St Aidan's Anglican Girls' School
Encyclopedia
St Aidan’s Anglican Girls' School is an independent
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...

, Anglican
Anglican Church of Australia
The Anglican Church of Australia is a member church of the Anglican Communion. It was previously officially known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania...

, day school
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...

 for girls, located in Corinda
Corinda, Queensland
Corinda is a suburb in Brisbane, Australia. Located approximately 9 km southwest of the Brisbane central business district.It is believed that the name Corinda originates from a local cattle station owned by Sir Arthur Palmer, which he named after his Corinda pastoral station near...

, a western suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It was named after St Aidan of Lindisfarne, an Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 saint.

Founded in 1929 by the Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Advent
Society of the Sacred Advent
The Society of the Sacred Advent is an Anglican religious order founded at Brisbane, Australia, in 1892 by Caroline Grace Millicent Short , and still active in that city.-History:...

, the school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...

 has a non-selective enrolment policy and caters for approximately 857 students from Prep
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

 to Year 12. Along with St Margaret's Anglican Girls School
St Margaret's Anglican Girls School
St Margaret's Anglican Girls' School is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for girls, located in Ascot, an inner-northern suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia....

, it remains a school run by the Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Advent (part of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane
Anglican Diocese of Brisbane
The Anglican Diocese of Brisbane is based in Brisbane, Australia. The diocesan bishop's seat is St John's Cathedral, Brisbane. The current Archbishop of Brisbane is the Most Reverend Phillip Aspinall, who is also the Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia.The diocese stretches from the inner...

).

St Aidan's is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), 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 Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (AGSA), and has been a member of the Queensland Girls' Secondary Schools Sports Association
Queensland Girls' Secondary Schools Sports Association
The Queensland Girls' Secondary Schools Sports Association Inc is a sporting association for girls from eight private girls' schools, one co-educational private school, and one co-educational public school, based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia....

 (QGSSSA) since 1939.

Curriculum

Students in Years 8 to 12 may choose from subjects including arts, such as music and drama, sciences (Elective Science and Extension Science), and Technology (Business and Multimedia). In Years 11 to 12, students select six of the 24 subjects on offer. St Aidan's was the first all-girls school in Brisbane to introduce physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

 to their curriculum.

St Aidan's consistently performs well on the Queensland Core Skills Test
Queensland Core Skills Test
The Queensland Core Skills Test is a statewide test completed by all Queensland year twelve students who wish to be eligible for an Overall Position and is optional for tertiary rank students. These ranks are used to gain entrance into tertiary degrees and courses...

, from which students’ overall positions are determined.

OP results

In 2009 the following results were achieved:
  • Overall positions - OP 1 – 5 29.2% (State average 18.3%; OP 1 – 10 58.4% (State average 45.33%; and OP 1 – 15 84.07% (State average 73.16%.
  • QCS results - A total of 56.5% of students received an A or a B on the QCS. A 30.4% (State average 15.6%); B 26.1% (State average 27.8%); C 32.2% (State average 34.8%); D 11.3% (State average 20.9%); and E 0% (State average 0.9%).


Sport

St Aidan's has been a member of the Queensland Girls' Secondary Schools Sports Association
Queensland Girls' Secondary Schools Sports Association
The Queensland Girls' Secondary Schools Sports Association Inc is a sporting association for girls from eight private girls' schools, one co-educational private school, and one co-educational public school, based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia....

 (QGSSSA) since 1939, and through this association students compete in sporting competitions against other similar-type Queensland girls' schools. Sports offered by the Senior School include artistic and rhythmic gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...

, athletics
Athletics (track and field)
Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...

, badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...

, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

, cross-country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

, equestrian
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

, hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...

, Football- soccer, netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...

, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

, rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

, touch football
Touch football (rugby league)
Touch is a field sport also known as Touch Football, or in some countries as Touch Rugby. Touch is overseen worldwide by the Federation of International Touch . Touch has traditionally been played in Australia and New Zealand but the sport has expanded internationally and features many regional and...

, and volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

. Sports offered by the Junior School include gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...

, athletics
Athletics (track and field)
Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...

, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, cross-country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

, equestrian
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

, Football- soccer, netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...

, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

, rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 and touch football
Touch football (rugby league)
Touch is a field sport also known as Touch Football, or in some countries as Touch Rugby. Touch is overseen worldwide by the Federation of International Touch . Touch has traditionally been played in Australia and New Zealand but the sport has expanded internationally and features many regional and...

.

St Aidan's sporting teams successes include the STARS (St Aidan's Rowers) winning the Head of the River
Head of the River (Queensland)
The Queensland Head of the River refers to two high school rowing regattas in Queensland Australia, one for boys and one for girls . The boys regatta is held in mid to late March while the girls regatta is held in late August early September...

in 2005, 2007 and 2008. Past and current students have been selected to represent Queensland, and in some cases Australia, for their sports.

Performing arts

St Aidan's produces state-recognised ensembles and choirs. In 2004, both the String Consort and Concert Band won their divisions at a statewide music competition held at Iona College.

Students in Years 9 to 12 participate in musicals with boys from the Brisbane Boys' College
Brisbane Boys' College
Brisbane Boys' College , is an independent, Presbyterian and Uniting Church, day and boarding school for boys, located in Toowong, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia....

 (BBC). In 2010, the two schools performed in Leader of the Pack
Leader of the Pack (musical)
Leader of the Pack is a musical with liner notes by Anne Beatts and additional material by Jack Heifner, music by Ellie Greenwich, and lyrics by Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Phil Spector, George "Shadow" Morton, Jeff Kent, and Ellen Foley.-Background:...

, in 2008 The Wiz
The Wiz
The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974 at the Morris A...

, in 2007 We Will Rock You
We Will Rock You (musical)
We Will Rock You is a jukebox musical, based on the songs of Queen and named after their hit single of the same name. The musical was written by British comedian and author Ben Elton in collaboration with Queen members Brian May and Roger Taylor...

, and Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....

in 2006.

Since 2005, St Aidan's girls have participated in 'STAGE', the St Aidan's dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

 troupe.

Community service

St Aidan's girls participate in compulsory community service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....

 as part of the Religious and Values Education program. The Interact Club is a student run organisation with ties to the Rotary Club that raises thousands of dollars each year for charity. Since 2004, Interact has run a fashion parade (with support from the community group at BBC) in order to raise money for breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...

 and, most recently, prostate cancer
Prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...

 research. In 2006, Interact modified the traditional fashion parade format and produced RETRO, a performance, featuring an exhibition of clothing worn in days gone by.

Tradition

St Aidan’s was opened, in Corinda, on February 4, 1929, by the Right Reverend Henry Frewen Le Fanu. Sister Elisabeth was Sister-in-Charge, Mrs Christine Hartland was Headmistress, and the Reverend Canon W.E.C. Barrett was Chaplain.

The initial enrolment, comprising kindergarten, first, third and fourth forms was 17, including one boy. This had risen to 42 by the end of the year, when Miss Sutton had joined the staff with students from her small school at Sherwood. Boys were admitted into SSA schools so that they could have an Anglican education before attending ‘Churchie’.

The depression years affected most church schools negatively but St Aidan's had 65 students by 1930 and 134 by 1934.

St Aidan's thrived under the inaugural Headmistress, Mrs Hartland. As Mrs Hartland said in later years 'the school and I grew together'. She demanded uncompromising standards of behaviour and her sayings, ‘Use your initiative gels’ and ‘A pennyworth of common sense is worth more than a pound of brain’, became legendary.

The Sisters were fifty years ahead of time when they appointed a married woman to the position of Headmistress: at the time, State School teachers were forced to resign as soon as they married.

In 1948 the first Sister-in-Charge, Sister Lois, heralded the beginning of a 32 year period of St Aidan’s having Sisters-in-Charge. For the previous 19 years the Sisters had always come out from the Community House to teach Divinity and to prepare students for confirmation. Overall the sisters’ views of education were farsighted and progressive and they deplored any view which denigrated the value of education for girls. In Sister Lois’ 1951 report, she stated 'Girls must be equally educated as, at the very least, they will need trained, well-informed and keen minds to be capable mothers'.

