History
Ravenswood was established with eight students on 28 January 1901, by the first Headmistress, Mabel Fidler, as a non-sectarian, private, day school for girls with preparatory classes for boys. The first classes commenced in a schoolroom erected on the block adjacent to Fidler's home, "Ravenswood", in Henry Street, Gordon. The school remains on this site.
Fidler retired from Ravenswood in 1925, and the school was subsequently purchased by the Methodist Ladies' College, Burwood, thus becoming a school of the Methodist Church. Subsequently, the school name was changed to Ravenswood Methodist Ladies' College. At this time, Ravenswood was the largest non-residential, private secondary school in Sydney, with an enrolment of 180, and was highly regarded for the quality of its teaching and its achievements in sport. Ravenswood became a day and boarding school in 1935, with the enrolment of the first two boarders.
The 1960s saw the introduction of the school anthem, Kindle the Flame, and the current house system, with four houses named after the Royal Houses of the British Monarchy: Stuart, Tudor, Windsor and York. In the 1970s, as the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational Churches came together to form the Uniting Church, the school name changed to its current form, Ravenswood School for Girls. The schools familiar blue and gold uniform was also introduced at this time.
In its Centenary Year in 2001, the school celebrated with the official opening of The Centenary Centre, by His Excellency the Honourable Sir William Deane, AC, KBE, Governor-General of Australia (1996–2001). In 2006, after considerable debate, the Ravenswood council announced that the school would be phasing out its boarding program over the next six to eight years, due to a steady decline in boarding enrolments over recent years. Further change was seen on 5 September 2007, with the introduction of a new school uniform.
Read more about this topic: Ravenswood School For Girls
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