Melbourne Girls Grammar School (commonly called MGGS and formally known as MCEGGSFalk, B. (2012
Australian Dictionary of Biography: Dorothy Jean Ross.
M.U.P. Retrieved 7 August 2018), is an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

day A day is the time rotation period, period of a full Earth's rotation, rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours (86,400 seconds). As a day passes at a given location it experiences morning, afternoon, evening, ...

and

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

for girls, located in

South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a populati ...

, an inner city suburb of

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

. Founded in 1893 by Emily Hensley and Alice Taylor, the

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

has a non-selective enrolment policy and caters for 1,010 students from Early Learning to Year 12, including 90 boarders.Melbourne Girls Grammar School Annual Report 2006
(accessed:26-06-2007) It was originally known as Merton Hall and then as Melbourne Church of England Girls Grammar School. Melbourne Girls Grammar School is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia, the

Junior School Heads Association of Australia The Independent Primary School Heads of Australia (IPSHA) formerly Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA), is an incorporated body representing the heads of independent primary schools in Australia. Officially established in Septem ...

, the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia, the Association of Independent Schools of Victoria, the Australian Boarding Schools Association, and is a founding member of Girls Sport Victoria.

History

Melbourne Girls Grammar School was founded in 1893, as a

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

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 The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne is the metropolitan diocese of the Province of Victoria in the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese was founded from the Diocese of Australia by letters patent of 25 June 1847 and in 1911 Mary Valentine Gutteridge led the junior school. Merton Hall, now the main senior campus, was named after the house in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, England, where Newnham College began.Melbourne Girls Grammar School- Our Heritage
(accessed:26-06-2007) The tenth

headmistress A headmaster/headmistress, head teacher, head, school administrator, principal or school director (sometimes another title is used) is the staff member of a school with the greatest responsibility for the management of the school. Role While s ...

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 Toni Meath, previously principal at Mac.Robertson Girls' High School, was appointed as the twelfth Principal of the Melbourne Girls Grammar.Melbourne Girls Grammar School: Announcement of new Principal
(accessed:10-08-2007)

Headmistresses and principals

* Emily Hensley 1893–1898 and Alice Taylor 1893–1895 * Mary Morris 1898–1907 and Edith Morris 1898–1912Jubilee History 1953 MCEGGS * Agnes Tunnicliffe 1914–1915 * Kathleen Gilman Jones 1916–1938Mitchell, L.M.M. (1983) Australian Dictionary of Biography (Volume 9): Kathleen Annie Gilman Jones.
M.U.P. Retrieved 7 August 2018. * Dorothy Jean Ross 1939–1955 * Edith Mountain 1958–1974Falk, B. (2000) Australian Dictionary of Biography (Volume 15): Lloyd, Gwendolen Kent (Gwenda) (1899–1965).
M.U.P. Retrieved 7 August 2018. * 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 Principal, Christine Briggs. The most recent additions to the campus include the Artemis Centre (2017) and the St Hilda’s garden (2021). A Strategic Planning Framework was commissioned for the Anderson and Caroline Street sites from the architectural firm ARM.

Academics

Melbourne Girls Grammar offers

Victorian Certificate of Education The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) is the credential available to secondary school students who successfully complete year 10, 11 and 12 in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria as well as in some international schools i ...

(VCE) for its students at Years 11 to 12, with some students beginning their VCE studies in Year 10.

House system

The

house system The house system is a traditional feature of schools in the United Kingdom. The practice has since spread to Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. The school is divided into units called "houses" and each student is allocated to on ...

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: * Blackwood: yellow, named after alumnus Dame Margaret Blackwood * Clarke: red, named after Archbishop

Lowther Clarke Henry Lowther Clarke (23 November 1850 – 23 June 1926) was the fourth Anglican bishop and first archbishop of Melbourne, Australia. Early life Clarke was born at Firbank Vicarage, Westmorland, England, the son of the Revd William Clarke an ...

, 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

Sport

Melbourne Girls Grammar is a member of Girls Sport Victoria.