Sister Moira stressed the importance of parental involvement in student spiritual practices. Under her guidance, support for the Arts had grown, essential Senior School building works were under construction and Science subjects had received a much-needed boost.

Sister Helen Marie, succeeded Sister Moira in 1962 and, in 1964, the school saw a year of extraordinary building and academic change and expansion – plus increased enrolments. Sister Rachel’s years saw much expansion and progress within the school in many aspects. The enrolment had risen to 312 at the start of 1965, which meant that the school needed an urgent building programme to provide further classrooms and she embarked on several projects. Sister Kathleen was supported by Sister Norma and Sister Bridget, and Sister Julian who acted as housekeeper for them at Broads.

A shyer personality with a keen sense of humour and highly organised, Miss Neil led St Aidan's for 12 years from 1980. A testament to her years of hard work and foresight is the Performing Arts Complex. By 1990 Miss Neil had seen the need for a strategic plan 'for the next decade'. This plan would encompass physical, academic and co-curricula development. Her 12 years allowed her the time to implement her vision.

Mrs Patricia (Trish) Evans, came to the school in 1992. Her vision for St Aidan's included formulating and implementing a strategic plan, and enhancing administrative staff and student access to improved technology. Within an educational tradition of 'Girls can do anything' and a strong Christian framework of caring for each other and the wider community, Mrs Evans ably led St Aidan's through change.

Mrs Spiller, a former teacher at St Margaret's, Hillbrook Anglican School
Hillbrook Anglican School
Hillbrook Anglican School is a co-educational, Anglican independent school, in Brisbane, Australia. The school is one of the few Anglican schools in Brisbane which specialises in high school education only.-History:...

, Deputy Principal of St Aidan's and mother of three, Mrs Spiller was a popular choice as the new principal for St Aidan's to herald the new century. 'My vision for St Aidan's is to be the school of choice for the parent and daughter who want an all round education: academic as well as community service, leadership, music, sport, debating, all embedded in a strong Christian context (1999).' Mrs Spiller has guided through the development and enhancement of the Junior School facilities, the creation of the Science and Technology building, and the redevelopment of the Performing Arts Centre (PAC), to be known as The Christine Hartland Centre(completed mid 2010) and extension of the Junior School (completed mid 2010).

House system

As with most Australian schools, St Aidan's utilises a house system
House 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...

. The school has six houses:
Colour
Austen Red. Named after author, Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...

Barrett Pink. Named after past School Captain
School Captain
School Captain is a student appointed or elected to represent the school.This student, usually in the senior year, in their final year of attending that school...

, Helen Barrett
Bronte Yellow. Named after authors Charlotte, Anne & Emily Brontë
Brontë
The Brontës were a nineteenth-century literary family associated with Haworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The sisters, Charlotte , Emily , and Anne , are well-known as poets and novelists...

Cavell Blue. Named after WW1 nurse, Edith Cavell
Edith Cavell
Edith Louisa Cavell was a British nurse and spy. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from all sides without distinction and in helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during World War I, for which she was arrested...

Hartland Purple. Named after former principal, Mrs. Hartland
Nightingale Green. Named after Crimean War nurse, Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...


Notable alumni

  • Anne Katherine Carnell AO
    Order of Australia
    The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...

     – 1972 - former Chief Minister ACT, Executive Director Australian Division General Practitioners Chief Executive Officer
    Chief executive officer
    A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...

     of the Australian General Practice Network; Recipient of the Centenary Medal
    Centenary Medal
    The Centenary Medal is an award created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the Centenary of Federation of Australia and to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government...

     2003
  • Kate Miller-Heidke
    Kate Miller-Heidke
    Kate Miller-Heidke is a singer-songwriter from Brisbane, Australia. Although classically trained, she has followed a career in alternative pop music. She is signed to Sony Australia, Epic in the US and RCA in the UK.-Career:...

     1998 - singer song writer
  • Gayle Mayes
    Gayle Mayes
    Gayle Mayes is an Australian sprint canoer who competed in the early 1990s. She finished eighth in the K-4 500 m event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona....

    1973 - Olympic kayaker

External links

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