Преспетерианский женский колледж, Мельбурн: История и современность.

other schools of the same name

Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne (PLC), is an independent, private, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for girls, located in Burwood, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1875 at East Melbourne, PLC was one of the first independent schools for girls in Australia. The College has a non selective enrolment policy and in 2007 catered for approximately 1,550 students from the Early Learning Centre (ELC) to Year 12, including 100 boarders. PLC is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA), the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA), the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (AGSA), the Association of Independent Schools of Victoria (AISV), the Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA), is a founding member of Girls Sport Victoria (GSV), and is an accredited school of the Council of International Schools (CIS). In 2001 The Sun Herald named PLC Melbourne the best girls' school in Australia on the basis of the number of its alumni mentioned in Who's Who in Australia (a listing of notable Australians).

The Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria set up an education committee in 1869 to look into establishing a ladies' college. At this time the Church owned in Albert Street, East Melbourne, opposite the current Fitzroy Gardens, and not far from the original site of the school's brother school, Scotch College. A school building and a teachers' home were already built on the site, and were rented to a teacher as a primary school. The committee resolved to build the college and provide advice and support, but the college would be self supporting. Joseph Reed drew plans for a building that would house 30 boarders and 150 day students, at an estimated cost of £12,000. They decided to draw a line down the middle of the plans and build one section only. The building was completed in time for the school's first year, 1875, with Charles Henry Pearson as founding principal. Pearson served as principal until 1879, when Andrew Harper took over. While other private (church run) girls' schools had existed before PLC, the school was Australia's first school for girls to offer a program and education equal to that of a boys' school modelled on the great English Public Schools. By 1938 the East Melbourne buildings were at maximum capacity, and the college council began a search for a new site for the school. In 1939 they purchased a property in the suburb of Burwood, called Hethersett. The Junior School was moved in 1939, but the complete move was delayed by the outbreak of the Second World War. The school's current motto, Lex Dei Vitae Lampas ("The Law of God is the Lamp of Life"), was introduced during the Second World War, as the original German motto, Ohne Hast Ohne Rast, was deemed inappropriate. On 29 September 1956 Lady Brooks, the wife of General Sir Dallas Brooks, Governor of Victoria, laid the foundation stone for the new school buildings at Burwood, and the senior school moved in 1958. The school's original buildings at East Melbourne were demolished that same year to make way for a Masonic centre.

The PLC Boarding House provides accommodation for 100 girls. Boarders have access to the college's recreational and sporting facilities as well as computers for study needs. In 2008 PLC opened a new extension to the Boarding House, adding sixty individual bedrooms for senior girls, new bathrooms, three music rooms, a laundry and one computer lab. The program for children under three years of age is designed to develop basic skills such as independence, listening, communication and sharing. Indoor and outdoor activities are utilised in order to encourage development in cognitive, social, emotional and motor areas. Curriculum areas are inter related, with mastery of the English language seen as a priority. Subjects studied at this stage include Literature, Mathematics, Science, Technology, Studies of Society and Environment, Music, Art, Drama, Religious Education and Physical education. French is introduced at the lower Primary level.

In Years 7 to 10, the school follows a core curriculum determined by the Victorian Essential Learning Standards. Two languages from a selection of French, Japanese, Indonesian, Latin, German and Chinese are taken during Years 7 and 8. This is dropped to one language from Year 9 onwards, but French can be taken as an elective in addition to another language, if the student so wishes. An elective program is offered to Years 9 and 10, allowing for a wide subject choice, enabling students to study subjects intensively or follow a new field of learning. Students in Year 9 also undertake a semester of a program called Outlook, which involves examining public transport, sustainability, accessibility and charity work. The program culminates in several days of a city program in the Melbourne CBD. In addition to the standard Victorian Certificate of Education the International Baccalaureate is also offered at the school. Furthermore, the school offers a wide range of extracurricular activities including involvement in music concerts such as the annual Gala Night held in August, optional chess tournaments and more. The school offers interschool debating through the Debating Association of Victoria from Years 7 to 12.

Chess is offered as an optional after school activity from Years 3 6 and has a weekly club within the Senior School. Students are often given the opportunity to take part in inter school tournaments, one of which PLC will host every year. They set and currently hold the record for winning the Australian Schools' Teams Championships (ASTC) most years in a row in their category after winning it in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. PLC also holds an annual Chess Championships within the school to find its strongest player, on top of House Chess.

Alumnae of Presbyterian Ladies' College, Melbourne are known as "Old Collegians", and automatically become members of the schools alumni association, the PLC Old Collegians' Association (PLCOCA). PLCOCA was formed in 1903 as a way of keeping PLC women in touch with each other and with the college. In 2001 The Sun Herald named PLC Melbourne the best girls' school in Australia on the basis of the number of its alumni mentioned in Who's Who in Australia (a listing of notable Australians). Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson, the author published as Henry Handel Richardson; Marion Phillips, politician and the first Australian woman to win a seat in a national parliament; and Vida Goldstein, Suffragette and the first woman to stand for election to the Federal Parliament of Australia.