Seymour College

Founded in 1922, Seymour College is one of Australia’s leading day and boarding schools for girls and is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School.

Our spacious campus, conveniently located in Glen Osmond, provides a unique environment where girls can thrive in their learning and find their own worth, beliefs and values. The vision at Seymour is to develop women of strength, optimism and justice, confident for the future and ready to take on the world. This is achieved by uncovering the passions of every individual girl and inspiring them in their learning to ensure that they grow with every experience to become confident, driven, passionate and community minded young women.

There is no doubt that girls benefit from the culture and environment here at Seymour. The College is based on meeting the needs of girls; our focus is girls, their learning, their wellbeing, their needs and activities. Seymour strives to give girls the best education to allow their leadership and other strengths to flourish. It is always GIRLS FIRST at Seymour College.

Seymour College is affiliated with the Uniting Church in Australia and the International Baccalaureate Organisation. Seymour College is a single 25 acre site located in the Adelaide foothills, 5km southeast of the city centre. It features magnificent trees, gardens, an oval, its own creek and green spaces at every turn.

The College is comprised of the Barr Smith Campus, home of the Middle and Senior Schools, and the McGregor Campus, which houses the Seymour Early Years and Junior School. The College crest is made up of the cross of St Andrew, the thistle and the words "Crescam Ministrando" (the College motto). Since 1927 the Black Watch tartan has been used in the College following permission being granted by the Commander in Chief of the Black Watch Scottish Regiment.

From their establishment in 1927, the Clans have been an important part of the College and its Scottish tradition. The four Clans are Bruce, Douglas, Stewart and Cameron (Wallace, 1927-29). Each year, the Principal appoints a Chief and two Chieftains to lead the Clan, following elections by members of the Clan. Clan Bruce was named after Robert Bruce and the Clan Birthday is celebrated on the anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.

Clan Cameron was, until 1929 called Clan Wallace. The Clan Birthday is celebrated on the anniversary of the Battle of Preston which was fought between the followers of Donald Campbell and the forces of King George II in 1745. Clan Douglas was named after Sir James Douglas. The clan birthday is celebrated on the anniversary of when the Castle Dangerous was surrendered to Sir James Douglas in 1306.

Clan Stewart celebrates its birthday on the anniversary of the day in 1745, when Prince Charles Edward raised the standard for the Stewarts of Glenfinnan in an attempt to regain the crown for the family. In 1945 the traditional banners were first presented to the senior Clans on their birthdays. They are still carried at the front of the Clans on ceremonial occasions and on Sports Day.

Our Service Program - which has a local, national, and global focus - has a “head, hands and heart” approach. Students engage locally and nationally with issues affecting many of our society’s marginalised, including Indigenous Australians, the homeless, refugees, women, aged, sick, disabled, and other vulnerable communities. Our College’s global focus is India, and every year a group travels to India to connect with our partner communities there. Our Service Learning Program is embedded in the curriculum and aims to move students from charity to justice and advocacy.

Our goal is to send out into the world a generation of young women who understand the role and power of advocacy, who are committed to making ethical and just decisions, and who have a desire to make a difference in our world. Seymour College seeks to respond to today's challenges of nationhood and national identity in a way that comprehends the past and the present, and gives hope for the future.

We acknowledge the strength, courage and survival of Indigenous peoples, their status as traditional custodians of the land, and recognise the impact of history relating to land, cultures, languages and families.

Education has a critical role in supporting Reconciliation and so we make a professional commitment:

• To recognise our shared past, foster understanding, and work together for a shared future based on co-existence of rights in which all people are treated with respect and dignity.
• To actively support and implement a range of principles that value human rights, and counter stereotyping, institutional and personal racism across all cultures and nationalities.
• To support, encourage and promote educational opportunities that consult with and involve local Aboriginal communities, elders and traditional custodians.
• To ensure that all learners in our care and at all stages of schooling undertake studies to celebrate, value and learn from and about Aboriginal peoples - including the diversity of histories, cultures, languages, achievements and issues, past and present.
• To incorporate Aboriginal perspectives throughout the curriculum.
• To promote the use of recommended resources: print, video/DVD, audio, CD, and online, as well as relevant locations and cultural instructors.
• To support and promote an understanding of Indigenous Australian cultures within the general Australian community.
• To work towards encouraging the enrolment of Indigenous students, valuing the individuality of each, acknowledging the diversity of their backgrounds and preferred learning styles and supporting them to achieve success.
• To implement culturally appropriate strategies for Aboriginal learners to achieve equitable learning outcomes through literacy, numeracy and learning technologies.