Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne

For other schools of the same name, see Methodist Ladies' College (disambiguation).

Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne
Latin: Deo Domuique ("For God and for Home")
Location
Kew, Victoria, Australia
Coordinates	37°48′49″S 145°2′19″E / 37.81361°S 145.03861°E / -37.81361; 145.03861Coordinates: 37°48′49″S 145°2′19″E / 37.81361°S 145.03861°E / -37.81361; 145.03861
Information
Type	Independent, Single-sex, Day & Boarding
Denomination	Uniting Church
Established	1882
Chairperson	Louise Adler AM
Principal	Ms. Rosa Storelli
Chaplain	Anneliese Hallam
Enrolment	~2,200 (ELC-12)[1]
Colour(s)	Green & Silver
Slogan	"I love MLC"[2]
Website	www.mlc.vic.edu.au

Methodist Ladies' College, c. 1930.

Methodist Ladies' College (commonly referred to as MLC) is an independent, non-selective, day and boarding school for girls, located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The school has two additional outdoor education campuses known as 'Marshmead' and 'Banksia'.

Established in 1882 on its current campus by the Methodist Church of Australasia, MLC is now a school of the Uniting Church in Australia, and caters for approximately 2200 students from the Early Learning Centre (MLC Kindle) to year 12, including more than 100 boarders.^[3]

The college is a member of Girls Sport Victoria,^[4] the Australian Boarding Schools' Association,^[5] the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA),^[6] the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),^[7] and the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia.^[8]

MLC offers students both the Victorian Certificate of Education and the International Baccalaureate.^[9]

History

William Henry Fitchett was secretary of a committee formed in 1879 to start a secondary school for girls.^[10] MLC was founded on its current campus in Kew on 14 February 1882 as a modern school of the first order, with buildings that formed a collegiate institution for girls unsurpassed in the colonies.^{[citation needed]} It was the first Australian girls’ school established by the Wesleyan Methodists and Fitchett was the first principal. The goal of its founders was to provide a high-class Christian education for girls, comparable with that provided elsewhere for boys.^{[citation needed]} As the first Australian girls’ school established by the Wesleyan Methodists, MLC attracted boarders from all Australian colonies.^{[citation needed]}

In 1990, MLC became the first school in the world to introduce laptop computers for all students from Year 5 – 12.^[11] In 1991, MLC Marshmead opened, providing Year 9 students with an eight-week residential experience with a focus on outdoor education.^{[citation needed]}

In 2001, The Sun-Herald reported a 1988 study which ranked MLC third in Australia's top ten girls' schools, based on the number of its alumni mentioned in the Who's Who in Australia (a listing of notable Australians).^[12][a] In 2002, MLC won the title of 'Australian School of the Year', as published in The Australian newspaper.^[5]

Although never exclusively denominational, the original College motto 'Deo Domuique' - For God and for Home - still remains today. In recent times, the College has adopted an international outlook, embracing diversity and the UNESCO principles of being an internationally-minded school.^{[citation needed]}

House system

As with most Australian schools, MLC has a house system through which students partake in inter-house competitions and activities. The college currently has five houses:

• Berry - Colour: Purple, Mascot: Turtle.
• Cato - Colour: Blue, Mascot: Bear.
• Fitchett - Colour: Yellow, Mascot: Lion
• Krome - Colour: Green, Mascot: Frog
• Nevile - Colour: Pink, Mascot: Pink Panther

In the past, there was a Tiddeman house. This was a specific house for boarders.

Curriculum

MLC offers an extensive range of VCE and Vocational Education Training (VET) courses, as well as the IB Diploma Programme. It has one of the largest VCE subject selections in the state. The school's success with the IB Programme is internationally renowned, with students consistently achieving in the top global percentile each year. Its physical education program includes rowing, gymnastics, cheerleading, kayaking as well as typical girls' sports. It participates in the Girls Sport Victoria competition. MLC has achieving multiple state and zone level pennants in swimming, athletics, tennis, netball, hockey and soccer.^{[citation needed]}

The music school features an auditorium, and a department for woodwind, strings, keyboard, percussion and brass, with multiple ensembles including a concert orchestra, senior strings, choirs and bands. The music school is known for its excellence. The state of the art auditorium is often used for external performances.

The college's drama department collaborates on productions with Camberwell Grammar School. The school offers a speech and drama program from early years and theatre arts and drama at VCE and IB level.

