St Hilda's School

For other uses of the term, see: St. Hilda's

St. Hilda's School is an Anglican day and boarding school for girls from Reception to Year 12, located in the suburb of Southport, Gold Coast, Australia. It was established in 1912.

Background

St Hilda's is the only girls school in the Gold Coast region. It is also the only Gold Coast school providing boarding facilities. Its informal 'brother school' is The Southport School (TSS), also located in Southport and the only boys boarding school on the Gold Coast.

The school is located on Whitby and Cougal Streets near the Gold Coast Hospital. The school comprises a primary school (grade reception to grade 6), middle school (grades 7 to 9) and senior school (grades 10 to 12). The whole school is on the one grounds, although the primary school is separate from the middle and senior schools. The middle and senior schools share facilities and teaching staff.

History

St Hilda's School was founded in 1912 when the Diocese of Brisbane of the Anglican Church of Australia purchased an older school, Goyte-Lea, from Miss Davenport. Goyte-Lea was established prior to Australian federation in the late 19th Century.

The school was named after the seventh century Abbess of Whitby Saint Hilda. Saint Hilda was said to have turned serpents into stone, and the three stone serpents are the emblem of the school's crest.

The school's first Headmistress was Miss Bourne, for whom a series of classrooms are named. The School's motto since establishment is 'Non Nobis Solum', latin for 'Not for Ourselves Alone'.

Although always a girls school, Saint Hilda's does have 'old boys'. During the second world war secoundary schools were used as army barracks. The Anglican Church relocated boys from the Church of the England Boy's School in Toowomba to St Hilda's in April 1942. Saint Hildas was also used for a very short time by the 135th Medical Regiment.

Facilities

Built in 1995, the St Hilda's School Sports complex provides the school and local community with a quality sporting venue. It includes indoor courts suitable for basketball, badminton, netball, and volleyball; a fitness gym; an artistic and rhythmic gynamistics area including a foam pit, balance beams, and vaulting horse; and a 50m heated outdoor pool. The school also has one oval and a 25m outdoor pool. Previously, the school owned hockey fields opposite the Gold Coast Hospital but this land was sold and is now developed as part of the redevelopment of the Gold Coast Hospital precicnt.

The school has two libraries, the Junior School Library and Senior School Library.

The school's classrooms are a mix of old and new, reflecting the old heritage of the school.

School Spirit

St. Hildas is a member of the Queensland Girls Secondary Schools Sports Association (QGSSSA) the only such school on the Gold Coast. Members of sporting teams travel to Brisbane to participate in sporting events to compete.

The school has three houses which are used primarily to organise in-school competition in sporting and cultural events. A highlight of this competition is the inter-house musical which has been held at the Gold Coast Arts Center for many years. Other competitions include the inter-house athletics carnival, inter-house cross-country, and inter-house swimming carnival. The houses are named after Australian plants. In the middle and senior schools the houses are Banksia, Melalucea, and Karragaroo. The corresponding Junior School Houses are Acacia, Tristania, and Grevilla.

The life of the school is enriched by the involvement of support organisations. These include the Parents and Friends Association, the Old Girls Association (OGA), the Father's Project Club, and the Boarder Parent Support Group.

See also

• Education in Australia
• Queensland Great Public Schools

External links

• St Hilda's website