Melbourne Girls Grammar

Melbourne Girls Grammar (also known as MGGS, and earlier as MCEGGS[4]), is an independent, Anglican, day and boarding school for girls, located in South Yarra, an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Melbourne Girls Grammar
Location
South Yarra
,
Victoria

Australia
Coordinates37°49′53″S 144°59′6″E
Information
TypeIndependent, single sex, day & boarding, Christian school.
MottoLatin: Nisi Dominus Frustra
(Without the Lord, All is in Vain)
DenominationAnglican[1]
Established1893[2]
FounderEmily Hensley & Alice Taylor
ChairmanMr Mark Burgess
HeadmistressDr Toni Meath
ChaplainRev. Kirsty Ross
Years offeredELC–12
GenderGirls
Enrolment~1050 (P–12)[3]
Colour(s)Navy blue, grey and white
     
SloganIntegrity, Compassion, Courage, Self Discipline
AffiliationGirls Sport Victoria
Websitewww.mggs.vic.edu.au

Founded in 1893 by Emily Hensley and Alice Taylor, the school has a non-selective enrolment policy and caters for 1,010 students from Early Learning to Year 12, including 90 boarders.[5] It was originally known as Merton Hall and then as Melbourne Church of England Girls Grammar School.[6]

Melbourne Girls Grammar is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),[7] the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA),[8] the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (AGSA),[9] the Association of Independent Schools of Victoria (AISV),[2] the Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA),[1] and is a founding member of Girls Sport Victoria (GSV).[10]

History
MGGS chapel, 1929

Melbourne Girls Grammar was founded in 1893, as a private school known as Merton Hall in Domain Road, South Yarra, by Emily Hensley and Alice Taylor. In 1900, the School moved to its current location in Anderson Street, and in 1903 it became the first girls' school to be owned by the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne. Mary and Edith Morris were the headmistresses[11] and in 1911 Mary Valentine Gutteridge led the junior school.[12]

Merton Hall, now the main senior campus, was named after the house in Cambridge, England, where Newnham College began.[13]

The tenth headmistress of Melbourne Girls Grammar, Christine Briggs, announced her retirement in 2007. Catherine Misson was appointed to the position of Principal in 2008 serving until 2019, when Dr Toni Meath, previously principal at Mac.Robertson Girls' High School, was appointed as the twelfth Principal of the Melbourne Girls Grammar.[14]

Headmistresses and principals
  • Emily Hensley 1893–1898 and Alice Taylor 1893–1895
  • Mary Morris 1898–1907 and Edith Morris 1898–1912[11]
  • Agnes Tunnicliffe 1914–1915
  • Kathleen Gilman Jones 1916–1938[4][15]
  • Dorothy Jean Ross 1939–1955[4]
  • Edith Mountain 1958–1974[16]
  • Nina Crone 1975–1994
  • Christine Briggs 1995–2007
  • Catherine Misson 2008–2018
  • Toni Meath 2019–present

Campuses

The Junior Years (Prep - Year 4) learning environment is located at the Morris Hall campus on Caroline Street, while the Early Learning Centre (3- and 4-Year Old Program), the Middle Years (5-8) and Senior Years (Years 9-12) are all located at the Merton Hall campus, in Anderson Street, South Yarra.

The Merton Hall campus provides a chapel, gymnasium, library, dining hall, specialist Sport, Art, Drama and Science Centres, assembly hall, multipurpose sports fields and a rowing facility located nearby on the banks of the Yarra River. The Boarding House (which caters for approximately 90 students) is also located on the Merton Hall campus.

Wildfell, which was built in 2011 for the Middle Years Program, includes an eLearning studio and learning studios.

Morris Hall, the Junior Years campus, incorporates learning studios, specialist art, music and science centres, an oval and sustainable gardens.

Buildings and facilities

The School opened its Science Futures Centre in 2005, with a ceremony attended by Sir Gustav Nossal. The Science Futures Centre comprises eight laboratories, three preparation rooms, three laboratory technicians' offices and withdrawal areas. This was renamed the Christine Briggs Building in 2007 following the retirement of former Principal, Christine Briggs.

The most recent additions to the campus include the Artemis Centre (2017) and the St Hilda’s garden (2021).  

The Artemis Centre revolutionised the way that in which the School conceives and delivers its health, fitness and wellbeing programs.  Dedicated features of the Centre enable the development of fitness and flexibility in Grammarians from as young as three years of age, while the pool, dance and yoga rooms, and the gym recognise the changing needs of young people by promoting wellbeing and a regimen that encourages lifelong exercise and fitness for all ages.

Learning spaces, designed for independent study and small group collaboration, complete the environment and highlight the characteristics of a contemporary, agile and interconnected society we see in tertiary learning and in leading organisations. This building has most recently been complemented with gardens, at the opposing end of the campus, designed for relaxation, reflection and renewal. They offer a quiet sanctuary for Middle Years students to enjoy, but also serve as a reminder of sustainable practices and an appreciation of nature and the environment.

