvanhoe Girls' Grammar SchoolIvanhoe Girls' Grammar School, is an independent, Anglican, day school for girls, located in Ivanhoe, a northern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
) - Tessa JamesTessa JamesTessa James is an Australian actress who is best known for the role of Nicole Franklin in the Australian soap opera Home and Away.-Early and personal life:...
- Actress - Ada Lorna Forbes - Actress
- Deborra-Lee FurnessDeborra-Lee Furness-Biography:Furness attended Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne where she graduated in 1973. She subsequently graduated at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York in 1981....
- Actress - Libbi GorrLibbi GorrLisbeth Joanne "Libbi" Gorr is an Australian broadcaster, writer, voice artist and journalist. She is also known for the satirical character that she created called "Elle McFeast"....
- Entertainer, most commonly known as 'Elle McFeastElle McFeastElle McFeast is an Australian television character created by comedian Libbi Gorr. The character appeared in several popular shows during the 1990s beginning in the ABC series Live and Sweaty in 1991 and becoming the host in 1993...
' - Nene KingNene KingNene King was editor of some of Australia's most famous women's magazines, including Woman's Day, New Idea and Women's Weekly.-Early life:King was born in March 1943 in Melbourne to a Jewish family. Her parents were Lionel and Emily and she has an older brother, Peter...
- Doyenne of Australian magazine publishing, former editor and editor-in-chief of Women's Weekly and Woman's Day - Karen KnowlesKaren Knowles-Early career:Knowles was educated in Melbourne at the Methodist Ladies' College. She became nationally famous on the popular television program Young Talent Time, where she was a member of the Young Talent Team from 1975 to 1980....
- Performer, producer and director - Dora Lynnell Wilson - Artist
- Bambi Northwood-Blyth - Model
- Yumi StynesYumi StynesYumi Tasma Stynes is a television presenter for an Australian morning show The Circle and television channel Max.-Early life:...
- Television presenter (also attended Melbourne Girls' Grammar School)
Medicine and Science
- Isabel Clifton CooksonIsabel Clifton CooksonIsabel Clifton Cookson was an Australian botanist who specialised in palaeobotany and palynology.Cookson was born at Hawthorn, Victoria, and attended the Methodist Ladies' College at Kew where she gained honours in anatomy, physiology and botany in the senior public examination...
- Botanist and palaeobotanist - Mary Clementina De Garis - Obstetrician, second woman in Victoria to take out an M.D.
- Hilda Estelle Kincaid - Medical practitioner
Politics and the Law
- Millie PeacockMillie PeacockMillie Gertrude Peacock, Lady Peacock was the first woman elected to the Parliament of Victoria.-Early life:...
, First woman elected to the Parliament of Victoria - Nicola RoxonNicola RoxonNicola Louise Roxon is an Australian politician, and is the Minister for Health and Ageing. She has been a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives since 1998, representing the Division of Gellibrand, in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria.-Early and personal life:She...
- Minister for Health and Ageing - Judith TroethJudith TroethJudith Mary Troeth has been a Liberal member of the Australian Senate since July 1993, representing the state of Victoria. She was born in Melbourne, Victoria, and was educated at the Methodist Ladies' College, and later at the University of Melbourne, where she graduated in arts and education...
- Liberal Senator for Victoria - Larissa Tahireh "Lara" Giddings - Premier of Tasmania
Sport
- Alisa CamplinAlisa CamplinAlisa Camplin OAM is an Australian aerial skier who won gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics, the second ever winter olympic gold medal for Australia. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Camplin finished third, a bronze medal...
- Aerial skier, Winter Olympiad gold medallist - Lydia IerodiaconouLydia IerodiaconouLydia Lassila is an Australian Olympic freestyle skier and gold medalist who competed in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin and the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver.On 20 October 2010, Lydia was awarded by the Australian Sporting Hall...
- Aerial skier, Winter Olympiad gold medallist
Other
- Jessie VaseyJessie VaseyJessie Mary Vasey CBE was the founder and President of the War Widows' Guild of Australia.-Early life:...
- Founder of the War Widows' Guild of Australia (also attended Lauriston Girls' School)
Rhodes Scholars
MLC has produced four Rhodes ScholarsRhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship, named after Cecil Rhodes, is an international postgraduate award for study at the University of Oxford. It was the first large-scale programme of international scholarships, and is widely considered the "world's most prestigious scholarship" by many public sources such as...
: Karen Yeung (1987), Joanna Masel (1991), Sanya Reid Smith (1993) and Kate Robson (2001)
See also
- List of schools in Victoria
- List of high schools in Victoria
- Victorian Certificate of EducationVictorian Certificate of EducationThe Victorian Certificate of Education or VCE is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete high school level studies in the state of Victoria, Australia. Study for the VCE is usually completed over two years, but it can be spread over a longer period in some cases...
- International Baccalaureate
Further reading
- Zainu'ddin, A. 1982. They Dreamt of a School: a Centenary History of the Methodist Ladies' College Kew, 1882-1982. Hyland House, Melbourne. ISBN 0-9080904-7-1.