Abbotsleigh is an independent Anglican early learning, primary, secondary day, and boarding school for girls located in Wahroonga, on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school currently educates approximately 1630 students from Transition (pre-school) to Year 12, including 170 boarders from Year 7 to 12.
Abbotsleigh is affiliated with various educational organizations, including the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (AGSA), the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA), the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA), and a founding member of the Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools (AHIGS).
The school ranked first based on academic performance among independent schools in New South Wales from 2013 to 2015. In 2023, the school ranked tenth in the High School Certificate (HSC).
History Abbotsleigh was founded by Marian Clarke in 1885 in a small terrace house in North Sydney. The school then moved to Parramatta; first to Honiton House, then to more spacious premises at the corner of Church and Marsden streets, a site now covered by a car park. The school proved successful in Parramatta, but in 1895 Clarke left 80 pupils behind to set out for a year in England to visit her family. The school declined during her absence, and on her return only a small number of boarders remained.
In 1930 a new headmistress, Gladys Gordon Everett, was chosen from a long list of candidates. Everett had been head of Pymble Ladies' College before she left to study in France. She had taught in France and England before she led Katanning Church of England Girls' School. In 1931 Gordon Everett arranged the students into houses and in 1933 the school celebrated founder's day. In the same year the school began buying land and nearby houses. The school's expansion plans involved more land purchases in 1937. The plans succeeded and by 1938 there was a waiting list for families who wanted to enrol their daughters. Gordon Everett taught lessons in Divinity and in French.
In 1939 new classrooms opened, but the waiting list continued to grow. Some schools closed during the Second World War, but Abbotsleigh continued.
By the time Gordon Everett retired in 1954, there were 660 students, a separate junior school had started, and there was still a waiting list.
Buildings that developed over the years include the Marian Clarke building facing the Pacific Highway, Vindin House, Lynton House, and Poole House on the junior campus. The last three are listed on the local government heritage register.
Headmistresses The following individuals have served as the Headmistress: Ordinal Officeholder Term start Term end Time in office Notes Marian Clarke 1885 1913 years Margaret Murray 1913 1924 years Dorothea Poole 1924 1930 years G. Gordon Everett 1931 1954 years Ruth Hirst 1954 1957 years H. E. (Betty) Archdale 1958 1970 years Kathleen McCredie 1970 1987 years Diane C. Nicholls 1988 1996 years Judith Wheeldon 1996 2004 years Judith Poole 2005 2016 years Megan Krimmer 2017 present years
Structure Abbotsleigh has a total enrolment of approximately 1,400 girls across Years K–12. In 2016, the Senior School campus had an enrolment of approximately 900 girls in Years 7–12. The main high school is divided into the Middle School (Year Seven and Eight), Senior College Archdale (Year Nine and Ten), and Senior College (Year Eleven and Twelve).
Each house group within a year has a tutor, and every year is managed by a year coordinator, and overseen by the Dean of Middle School or Deans of Senior College.
There is also a nearby Junior School, also located in Wahroonga, which houses the Early Learning Centre, Transition and Kindergarten to Year Six. Each year, approximately two-thirds of the incoming Year Seven class at Senior School are from the Junior School, while the rest are drawn from schools in Sydney, from interstate and overseas, having passed selective entry examinations and/or interviews to gain an enrolment place.
The school council is responsible for the school's governance. Kanishka Raffel, Archbishop of Sydney, serves as its chair.
Campus
The senior and junior campuses cater for 1400 students in total from Transition to Year 12 (Higher School Certificate).
Junior Campus The Junior Campus is located on Woonona Avenue in Wahroonga. Poole House, the oldest building on the campus, serves as an after-school care and music center with music rooms for lessons. The campus includes a library, school hall, and administration center alongside junior classrooms.In 2002, a center for Years 4–6 was built around a grassy courtyard that features an arts facility and canteen. Sporting facilities include a large oval, outdoor pool, three tennis courts, and various play areas. An underground parking facility was completed in 2007, with kindergarten classrooms above it.
The new Early Learning Center was completed in January 2010. It includes a new Infants precinct and an Early Learning Centre for the youngest learners from birth to five years old. It is a seventy-place, coeducational center providing long day care. Girls of the age of 5 are now able to enter the school in the Transition class (preschool age), where they are able to make the smooth transition from preschool to kindergarten. The ELC is run according to the Reggio Emilia principles.Abbotsleigh Website
Senior Campus
The Senior Campus is located on the Pacific Highway and includes an auditorium, assembly hall, Senior Studies Centre, Aquatic Centre, and two gymnasiums. Sporting facilities feature 11 tennis courts, three indoor gyms, two weights gyms, two cricket nets, a 25-metre indoor pool, and two large ovals for hockey, touch football, and soccer, including a multi-purpose synthetic turf oval with spectator stands. A new library named the Abbotsleigh Research Centre (ARC) was built and officially opened on 2 April 2006. The ARC has won awards for its unique interior design. Vindin House was converted into the Grace Cossington Smith Gallery (named after Old Girl Grace Cossington Smith),
In addition to this, a new canteen was built in 2008 to join with the Saturday morning sports canteen, featuring new outdoor café-style eating areas overlooking the oval. The Judith Poole Sports Hall was built in 2015 an award-winning design at the 2018 World Architecture Awards.