As the School continues to extend its programs and addresses the challenges of educating girls for the future, it will continue to review, innovate, design and update its buildings and facilities. In 2021, in line with the School’s strategic vision, a Strategic Planning Framework was commissioned for the Anderson and Caroline Street sites from leading world renowned architectural firm ARM.

Academics

Melbourne Girls Grammar offers Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) for its students at Years 11 to 12, with some students beginning their VCE studies in Year 10.

House system

The house system involves many students in a variety of student competitions from sport to art, music, drama, debating and public speaking. The houses run across Morris and Merton Halls and are: T

  • Blackwood
  • Clarke: red, named after Archbishop Lowther Clarke, who was a major influence in the early development of girls’ education within the Church of England framework
  • Hensley: pink, commemorates one of the two first headmistresses of the school - Emily Hensley
  • Mungo: green, named after ‘St Mungo’, the house in Domain Road where the school first opened in 1893
  • Taylor: blue, commemorates the other of the first two headmistresses of the School - Alice Taylor.

^ In 2021, led by the Student Executive Council (SEC) a referendum was conducted. The result was the decision to adopt a new name for this House in 2022.  

Sport

Melbourne Girls Grammar is a member of Girls Sport Victoria (GSV).

Notable alumnae
Education
Community and philanthropy
Entertainment, media, and the arts
Medicine and science
Olympians and Paralympians

Sports

Associated schools

Melbourne Girls Grammar School is the sister school of Melbourne Grammar School, with which it has a strong association, as the two stream productions, formals, workshops and concerts together. The student bases also enjoy a strong association throughout the secondary years as many MGGS girls attend Grimwade House (Melbourne Grammar School's co-educational primary campus).

See also

References
  1. "Melbourne Girls Grammar School". Schools. Australian Boarding Schools Association. 2005. Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
  2. "Melbourne Girls Grammar". Find a School. Association of Independent Schools of Victoria. 2007. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
  3. Melbourne Girls Grammar School- School Structure Archived 7 May 2007 at the Wayback Machine (accessed:26-06-2007)
  4. Falk, B. (2012) Australian Dictionary of Biography: Dorothy Jean Ross. Archived 7 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine M.U.P. Retrieved 7 August 2018
  5. Melbourne Girls Grammar School Annual Report 2006 Archived 2007-08-28 at the Wayback Machine (accessed:26-06-2007)
  6. Melbourne Church of England Girls Grammar School: History of the School 1893-1928. Archived from the original on 12 September 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2018.
  7. "Victoria". School Directory. Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. 2008. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
  8. "JSHAA Victorian Directory of Members". Victoria Branch. Junior School Heads' Association of Australia. 2007. Archived from the original on 13 February 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
  9. Butler, Jan (2006). "Member Schools". Members. The Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
  10. Mawkes, Leonie (2005). "Member Schools". Profile. Girls Sport Victoria. Archived from the original on 7 October 2007. Retrieved 5 February 2008.
  11. Jubilee History 1953 MCEGGS
  12. Mellor, Elizabeth J., "Mary Valentine Gutteridge (1887–1962)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 14 October 2023
  13. Melbourne Girls Grammar School- Our Heritage Archived 2007-07-05 at the Wayback Machine (accessed:26-06-2007)
  14. Melbourne Girls Grammar School: Announcement of new Principal Archived 2007-08-28 at the Wayback Machine (accessed:10-08-2007)
  15. Mitchell, L.M.M. (1983) Australian Dictionary of Biography (Volume 9): Kathleen Annie Gilman Jones. Archived 7 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine M.U.P. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  16. Falk, B. (2000) Australian Dictionary of Biography (Volume 15): Lloyd, Gwendolen Kent (Gwenda) (1899–1965). Archived 26 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine M.U.P. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
  17. "Crikey - Famous alumni on Latham's hit list - Famous alumni on Latham's hit list". 26 September 2007. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  18. Payten, Marianne, "Buntine, Gladys Selby (Jim) (1901–1992)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, archived from the original on 28 January 2022, retrieved 28 January 2022
  19. "White, Vera Deakin (1891–1978)", Australian Dictionary of Biography: White, Vera Deakin (1891 - 1978), National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, archived from the original on 5 March 2021 (accessed:27-07-2007)
  20. Craven, Peter (21 August 2017). "The poetry of Fay Zwicky and Thea Astley review: Two distinguished Australians". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  21. Verso, M. L., "Bryce, Lucy Meredith (1897–1968)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, archived from the original on 28 January 2022, retrieved 28 January 2022
  22. Whyte, Jean P., "Archer, Mary Ellinor Lucy (1893–1979)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, archived from the original on 7 April 2022, retrieved 28 January 2022
  23. Webster, Ian; Officer, Colin. "June Louise Howqua". Royal College of Physicians. Archived from the original on 21 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.

Further reading
  • McCarthy, R. and Theobald, M.R. 1993. Melbourne Girls Grammar School Centenary Essays 1893–1993. Hyland House, Melbourne. ISBN 1-875657-03-7.
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