Mac.Robertson Girls' High School

The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School (also known simply as Mac.Rob or MGHS) is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school, located in the Melbourne CBD, Victoria, Australia. Entry for Mac.Rob, which is operated by the Victoria Department of Education, is by competitive academic examination. It is unique in its status as a statewide provider for girls in Year Nine to Year Twelve.[2] The equivalent for boys is its brother school, Melbourne High School. Each year, over 3,000 candidates will sit the entrance examination for a total of approximately 960 places (across all four schools).

This article is about the school. For the heritage-listed school buildings, see MacRobertson Girls' High School buildings.

Mac.Robertson Girls' High School
Location
Mac.Robertson Girls' High School
Melbourne CBD, Victoria

Australia
Coordinates37°50′11″S 144°58′16″E
Information
Former nameMelbourne Continuation School
TypeGovernment-funded single-sex selective secondary day school
MottoLatin: Potens Sui
(Mastery of self)
Established1905 (1905)
Sister schoolMelbourne High School
OversightVictoria Department of Education
PrincipalAnne Stout
Years9–12
Enrolmentc. 950[1] (2007)
CampusSuburban
Colour(s)Maroon, green, and charcoal
Nickname
  • Mac.Rob
  • MGHS
Websitewww.macrob.vic.edu.au

Overview

In 2001, The Sun-Herald ranked the Mac.Robertson Girls' High School sixth in Australia's top ten girls' schools, based on the number of its alumnae mentioned in the Who's Who in Australia.[3][a] The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School has a long tradition of academic excellence with Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) scores propelling the school to be ranked first in the State of Victoria for seven consecutive years from 2002 to 2008, inclusive. The school was ranked third in 2009, but reclaimed its No. 1 ranking once again in 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2018.[4] Mac.Robertson Girls' High School was ranked second out of all state secondary schools in Victoria based on VCE results in 2018.[5]

The school provides an educational experience that equips girls for tertiary study and leadership roles in academic, professional and business communities, and develops interests and skills to enhance their personal lives. The school has a prestigious history, tracing its origins to the establishment of the first Victorian state secondary school in 1905. Its many eminent former students provide strong role models and inspiration for current students.

History

The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School began as Melbourne Continuation School, the first government funded school in the state of Victoria, established in 1905 in Spring Street, Melbourne. In 1912, it was renamed Melbourne High School. Originally a co-educational school, the school was segregated by sexes in 1927, with the boys moving to Melbourne Boys' High School in Forrest Hill, South Yarra, Victoria.

Girls continued to be educated in the school on Spring Street, renamed as Melbourne Girls' High School, until the building was condemned in 1930. The school was housed in the then-vacant Government House until 1933, when they moved to State School No. 1689 in King Street. In 1934, with the help of a donation from Macpherson Robertson, a new building was constructed the north-east corner of Albert Park Reserve. The school opened as the Mac.Robertson Girls' High School on 7 November 1934. The school was used as U.S Army Headquarters in 1942 and later by the R.A.A.F. The students took their classes at Brighton Road State School, Camberwell East Girls' School, and University High School during this period.

The building gained a national trust classification in 1987. It was previously gazetted as an Historic Building in 1982. The school celebrated its centenary year in 2005 with Melbourne High School in a joined assembly. Mac.Rob celebrated by inviting Premier of Victoria Steve Bracks to witness the restarting of the school clock tower (which coincidentally would not start when the time came).

Past principals
PeriodPrincipalRefs.
1927–1932C. Montgomery[6]
1934–1948M. Hutton[6]
1949–1955R. Gainfort[6]
1955–1965D. Barrett
1966–1971N. Carr[6]
1972–1984G. Bowles[6]
1985–1996G. Blood[6]
1996–2004Lesley Boston[7]
2004–2012Jane Garvey[8]
2012–2018Toni Meath[9]
2019–presentAnne Stout[10]

Enrolment and structure

The school operates in a two sub-school structure. The middle school caters for students in years 9 and 10, whilst the senior school caters for students in years 11 and 12. The school's enrolment across all four-year levels totals to approximately 950 to 960 students every year. A quota of 250-year 9 students are selected for enrolment every year through the year 8 entrance examination. The year 10 cohort adds another class of 25 into the year level bringing the total to 275 students. The size of both the year 11 and 12 cohorts vary slightly each year, totalling to more than 275 students each year, including the intake of few students into Year 11.

Subjects

In Year Nine, students are offered two electives per semester, with core subjects Maths, English, Science, Physical Education, School Singing compulsory for the entire year. Students have a semester each of Geography and History.

Year Ten students must take the core subjects English, Physical Education, Mathematics, and one language, but are also offered a selection of electives, categorised into Science, Arts/Technology, and Humanities. They choose one elective from each category and may study a Year 11 Units 1/2 subject in preparation for VCE. Electives offered include Women and Madness, Linguistics, Advanced Food and Architecture.

Year Eleven students must complete six subjects at school regardless of any external LOTE. Students can only undertake a maximum of two VCE subjects before Year Twelve providing their GPA from Year Nine and Ten is high enough. Many students choose to take Biology 3/4, Mathematical Methods 3/4 and/or and External LOTE language such as Chinese, Korean or Vietnamese.

Students in Year Twelve generally undertake four to five VCE 3/4 subjects. A maximum of 6 subjects are allowed to be undertaken at Mac.Rob.

Houses

The four houses and their associated colours are:

Nereids official colour is white, although throughout the years it has come to adopt purple as its secondary colour.

Notable alumnae

Notable alumnae from the school include:

See also

References
  1. "2006 Annual Report to the school community" (PDF). Mac.Robertson Girls' High School. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 September 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2007.
  2. School profile Archived 9 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Walker, Frank (22 July 2001). "The ties that bind". The Sun-Herald. p. 16. Retrieved 12 September 2007.
  4. "2009 VCE School Ranking". Retrieved 14 December 2010.
  5. "VCE Public School Ranking - 2018 - Better Education". Better Education. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  6. "History of School". Mac.Robertson Girls' High School. Archived from the original on 1 December 2003.
  7. "Home (Click Principles Welcome on the left)". Mac.Robertson Girls' High School. Archived from the original on 1 December 2003.
  8. Topsfield, Jewel (21 December 2012). "Principal shares some lessons learnt". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  9. "OUR PRINCIPAL". Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School. 29 June 2017. Archived from the original on 29 June 2017.
  10. "Our Board". Mac.Rob Foundation. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  11. "Author, 14, lands publishing deal". The Age. 27 October 2006. Retrieved 24 July 2008.
  12. "Review: The Political is Personal: A Twentieth Century Memoir by Judith Buckrich" by Barbara Curzon-Siggers, in PEN Melbourne Quarterly, No. 1, 2017, p. 9
  13. Francis, Rosemary (7 November 2019). "Faust, Beatrice Eileen (1939 - 2019)". The Australian Women's Register. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  14. Parker, Pauline F. (2006). The Making of Women. Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing. p. 93. ISBN 1 74097 123X.
  15. "The Mac.Rob Portrait Gallery". Archived from the original on 23 December 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2017.
  16. "Veronika Megler". Play It Again. Australasian Digital Heritage. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
  17. "Q&A with Christina Twomey: An AHA early career researchers series". Australian Women's History Network. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  18. Jeffries, Stuart (23 July 2005). "Moral maze". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 November 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  19. Fenton, Andrew (25 June 2011). "Greens duo putting family first". The Advertiser (AdelaideNow.com.au). Retrieved 26 June 2011.
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