From the Principal
Hello from all of us here at Pymble.
We’ve had a wonderful first term of the year, filled with energy and school spirit, spurred on by our culture of showing up as your best self and ‘having a go’, knowing you are supported by your Pymble family. We can’t wait to do more of the same in Term 2.
2024 is the year of Pymble Pulse, our overall College theme for the year, and the umbrella for a range of initiatives led by staff and/or students to enhance our community’s wellbeing and learning. It is based on the notion that every action you take stimulates a reaction in the people around you, much like the way every beat of your heart stimulates blood to pulse through your body. Pymble Pulse represents the heartbeat of the College and acknowledges the impact we have on each other as a community.
Our first Pymble Pulse launch for the year, was a Year 12 initiative encouraging students to show up to their friends’ and peers’ co-curricular pursuits to cheer them on and celebrate their achievements, big or small. It’s been a source of great pride to watch this spirit of celebrating others take on a new life of its own. In Term 2 we look forward to continuing our Pymble Pulse program of encouraging all students and staff to be more active, foster healthy sleep habits, and, therefore, function at optimal level.
Girls thrive in girls’ schools
You may have noticed a particular topic continuing to pulse through the media over the past 12 months or so – the great debate around single sex versus co-educational schools. This, of course, has been sparked by several Australian boys’ schools announcing their intention to transition to co-education, a movement that has generated a great deal of emotion and conjecture about the future of single-sex education.
Today I’d like to highlight some of the many research-based reasons why Pymble Ladies’ College was, is and always will be a school for girls, and girls only. This data comes from excellent research from highly regarded academics, which has been brought together by the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools (ICGS), of which I am one of the Board directors. It reflects the experience of students in girls’ schools all around the world.
The research is compelling
- Girls-only education leads to higher academic achievement, which we see in Australia in our NAPLAN, HSC and PISA results.
- The research also tells us that, compared to girls in co-ed schools, girls in single-sex schools have a greater sense of:
- social and emotional wellbeing, due to tailored pastoral care programs and less sexual harassment, gender bias and bullying
- confidence and self-esteem, including more positive body image
- competitive spirit and willingness to take risks with their learning
- participation in STEM subjects, and a higher likelihood of defying gender stereotypes in subject and career choices
- participation in sport and physical education
- tertiary study and career aspirations.
The list of compelling reasons goes on. If you’re interested, you can access a succinct summary of the ICGS research here.
Happily, this research is supported by evidence we see each day at Pymble – here on our main campus, at Vision Valley, and at all the other exciting destinations where our girls love to learn, including Europe and the US, where our Dancers are currently on tour to undertake workshops with Broadway dancers, professional dance companies and screen acting coaches. You can just imagine how excited they were for the term to finish and to get on that plane!
Put simply, girls’ schools offer the best learning environment for girls because every facet of our educational design, from the classroom dynamics to co-curricular offerings, is carefully crafted with girls in mind. In this environment, girls are unreservedly the focal point, empowered to develop and voice their opinions, explore their identities, and follow their dreams without limitations. From robotics to football, every opportunity is open to our students, free from gender stereotypes.
As we look towards the future and acknowledge the evolving landscape of education, we are grateful to live in a country where we have choice. We choose to continue to focus on delivering an outstanding learning environment where our girls are encouraged to excel, evolve, and ultimately become the influential and compassionate women they are destined to be.