Notable alumnae

;Education * Enid Joske (1890–1973) was Principal of

Janet Clarke Hall Janet Clarke Hall (JCH) is a residential college of the University of Melbourne in Australia. The college is associated with the Anglican Province of Victoria. Founded in 1886 JCH was the first university college in Australia to admit women ...

in Melbourne * Margaret Loch Kiddle (1933) – Historian * Sally Walker AM (1972) – Vice Chancellor of 

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...

;Community and philanthropy * Gladys Buntine OBE (Spurling 1918) – Girl Guides Commissioner * Vera Deakin White OBE (1909) – Red Cross worker ;Entertainment, media, and the arts * Beryl Bryant (1909) – Theatre owner and actress *

Caroline Craig Caroline Craig (born 30 April 1975 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) is an Australian actress, based in Melbourne. Caroline completed a BA at Melbourne University before graduating from NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) in 1999. Care ...

 (1992) – Actress * Caroline Wilson (1977) – AFL journalist and television presenter * Fay Zwicky (1950) – Poet * Helen Gifford OAM (1952)  – Composer * Jill Garner (1977) – Victorian Government Architect * Kate Alexa (2005) – Singer *

Stephanie McIntosh Stephanie McIntosh (born 5 July 1985) is an Australian actress, singer and songwriter. She played the role of Sky Mangel in the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' from 2003 to 2007. She made a brief appearance for one episode in 2015 as part ...

 (2003) – Singer and actress * Portia de Rossi ;Medicine and science * (George) Girlie Chapple Hodges MBBS MS (1904–1999) – A surgeon, who was the first woman to complete

Master of Surgery The Master of Surgery (Latin: Magister Chirurgiae) is an advanced qualification in surgery. Depending upon the degree, it may be abbreviated ChM, MCh, MChir or MS. At a typical medical school the program lasts two to three years. The possessi ...

in Victoria. She was also a field hockey player who represented Australia. * Lucy Meredith Bryce CBE (1914) – Haematologist * Mary Ellinor Lucy Archer MBE (1912) – Librarian and scientist * Margaret Blackwood (1927) MBE, DBE – Botanist * Nancy Millis MBE, AC (1939) – Microbiologist * June Howqua MBBS, MD – Cardiologist ;Olympians and Paralympians * Amber Parkinson (1993) – Beijing 2008 – Fencing * Angela Darby (2004) – Beijing 2008 – Modern Pentathlon – Rhodes Scholar 2012 * Danni Roche OAM (1987) – Atlanta 1996 – Hockey * Isis Holt (2019) – 2016 Paralympics and 2020 Paralympics – Athletics * Jacqui Marshall (1974) – Los Angeles 1984 – Rowing * Joscelin Yeo Wei Ling (1997) – Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 – Swimming * Kitty Chiller AM (1981) – Sydney 2000 – Modern Pentathlon and later Olympic Chef de Mission in 2016 – first female Australian to hold the role * Sarah D'Arcy (1993) – Sydney 2000 – Swimming * Sarah Hammond (1993) – Sydney 2000 – Handball * Sarah Sauvey (2001) – Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics – Ski Cross Sports * Phoebe McWilliams (2003) – AFLW –

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Princes Park (stadium), Princes Park in Carlton North, Victoria, Carlton North, an inner suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. The c ...

–

Geelong Football Club The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based at Kardinia Park in South Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

–

Greater Western Sydney Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, far western and the Blue Mountains sub-regions with ...

* Bonnie Toogood (2015) – AFLW – 

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

– Essendon * Olivia Vesely (2017) – AFLW – 

St Kilda Football Club The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league. The club's name originates fro ...

* Abbie McKay (2018) – AFLW – 

* Eliza McNamara (2020) – AFLW –

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons or colloquially the Dees, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier comp ...

Associated schools

Melbourne Girls Grammar School is the sister school of

Melbourne Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian private school, private Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and senior s ...

, 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).

Notes

References

External links

MGGS websiteGirls Sport Victoria
{{Authority control Girls' schools in Victoria (state) Boarding schools in Victoria (state) Educational institutions established in 1893 Anglican schools in Melbourne Junior School Heads Association of Australia Member Schools 1893 establishments in Australia Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia Buildings and structures in the City of Melbourne (LGA)