Saint Ursula's College, Kingsgrove

Last updated

St Ursula's College Kingsgrove
Saint Ursula's College (Sheild).jpg
The College crest
Location
Saint Ursula's College, Kingsgrove

Australia
Coordinates 33°56′28″S151°06′12″E / 33.941001°S 151.103337°E / -33.941001; 151.103337
Information
Type Independent single-sex secondary day school
Motto Latin: Serviam (I will Serve)
Religious affiliation(s) Ursuline Order
Denomination Roman Catholic
Patron saint(s) Saint Angela Merici and Saint Ursula
Established1 February 1957;67 years ago (1 February 1957) [1]
Educational authority New South Wales Department of Education
OversightCatholic Education Office, Archdiocese of Sydney
PrincipalMs Vivienne Awad
Gender Girls
Enrolment1169 (2020)
Campus type Suburban
Colour(s)Green, navy blue and white    
Website stursulakingsgrove.syd.catholic.edu.au
Saint Ursula's College, Kingsgrove

St Ursula's College, Kingsgrove, founded in 1957, is an independent Roman Catholic single-sex secondary day school for girls, located in Kingsgrove, a southern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. [2] The College is a member of the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia. [3]

Contents

Academically, St Ursula's College is consistently one of the best performing schools in the Archdiocese of Sydney. The College was ranked 69th in the state in the 2021 NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC). [4]

Vivienne Awad is the current Principal of St Ursula's College. She was appointed to the role in 2024. [5]

History

The Ursuline Order was founded by Saint Angela de Merici in Brescia, Italy in 1535. Saint Angela Merici named the order after Saint Ursula, patron saint of the Sorbonne in Paris and also the patron saint of education. The Ursuline Sisters came to the Kingsgrove Parish in 1949 when they were invited to take over St Bernadette's School at Bexley South from the Sisters of Mercy. The sisters lived at the convent at Ashbury and travelled to Bexley North each day.

Within a few years, they had established a convent at Caroline Street, Kingsgrove (the present St Ursula's College administration building), and in 1953 they opened a new school, Our Lady of Fatima Primary School.

St Ursula's College was opened in 1957 with an enrolment of 56 girls in first form. The following year, 52 new students came to the College and, by 1959, there were 200 students enrolled. The College has continued to grow, with a current enrolment of over 1,000 students, more than 80 teachers and 20 ancillary staff.

In 2018, and again in 2020, St Ursula's was ranked in the top 50 schools in New South Wales by HSC results. [6] [7]

In 2023, St Ursula's introduced the International Baccalaureate as a study path making it the first systemic Catholic school in Australia to give students the opportunity to study through the International Baccalaureate. [8] [9] [10]

In December 2023, the school ended its ban on same-sex partners for LGBT+ students attending the school formal after a Change.org petition launched by a student against its “discriminatory policy” had reached 4,900 signatures. Federal education minister Jason Clare had urged the school to rethink the ban, saying students “should be able to take whoever they wanted” to the Year 12 farewell. [11] In the same month, Pope Francis announced that priests would be allowed to bless same-sex couples. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angela Merici</span> Christian saint

Angela Merici was an Italian Catholic religious educator who founded the Company of St. Ursula in 1535 in Brescia, in which women dedicated their lives to the service of the church through the education of girls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Technical High School</span> School in Australia

Sydney Technical High School (STHS) is a state-financed single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located in Bexley, a southern suburb of Sydney situated near the city. Founded in 1911 as part of Sydney Technical College, the school was one of the six original New South Wales selective schools and caters for boys from Year 7 to Year 12. The school is colloquially abbreviated to Sydney Tech, STHS or simply Tech.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ursulines</span> Religious institutes of the Catholic Church

The Ursulines, also known as the Order of Saint Ursula, is an enclosed religious order of women that in 1572 branched off from the Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula. The Ursulines trace their origins to the Angeline foundress Angela Merici and likewise place themselves under the patronage of Saint Ursula. While the Ursulines took up a monastic way of life under the Rule of Saint Augustine, the Angelines operate as a secular institute. The largest group within the Ursulines is the Ursulines of the Roman Union.

Sacred Heart Academy is an all-girls Catholic high school in Louisville, Kentucky. It is located in the Archdiocese of Louisville. Sacred Heart Academy was founded in 1877 and is a sponsored school of the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville. It has been named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence twice and is an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School. It first achieved International Baccalaureate (IB) World School status in 1997. It is one of only two schools in the city and the only Catholic school in the state to offer IB.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monte Sant'Angelo Mercy College</span> School in Australia

Monte Sant'Angelo Mercy College is an independent Roman Catholic single-sex secondary day school for girls, located in North Sydney, on the lower north shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kingsgrove</span> Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Kingsgrove is a suburb in Southern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Kingsgrove is 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) south-west of the Sydney central business district and lies across the local government areas of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, Bayside Council and the Georges River Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merici College</span> Roman catholic secondary day school in Australia

Merici College is a Roman Catholic secondary day school for girls located in the Canberra suburb of Braddon in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. Established in 1959, the College caters for students in years 7 to 12. The school's Principal is Anna Masters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loreto Normanhurst</span> School in Australia

