Ascham School

Infobox Aust school private
name = Ascham School


motto = _la. Vi Et Animo
("With Heart and Soul")
established = 1886
type = Independent, Single-sex, Day & Boarding
denomination = No religious affiliation
slogan =
key_people = Mrs Louise Robert-Smith(Headmistress)
Miss. Marie Wallis (Founder)
Hon. Justice Margaret Stone (Chairman)
fees = up to AU$21,500 p.a (Day school)cite news| first = Hannah| last = Edwards| title = Costly lessons: private school fees soar again| url = http://newsstore.smh.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&sy=smh&kw=fees+and+%22private+school%22&pb=all_ffx&dt=selectRange&dr=entire&so=relevance&sf=headline&sf=text&rc=10&rm=200&sp=nrm&clsPage=1&docID=SHD061217GE6PF7B1F6H| work = Education| publisher = The Sun-Herald| page = 10| date = 2006-12-17| accessdate = 2007-09-11]
city = Edgecliff
state = New South Wales
country = Australia flagicon|Australia
enrolment = 1000 (K-12) [http://www.ascham.nsw.edu.au/downloads/annual_report_2005.pdf Ascham Annual Report 2005] (accessed:25-05-2007)]
num_employ =
revenue =
products =
colours = Navy Blue, Red & Khaki color box|#000080color box|#FF0000color box|#2D5E02
homepage = [http://www.ascham.nsw.edu.au www.ascham.nsw.edu.au]

Ascham School is an independent, non-denominational, day and boarding school for girls', located in Edgecliff, an Eastern Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Established in 1886, the school has a non-selective enrolment policy and currently caters for approximately 1000 students from kindergarten to year 12, including 110 boarders from years 6 to 12. [http://www.schoolchoice.com.au/find_a_school?cid=12345&pid=2702011 School Choice New South Wales: Ascham School] (accessed:11-08-2007)]

Ascham is one of the few schools worldwide to follow the 'Dalton Plan', an educational philosophy created by Helen Parkhurst in 1916. The 'Dalton Plan' aims to produce independent and confident leaders. [http://www.ascham.nsw.edu.au/dalton.html Ascham School: Dalton Plan] (accessed:11-08-2007)]

Ascham is a member of the Alliance of Girls’ Schools (Australasia), [http://www.agsa.org.au/members.php?PageID=11&Alpha=A The Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia: Member Schools] (accessed:11-08-2007)] the Junior School Heads Association of Australia [http://www.jshaa.asn.au/nsw/directory/index.asp JSHAA New South Wales Directory of Members] (accessed:11-08-2007)] the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), [http://www.ahisa.com.au/Display.aspx?tabid=2230 Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia] (accessed:19-06-2007)] the Australian Boarding Schools' Association, [http://www.boarding.org.au/site/school_detail.cfm?schID=180 Australian Boarding Schools' Association: Ascham School] (accessed:11-08-2007)] and the prestigious Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools (AHIGS). [http://www.ahigs.nsw.edu.au/DeskTopDefault.aspx?tabid=1 The Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools: About AHIGS] (accessed:11-08-2007)]

History

Ascham school was established in 1886 by Miss Marie Wallis, as a private, day and boarding school for girls, in a terrace house in Darling Point. The school was named after Roger Ascham, tutor to Queen Elizabeth I.

The school adopted the 'Dalton Plan' as its method of teaching in 1922.

Headmistresses / Headmasters

* Mrs Louise Robert-Smith 2006 -
* Ms Frances Booth (Acting) 2005
* Miss Susan Preedy 2004 - 2004
* Mrs Rowena Danziger 1973 - 2003
* Miss Merrilee Roberts 1962 - 1972
* Miss Dorothy Whitehead 1949 - 1961
* Dr Hilda Rayward 1947 - 1948
* Miss Margaret Ann Montgomery Bailey 1914 - 1946
* Mr Herbert J. Carter 1902 - 1914
* Miss Marie Wallis (Founder) 1886 - 1902

chool crest

The Ascham school crest was developed in 1911 by Ascham art teacher, Mr Albert Collins. Symbols on the crest were explained in the school's "Charivari" magazine in December 1911: "the dolphins symbolise energy, persistence and the ability to swim against, as well as with, the tide; the wings suggest aspiration and ambition; the lamp and book represent learning; and the combination of the acorn and eucalyptus seed mark the historical union of Britain and Australia". [http://www.ascham.nsw.edu.au/tradition.html Ascham School: Tradition] (accessed:25-05-2007)]