Notable alumnae

MLC Old Collegians Club Logo

Alumnae of the Methodist Ladies' College are known as 'Old Collegians' and automatically become members of the 'MLC Old Collegians' Club' upon graduation. The club was established on 29 October 1904 for the purpose of providing an ongoing relationship between the College and its alumnae.^[13]

Some notable 'Old Collegians' include:

Entertainment, Media and the Arts

• Joyce Nicholson, author, political philanthropist
• Alice Marian Ellen Bale - Artist^[14]
• Cate Blanchett - Actress (also attended Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School)
• Tessa James - Actress
• Ada Lorna Forbes - Actress^[15]
• Deborra-Lee Furness - Actress
• Libbi Gorr - Entertainer, most commonly known as 'Elle McFeast'
• Nene King - Doyenne of Australian magazine publishing, former editor and editor-in-chief of Women's Weekly and Woman's Day^[16]
• Karen Knowles - Performer, producer and director^[16]
• Dora Lynnell Wilson - Artist^[17]
• Bambi Northwood-Blyth - Model
• Yumi Stynes - Television presenter (also attended Melbourne Girls' Grammar School)

Medicine and Science

• Isabel Clifton Cookson - Botanist and palaeobotanist^[18]
• Mary Clementina De Garis - Obstetrician, second woman in Victoria to take out an M.D.^[19]
• Hilda Estelle Kincaid - Medical practitioner^[20]

Politics and the Law

• Millie Peacock, First woman elected to the Parliament of Victoria
• Nicola Roxon - Minister for Health and Ageing
• Judith Troeth - Liberal Senator for Victoria

Sport

• Alisa Camplin - Aerial skier, Winter Olympiad gold medallist
• Lydia Ierodiaconou - Aerial skier, Winter Olympiad gold medallist

Other

• Jessie Vasey - Founder of the War Widows' Guild of Australia (also attended Lauriston Girls' School)^[21]

Rhodes Scholars

MLC has produced four Rhodes Scholars: Karen Yeung (1987), Joanna Masel (1991), Sanya Reid Smith (1993) and Kate Robson (2001)^[22]

See also

• List of schools in Victoria
• List of high schools in Victoria
• Victorian Certificate of Education
• International Baccalaureate

Notes

• ^{^} Who's Who of girls' school rankings: 1.PLC Melbourne, 2.SCEGGS Darlinghurst, 3.MLC Melbourne, 4.PLC Sydney, 5.Melbourne Girls Grammar School, 6.Mac.Robertson Girls' High School, 7.North Sydney Girls High School, 8.Sydney Girls High School, 9.MLC Sydney, 10.University High School, Melbourne

References

1. ^ Methodist Ladies' College: Position brief (accessed:04-09-2007)
2. ^ MLC in the News: "Slogan says it all" (accessed:15-08-2007)
3. ^ School Choice Victoria: METHODIST LADIES' COLLEGE (accessed:14-08-2007)
4. ^ Girls Sport Victoria: Member Schools (accessed:14-08-2007)
5. ^ ^{a b} Australian Boarding Schools' Association: Methodist Ladies College (accessed:14-08-2007)
6. ^ Junior School Heads Association of Australia (accessed:14-08-2007)
7. ^ Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (accessed:14-08-2007)
8. ^ The Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (accessed:15-06-2007)
9. ^ Studies in Australia: Methodist Ladies' College (accessed:04-09-2007)
10. ^ Percival Serle (1949). "Fitchett, Henry William (1842–1928)". Dictionary of Australian Biography. Angus & Robertson. http://gutenberg.net.au/dictbiog/0-dict-biogF.html#fitchett1. Retrieved 2007-08-29. 
11. ^ Methodist Ladies' College: History (accessed:15-06-2007)
12. ^ Walker, Frank (2001-07-22). "The ties that bind". Sunday Life (The Sun-Herald): p. 16. http://newsstore.smh.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=smh&kw=%22presbyterian+ladies+college%22&pb=all_ffx&dt=selectRange&dr=entire&so=relevance&sf=author&sf=headline&sf=text&rc=10&rm=200&sp=nrm&clsPage=1&docID=SHD01072295GNI6E8E6E. Retrieved 2007-09-12. 
13. ^ Methodist Ladies' College: Old Collegians' Club (accessed:14-08-2007)
14. ^ Australian Dictionary of Biography: Bale, Alice Marian Ellen (1875 - 1955) (accessed:14-08-2007)
15. ^ Australian Dictionary of Biography: Forbes, Ada Lorna (1890 - 1976) (accessed:14-08-2007)
16. ^ ^{a b} Crikey.com.au: "Famous alumni on Latham's hit list" (accessed:26-04-2006)
17. ^ Australian Dictionary of Biography: Wilson, Dora Lynnell (1883 - 1946) (accessed:14-08-2007)
18. ^ Australian Dictionary of Biography: Cookson, Isabel Clifton (1893 - 1973) (accessed:14-08-2007)
19. ^ Australian Dictionary of Biography: De Garis, Mary Clementina (1881 - 1963) (accessed:14-08-2007)
20. ^ Australian Dictionary of Biography: Kincaid, Hilda Estelle (1886 - 1967) (accessed:14-08-2007)
21. ^ Australian Dictionary of Biography: Vasey, Jessie Mary (1897 - 1966) (accessed:14-08-2007)
22. ^ [MLC Development Office](22 October 2008)

Further reading

• Zainu'ddin, A. 1982. They Dreamt of a School: a Centenary History of the Methodist Ladies' College Kew, 1882-1982. Hyland House, Melbourne. ISBN 0-9080904-7-1.

External links

• Methodist Ladies' College Website