Empowering girls at Shelford Girls' Grammar

From the very beginning, Shelford Girls’ Grammar has promoted a “can do” approach to education and to life.

Emily Dixon held the first class of only four students in a house on Glen Eira Road in 1898 and was later joined by a handful of independent women with the same determination and courage to turn their vision for Shelford into a reality.

Fast forward to 2022 and Shelford Girls’ Grammar is a thriving, contemporary and high-achieving school that respects its history and traditions, while also looking to the future.

“Sometimes people might think that a small, 125-year-old girls’ school has an old-fashioned approach, but we have always considered what the world is like now, what it will be like in the future and how to best equip our students for that world,” says principal Katrina Brennan.

“Our values of respect, integrity, passion and creativity remain the same and we are proud of our history and traditions.

“However, we are all about empowering our girls to be leaders, to develop passions and skills, to believe they can do the things they are interested in and to also achieve things that perhaps they thought they couldn’t do.”

While students explore their interests, learn and grow, they are scaffolded by the school’s comprehensive well-being and pastoral care program.

There are well-being mentors at every year level, and with prep to year 12 students sharing one campus, all students are known by the teachers.

“We understand each student and individualise the support and care they receive as a learner and as a person,” Brennan says.

“The relationships between our students and staff are exceptional. We have a village raising the children at our school and there is a very strong sense of community.”

In 2023, Shelford Girls’ Grammar will introduce an ethical leadership framework for preps to year 12s.

It has been designed to help students develop their ideas on what it means to be an ethical leader and to understand that positive leadership embraces collaboration and respects diverse opinions.

Students will also learn more about sustainability, inclusiveness and the school’s Reconciliation Action Plan. The framework also encourages students to find their voice.

“Shelford has always had a values-led education and we challenge our students to have a voice,” Brennan says.

“In junior school, students have conversation buddies who encourage them to speak up and share ideas and opinions, and our classrooms are set up so students work together.

“We want every student to express what they have learned and for each student to be active and engaged in their learning.”

Starting next year, groups of older students will have the opportunity to work in small groups with alumni who have leadership experience.

“Girls will explore how to develop leadership skills, how to give and receive feedback and how to set goals and run meetings,” Brennan says.

“They will develop a portfolio of very useful skills.”

The learning opportunities presented through the curriculum and through the many extra-curricular activities are broad.

Subjects such as robotics, technology and theatre production sit alongside clubs including debating, chess, cooking, Chinese, gardening and dance.

“Students who might be too shy to try something new in a bigger school are more likely to try that activity at Shelford because we are a smaller school, and because our students are surrounded by a cohort who will lift them up,” Brennan says.

“Our students achieve amazing results because they want to do well and because they’re supported by teachers who are lifelong learners who encourage our girls to believe they can achieve their goals.”

SHELFORD GIRLS’ GRAMMAR \ 3 Hood Crescent, Caulfield 9524 7333 shelford.vic.edu.au