Exchange programme

Ascham has a series of exchange programmes with the following girls schools; St Paul's Girls' School London; Havergal College Toronto; Nightingale-Bamford School New York; Northlands Buenos Aires; Durban High School Durban, South Africa

Rowena Danziger resignation row

In 2005, a row erupted over the resignation of then headmistress Susan Preedy, who had succeeded Rowena Danziger on her retirement. After Preedy resigned, Danziger stepped back into her old role - only to be met with a row that included parents threatening to sue should she not resign immediately. After several weeks of controversy, chronicled in the local press, Danziger resigned shortly before a meeting of parents was due to censure the Board of Governors for its handling of the matter.

Notable alumni

The Ascham Old Girls' Union ("AOGU") was founded in 1899 by former students of the school. It now has a membership of close to 4,000. Some notable 'Old Girls' of the school include:

;Academic
* Associate Professor Janet McCredie - radiologist - discoverer of the mechanism by which thalidomide affects embryos
* Associate Professor Ronnie Harding - formerly Director of the Institute of Environmental Studies at the University of New South Wales
* Lisa Giddy - Egyptologist
* Professor Jocelyn Hackforth-Jones - Art History
* Helen Temple - Archaeologist (Deputy Director Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales

;Business
* Mia Freedman - editor-in-chief at ACP for publications such as "Dolly" and "Cosmopolitan" magazines
* Belinda Hutchinson - Executive Director Macquarie Bank, QBE Insurance, Coles Group and Telstra.

;Entertainment, Media and the Arts
* Inez Bensusan - Actress, suffragette and playwright
* Luciana Arrighi - Costume Designer and Art Director (Received four BAFTA and three Oscar nominations including Oscar win for "Howards End"
* Yvonne Audette - Abstract painter
* Rosie Bailey played Nurse Virginia Mason in "The Young Doctors"
* Mitty Lee Brown - painter
* Carol Coombe - Actress who married Ronald Armstrong-Jones and stepmother to Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon
* Melissa Docker - Actress
* Primrose Dunlop - Social columist
* Marsha Dunstan - Journalist, "The Daily Telegraph", London
* Ursula Finley - Actress ("Robbery Under Arms")
* Shayne Higson - Photographer
* Margaret Vyner - Model, film and stage actress, dramatist
* Sheridan Jobbins - actress, journalist, television presenter and screenwriter (most often remembered for her role in "Simon Townsend's Wonder World"
* Lucy Kemp - Model
* Judith Ker - Ballerina (Sadlers Wells)
* Joanna McCallum - Actress
* Penny Meagher - painter
* Poppy Montgomery - Actress
* Roslyn Oxley - Gallery Director
* Lesley Piddington - Actress
* Wendy Playfair - Actress; including "Prisoner", "East of Eden" and "Ride a Wild Pony"
* Jocelyn Rickards - Costume Designer (productions include "Blow Up" and "" for which she was nominated for an Oscar
* Barbara Sanders - Newspresenter (first female presenter on ABC TV 1956)
* Nell Schofield - Actress, "Puberty Blues", film reviewer for the Nine Network's "Sunday" programme
* Emily Simpson - Actress
* Rosemary Squire Spittle - Journalist (founder "Vogue Australia" in 1955)
* Vicki Varvaressos - painter
* Arkie Whiteley - Actor and daughter of painter Brett Whiteley
* Susan Wyndham - Journalist "Sydney Morning Herald"

;Law
* Justice Hilary Penfold - ACT Supreme Court, formerly head of the Department of Parliamentary Services, and Chief Parliamentary Counsel
* Caroline Needham - SC Barrister

Notes

References

*"Ascham Remembered 1886-1986 by Caroline Fairfax, DUPREE, Annette Fielding-Jones & FERGUSON, Betty Winn SIMPSON", Macmillan Company of Australia, 1987, ISBN 0-333-36750-6
* http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Ascham-without-a-headmistress-again-as-Danziger-bows-out/2005/03/07/1110160756739.html http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Grande-dame-of-Ascham-back-as-headmistress-resigns/2005/02/23/1109046992107.html?from=moreStories

See also

* List of Non-Government schools in New South Wales
* List of boarding schools

External links

* [http://www.ascham.nsw.edu.au/ Ascham School website]