Welcome to Pymble and our boarding community.
Here, our girls live in a unique environment – an environment that is physically beautiful, personally safe, welcoming, friendly and caring and responsive to each girl’s needs. We want the best for every one of our boarders and strive to provide a happy and supportive home environment for all.
Developing positive and productive relationships with families is important to us and we endeavour each day to fulfil the mission of boarding while pursuing the goal of excellence in boarding care for girls.
Our goal is to provide inspirational and dynamic leadership that raises standards, enhances experiences for students and enriches the boarding community.
Experience has shown that students thrive in environments where opportunity and challenge abound. Success for students is achieved when each individual is able to demonstrate her uniqueness and her talents while aspiring to achieve her best in academic, sporting, cultural and personal pursuits.
Within this context, our girls are supported in their personal growth. We focus on the social, emotional and spiritual dimensions of life and encourage them to participate in the broad range of experiences offered.
It is the charter of the boarding school to anticipate the changing needs and interests of students and to promote their engagement in the community. Participating in the life of the College is integral to their personal growth and development. It will assist them to build confidence, to form a positive view of life and to leave the College as successful resilient young women, aware of their strengths and their ability to manage life’s opportunities and challenges as responsible citizens and positive contributors to our society.
All members of the boarding team share the journey with the girls and in doing so come to know them well. The staff, who play such an important part in nurturing and supporting the girls through the highs and lows of life, feel a certain sense of pride and accomplishment as each student moves towards the end of Year 12.
We want the best for our girls and it is our hope that they will graduate from Pymble Ladies’ College with a belief in their own capacity to create and engage in a life that is filled with love and joy; fun and laughter; hope and faith and compassion.
We want your daughter to know that she has special gifts and talents and that she leaves Pymble with relationships with other students and staff that will endure the test of time. Most of all we want our girls to know who they are and to value their own uniqueness.
Boarding Structure
Three separate boarding houses have been created to foster the care, growth, support and development of girls at their different stages of physical, emotional, social and spiritual growth as they move from dependence to independence:
- Marden House for Years 7, 8 and 9
- Goodlet House for Years 10 and 11
- Lang House for Year 12
Our boarding houses are nestled within the 20 hectares of the secure College grounds. Boarding is available from Year 7.
Staff
Our Boarding team are dedicated and passionate about caring for our girls and young women. They proudly share each students journey and contribute significantly to the overall development of each girl in their house.
Leadership Opportunities
Beyond the leadership opportunities offered to all students at Pymble, Boarding students are offered an additional range of exclusive leadership opportunities. Formal positions and leadership roles include, but are not limited to the following:
- Head Prefect – Boarding
- Deputy Head Prefect – Boarding
- Prefect – Sports and Activities
- Prefect – Boarders Representative Council and the Arts
- Big Sister program
- Prefect – Environment and Community Service
- Prefect – Marden House
- Representatives of the BRC
- Year 11 Spirit House Captains
Learning Programs
Support in the learning process is essential to the daily routine of boarders and there are a range of opportunities available to students who wish to engage in one or more of the special programs on offer. Boarders at Pymble are offered a significant level of support in completing their homework and study. The Scholarship of Learning Program (SOLP) is aimed at facilitating the learning needs of students whilst also focusing upon the effectiveness of the individual and balance in life. The SOLP is designed to promote the personalised education of each student by enabling each girl to identify their uniqueness as a learner and to plan their learning journey to maximise their outcomes.
Each student has the opportunity to discuss her academic performance with the Director of Boarding and other academic and boarding staff to commence the process for developing a personal plan.
Adjusting to Boarding Life
With boarders from regional and rural Australia and a variety of overseas nations, Pymble offers initiatives such as the ‘New Boarder and Family Orientation Weekend’ and the ‘City Family Boarding Program’ to assist new boarders and their families adjust to life at Pymble. Parents and siblings are invited to attend and participate in special activities while our new boarders are introduced to key aspects of boarding life. Orientation programs take place prior to the return of students to the College for the new school year.
City Family Boarding Program
Each year, Pymble conducts the City Family Boarding Program to assist new boarding students from rural areas and overseas settle into their first two terms. A City Family is the family of a day student who has indicated that they wish to be a part of the program. City Family responsibilities include contacting their boarding family to welcome them to Pymble, visiting the boarder during her first few weeks at the College, inviting her home for dinner or afternoon tea in the first couple of weeks of school and hosting her at home for a weekend.
Health Care Centre
Pymble Ladies’ College has access to a well-established and resourced on-site Health Care Centre. There is a Health Care Centre Co-ordinator who manages the Centre and who works closely with the Director of Boarding and House Supervisors.
The Boarder Parent Group (BPG)
The Boarder Parent Group provides valuable support to the boarding community and boarder parents are automatically members of the BPG. The Group keeps parents informed about boarding life and provides opportunities to meet other boarding families at relaxed social events.
One of the special occasions hosted by the BPG is the Welcome Drinks, held on the evening prior to the commencement of the school year. This function provides the opportunity for parents and carers to gather informally and develop relationships with staff and other parents and carers.
Boarding Parent Accommodation
Avonmoore, originally a residence for the Principal of the College, but now home to the College’s Student Support Services, the facility also provides close and convenient accommodation for boarding parents when required.