Loreto Normanhurst is an independent Catholic, primary and secondary day and boarding school for girls, located in Normanhurst, a suburb on the upper North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ursuline High School, Wimbledon</span> Voluntary aided comprehensive school in Wimbledon, Greater London, England

The Ursuline High School, Wimbledon is a voluntary-aided, Roman Catholic Secondary School for girls aged 11 to 19. The school is based at Crescent Road and the Downs, Wimbledon, London. It was founded in 1892 by the Ursulines. It is affiliated with The Ursuline Preparatory School, its previous feeder preparatory school, as well as Wimbledon College, the high school's brother school, who have worked in partnership since 1986 and share joint Sixth Form. The school specialises in Business & Enterprise and Modern Foreign Languages and it was previously designated a Gifted & Talented Lead School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Vincent's College, Potts Point</span> School in Potts Point, Sydney, Australia

St Vincent's College, is an independent Roman Catholic single-sex secondary day and boarding school for girls, located in Victoria Street, Potts Point, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roseville College</span> Independent, single-sex, day school in Roseville, Sydney, Australia

Roseville College is a private Anglican day school for girls, located in the suburb of Roseville on the North Shore of Sydney, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Ursula's College, Yeppoon</span> Secondary girls school in Yeppoon, Queensland, Australia

St Ursula's College, Yeppoon, is an independent, Catholic, Girls', secondary and Boarding School located in the town of Yeppoon, in Central Queensland, Australia. It is administered by the Queensland Catholic Education Commission, with an enrolment of 553 students and a teaching staff of 50, as of 2023. The school serves students from Year 7 to Year 12, and is the only all-girls, Catholic day and boarding secondary school in Central Queensland.

Saint Patrick's College is an Australian independent Roman Catholic single-sex secondary day school for girls located in Campbelltown in south-western Sydney, New South Wales. Established in 1840, it was the first school built by private enterprises in New South Wales and provides a religious and comprehensive education for approximately 850 students from Year 7 to Year 12, in the traditions of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Ursula's College, Toowoomba</span> School in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia

St. Ursula's College is a Catholic independent girls' secondary boarding and day school in Newtown, Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. The school was established in 1931 by Ursuline nuns. The college is administered by the Catholic Diocese of Toowoomba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ursuline College, Westgate-on-Sea</span> School in Westgate-on-Sea, Kent, England

Ursuline College is a Catholic comprehensive secondary school with academy status, located in Westgate-on-Sea, in north-east Kent, England, United Kingdom. Aimed at pupils aged 11 to 19, the college is based within the Ursuline and Catholic ethos, aiding and teaching its pupils within this regime.

The Angelines, also known as the Company of Saint Ursula or officially the Secular Institute of Saint Angela Merici, is a secular institute of consecrated women in the Catholic Church founded in 1535 by Angela Merici in Brescia, Italy. Their primary focus is the education of women and girls, and the care of the sick and needy. Their patron saint is Saint Ursula. They follow the original form of life established by their foundress in that they live independently, responsible for their own well-being, for which they often have secular jobs, but they formally dedicate their lives to the service of the church. In 1572, some members formed a separate monastic order, the Ursulines.

The Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia is a non-profit organisation that promotes the education of girls in single-sex girls' schools, and promotes the image of, and support the development of, girls' schools in Australasia.

Saint Ursula is a 4th century Christian saint.

The Ursuline Sisters Daughters of Mary Immaculate are members of a Verona-based Catholic congregation of sisters. The main purpose of the congregation is the human and Christian training of young people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caroline Ann Rowland</span> Ursuline nun, religious leader and teacher

Caroline Ann Rowland (1852–1921) was a Roman Catholic nun in the Order of St Ursula. In 1882 she founded St Ursula's College in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.

References

  1. "Saint Ursula's College: History". Saint Ursula's College. Archived from the original on 26 September 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2008.
  2. St Ursula's College, Kingsgrove (2 December 2015). "Home | St Ursula's College". stursulakingsgrove.syd.catholic.edu.au. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  3. "Member Schools Archive". Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  4. HSC Results (4 April 2022). "Congratulations to the St Ursula's College 2021 Year 12 Class | St Ursula's College". stursulakingsgrove.syd.catholic.edu.au. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  5. Principal's Message. "Principals Message | St Ursula's College". stursulakingsgrove.syd.catholic.edu.au. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  6. Kolimar, Eva (17 December 2018). "St George Girls, Sydney Tech and Caringbah High make top 50 in HSC". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  7. Porter, Merryn (8 January 2021). "Our top schools revealed". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  8. "International Baccalaureate". 29 October 2022.
  9. Cramsie, Debbie (3 November 2022). "St Ursula's is first to offer Baccalaureate". The Catholic Weekly. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  10. Kolimar, E#va (13 October 2022). "Going global: High school gets IB status". St George & Sutherland Shire Leader. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  11. ’Sydney Catholic school scraps same-sex formal ban following backlash’. 3 November 2023. Guardian Australia . Australian Associated Press.
  12. Horowitz, Jason. (18 December 2023). 'Pope Francis Allows Priests to Bless Same-Sex Couples'. New York Times .