Presbyterian Ladies’ College, Sydney

Presbyterian Ladies’ College Sydney is one of Australia’s oldest and most respected schools for girls. PLC Sydney is a day and boarding school for girls from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12.

When PLC Sydney opened its doors for the first time in 1888, the entire school consisted of 39 girls. Today the College is home to nearly 1400 girls from just four years old to the young women who graduate in Year 12. Over its long history the College has been transformed over and over again.

Times change. Education has changed ... and keeps changing. Today’s learning environment tools and opportunities would barely be recognisable to a graduate of only 30 years ago. Change is good, but some things do not – and should not – change. In what turned out to be an unusual opening day ceremony the Governor of NSW invited his wife, Margaret Child-Villiers, the Countess of Jersey to make an impromptu speech. The words she spoke were reported around the world.

“To gain knowledge for the mere sake of possessing it is selfishness; to gain knowledge for the mere love of displaying it is vanity; to gain knowledge for the sake of being useful to others is true Christian charity.”

The Countess’ spirit lives on in the College’s commitment to achieving outstanding academic results as well as being a place where each girl is extended to grow into a confident, caring and accomplished young woman of integrity. The Countess of Jersey would have approved.

One of the things we have come to love about PLC Sydney is its gardens. Everyone who walks through this college moves through the dappled light from its wonderful old trees and shrubbery. The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins once wrote: “Glory be to God for dappled things.” He expressed his wonder and gratitude for the variety of beauty and experience he found in Nature.

Our gardens are an appropriate metaphor for our PLC Sydney community. With approximately 1350 students, boarders and day girls, from a wide range of backgrounds and over fifty cultural groupings, and with provision for the most able students and for those with special learning difficulties, we can claim to be one of the truly international, proudly comprehensive schools in the country.

We welcome all students regardless of their academic ability, all of whom are regarded as valuable members of our school community and whose development is important to us.

PLC Sydney provides many opportunities for students to find their niche and learn new skills, while also engendering the intellectual and personal vitality required for life after school.

The scope of our courses is impressive by any standard: 18 School Certificate courses and 26 Higher School Certificate courses, including five languages. University entrance rates are equally encouraging, particularly in view of our comprehensive entry. A pattern has developed where between 45 per cent and 60 per cent of the graduating Year 12 receive ATARs of 90 or over.

We seek to be a College that achieves both excellence and what we call 'reach'. Students are able to achieve excellence academically, and in co-curricular endeavours. Yet we also set as our task to enable each student to achieve her best.

PLC Sydney is a school of the Presbyterian Church of Australia in the State of NSW and welcomes all girls to a caring Christian environment which encourages the pursuit of excellence in all areas of life.

The College will encourage each individual to:

• develop a Christian worldview
• become a young woman of integrity with a sense of purpose
• achieve full potential in all areas of endeavour
• develop agency; the capacity to make good choices
• achieve proficiency and confidence in communication, problem solving and the use of
  new technologies
• attain self-confidence and develop an enthusiastic commitment to excellence
• develop an understanding of and respect for the values of others
• acquire the skills needed to use leisure time in a fulfilling, responsible and creative
  fashion
• contribute to the well-being of her local, national and international community
• develop a keen and life-long pursuit of learning.

Our values are based on a Christian world view and expressed through four core ideals. We strive to provide an environment where all endeavours and relationships in the College are underpinned by the following values:

• Grace: the underlying framework for our College is that each student realises that there are circumstances beyond their control in their lives for which they are truly grateful. They are who they are because of the grace of God, the love of their families and the support and enabling of others.
• An attitude of Reverence: (deep respect tinged with awe) for the word of God and the beauty and wonder of the natural world and humanity. With this attitude we view the world with inspiration and hope, undertake our endeavours with passion and base our relationships on respect for ourselves and others.
• The pursuit of Wisdom: which begins with a spirit of inquiry for knowledge and truth and through discipline and challenge leads to well considered judgement.
• Participation in Service: to make a difference in the world. Contributing to communities in this way builds personal character through understanding and compassion and fulfils the obligations and responsibilities of citizenship.