Motto and crest The Abbotsleigh motto, Tempus celerius radio fugit, may be translated from Latin as "Time flies faster than the weaver's shuttle". As the shuttle flies a pattern is woven; the shuttle of time also weaves a pattern of which the threads are people, buildings and events. The motto was given to the school by Marian Clarke, whose family crest was a weaver's shuttle surrounded by the motto, Tempus fugit radio celerit. The school used this form until 1924, when it decided that the ungrammatical Latin should be changed to the present word order, which has been used ever since.
The reference to the weaver's shuttle is also believed by many to be a reference to the "proper" place of women in terms of domestic duties/servitude to men. Some members of the school community have called for the motto to be changed to keep pace with modern views on feminine rights.
The 1934 edition of The Weaver explains the symbolism of the school crest: "the lion for the strength in God, lillies for purity and fish as the symbol of Christianity through baptism."Abbotsleigh School: School identity (accessed:13-06-2007)
Associated schools Abbotsleigh has a number of international sister schools and exchange agreements with other institutes, including the École Alsacienne in Paris, France, Ohtani High School, Japan, Beijing Yucai School, China, Annette-von-Droste-Hülshoff-Gymnasium in Münster, Germany, Miami's Palmer Trinity School, Moreton Hall in Oswestry, England, Queenswood School in Hertfordshire, England, and Ridley College in Ontario, Canada. Girls have the opportunity to host an incoming exchange student or, in Years 9 and 10, to attend one or more of these schools on exchange for a period of one or two terms.
Abbotsleigh is also unofficially associated as the sister school to The King's School, an independent Anglican day and boarding school for boys in North Parramatta, St Joseph’s College and Sydney Church of England Grammar School, an independent Anglican day and boarding school for boys in North Sydney.
Curriculum Abbotsleigh offers a range of subjects. The academic departments are: Christian studies Drama English History (Australian, Ancient and Modern) Languages Mathematics Music PDHPE Science Social sciences (Economics, Geography, Business Studies) Technology and applied sciences (also known as Design and Technology) Visual Arts
Abbotsleigh provides an academic education, with Maths, Science and English being graded by class from years 7–10. Other subjects, such as languages and music, also place students in streamed classes. In Year 8, students choose elective subjects to study for Years 9 and 10. Students must study Maths, English, Science, PDHPE, Australian History/Geography, and Christian Studies. They may then choose three elective subjects from: Commerce, Elective History, Elective Geography, Design and Technology, Information Software Technology, Music, Drama, Visual Arts, Photography and Digital Media, Chinese Mandarin, French, German, and Latin.
In the Upper School, students have an wider range of subjects to choose from, which follow the Board of Studies HSC syllabus. Subjects offered include English (Advanced, Extension 1 and Extension 2), Mathematics (Standard 2, Advanced, Extension 1 and Extension 2), the sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth and Environmental Science), History (Modern, Ancient and Extension History), the social sciences (Business Studies, Geography, Economics), Music (1, 2, Extension), Theology and Studies of Religion (1 and 2 unit), a wide range of languages including French, German, and Latin, Art, PDHPE, Software Design and Development, Drama, and Design and Technology.
Co-curriculum Students can participate in a number of extracurricular activities. Most girls participate in at least one activity, but can participate in many. Abbotsleigh has a number of students achieve the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award each year, which is presented at the school's Speech Day in December. Additionally students may participate in chess teams, debating, mock trial, public speaking, ski team, jewellery making, ceramics, sewing classes, film club, SRC, Environment Club, and over seven different charity and service groups such as World Vision and Amnesty International clubs. Students from Year 10 are selected to form the charity and service group boards with students taking the positions of president, secretary, treasurer and committee member. The school also has an Agricultural group (Ag Club) where chickens are raised every year for a number of competitions including the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
There is also a dance program of considerable size at the school, with over 500 girls from Kindergarten to Year 11 participating in several types of dance such as street, tap and contemporary.
Sport The school participates in Independent Girls' Schools Sporting Association (IGSSA) sports including softball, tennis, swimming, diving, basketball, soccer, athletics, cross country, hockey, netball, water polo, touch football, and cricket. Other offered sports include equestrian, golf, sailing, snow sports and rhythmic and artistic gymnastics. Abbotsleigh employs a sports staff department and provides sports coaches and much of the sport equipment including hockey kits, golf sets etc. It is compulsory for Abbotsleigh girls to take part in PE once a week until Year 11.
Music