Pymble Ladies' College
- For other schools of a similar name, see Presbyterian Ladies' College.
Pymble Ladies' College, or PLC, is a private girls school in Pymble, Sydney, Australia. It was founded in 1916 as the Presbyterian Ladies College, Pymble, a branch of the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney in Croydon, by the Presbyterian Church of Australia. It is now administered by the Uniting Church in Australia. The college is a founding member of the Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools (AHIGS). Girls of any religion may attend the school, although are expected to also attend a weekly chapel service with the rest of the school. The school caters for all classes from Kindergarten to Year 12.
20 hectares in size, the grounds of the College feature a 50m swimming pool, gymnasium, several fields, tennis courts, an agriculture plot, library, buildings dedicated to specific subjects: an art building, a technology and applied studies building, a languages building and a science block. There is also a music building, a chapel, healthcare centre, three boarding houses (Lang, Goodlet and Marden) and the most recent addition: the Gillian Moore Centre for Performing Arts.
The school is amongst the top schools in the state in both the School Certificate and Higher School Certificate examinations.
The current Headmistress Gillian Moore, will retire at the end of the 2006 school year after 17 years as Headmistress. She will be replaced from 1 January, 2007 by Mrs Vicki Waters.[1] The current Head Prefect is Ashley Radich.
School Motto
The College motto is the Latin saying All' Ultimo Lavoro, which translates to "Strive for the Highest."
School Uniform
The school uniform has undergone considerable changes through the years. The College's Presbyterian heritage has meant that the fabric of the uniform takes on the blackwatch tartan, even though it is now a school of the Uniting Church. Currently, Pymble has a summer uniform and a winter uniform.
The summer uniform consists of a white straw hat, a dress in blackwatch tartan with a white collar for all girls, bottle green socks and black shoes. Senior school girls (Years 10-12) wear a belt with their summer uniform.
The winter uniform consists of a white blouse, tie and woollen tunic for younger girls - Preparatory school and Junior school girls wearing knee-length black socks. Upper school girls (that is, both Middle School and Senior School) wear 70 denier black stockings. Senior girls wear a skirt instead of a tunic, and their colour of jumper and blazer changes from navy blue to bottle green.
The Tam O'Shanter was well-known for many a year as being a part of the Pymble uniform, however it is slowly being phased out in favour of a navy felt hat that predates it in Pymble history. It is said that it is being phased out because it was difficult to get students to wear it properly. A recent addition to the Pymble uniform has been a vest, which has proved popular with both Senior and Middle school girls.
Subjects offered
Subjects offered to the girls at an HSC level include:
| English | Mathematics | Science | Social Science | Technology | History | Arts | Languages | VET |
| English Standard | General Mathematics | Agriculture | Business Studies | Food Technology | Ancient History | Drama | French Continuers, Extension | Hospitality |
| English Advanced | Mathematics | Biology | Economics | Information Processes and Technology | Modern History | Music I | German Continuers, Extension | |
| English Extension I | Mathematics Extension I | Chemistry | Geography | Software Design and Development | History Extension | Music II | Italian Beginners | |
| English Extension II | Mathematics Extension II | Earth and Environmental Science | PDHPE | Textiles and Design | Japanese Continuers, Extension | |||
| Physics | Studies of Religion | Visual Arts | Latin Continuers, Extension | |||||
| Senior Science | Ancient Greek Continuers, Extension |
Notable Alumnae
Media
- Melissa Doyle - Co-host of the Seven Network breakfast television programme Sunrise
- Amber Higlett - Host of State Focus, Network Ten - shes a cool kid
- Sasha Higlett - Newsreader and Journalist, Triple M and 2Day FM
- Sophie Wilcox - Anchor for Channel WT5-Idaho's "Shopping with Sophie" segment.
Entertainment and the Arts
- Mary Docker - Actress
- Alexander Vasken Demolakian - Actress
Sport
- Sasha Bodero-Smith - Debater
- Melissa Mitchell - Olympic Swimmer
- Ming Xiu Ong - Commonwealth Games swimmer
- Sophie Ferguson - Professional Tennis Player
- Toni Hodkinson - Skier