Santa Sabina College is an independent Catholic school jointly owned by Dominican Education Australia. Prior to 2024, the College was owned by the Congregation of Dominican Sisters of Eastern Australia and the Solomon Islands.[3] The College is affiliated with the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),[4] the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA)[5] and an affiliate member of the Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools (AHIGS).[6] The College Principal is Paulina Skerman.
History
Eight Dominican sisters arrived from Ireland in 1867, to establish schools for Catholic children in New South Wales. Subsequently 3 hectares (6.5 acres) of land and a house in Strathfield were purchased from a wine-grower, Harold Lindeman. Santa Sabina College was established on this site in January 1894, with seven day students. The first three boarders were enrolled in April of that same year.[7]
Although the College saw its first student matriculate in 1906, it was not officially recognised as a secondary school until 1912, with the passing of the New South Wales Bursary Act. Organised sport was first introduced in 1918, with Tennis the most popular sport at the time.[7]
In 1936, Santa's most prominent building, Holyrood—originally built as Illyria by industrialist Charles Hoskins in the early 1890s—was purchased from William Adams of the Tattersall's Hotel. The carved sandstone facade came from the City Bank building in Moore Street (now Martin Place). This building was used as the College boarding house until boarding ceased in 1976. The building now houses the College music department.[7] The Del Monte property, located across the road from the College, was leased in 1949, with the first primary school students taking up residence later that year. In 1950, the owner of the property, Mary Bailey, died, leaving the property to the Sisters. Del Monte was subsequently renamed Santa Maria del Monte. Santa Maria del Monte was expanded in 1968, with the purchase of Lauriston,[7] which had been the home of the Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney during the Second World War.[8] This purchase provided the school with a sports ground and additional classrooms.[7]
In 1991 the campus was used as the backdrop for the Australian TV series Brides of Christ.[9]
1996 saw the establishment of the Out of School Hours Centre (OOSH), and in 1997, a property at Tallong was purchased for outdoor education. In 1998, Mary Bailey House was opened as an Early Childhood Centre, and in 2002 classes for Years 6 and 7 commenced at the middle school campus, Martin De Porres.[7]
The current principal, Ms Skerman was previously, the principal at an independent, Catholic, girls’ secondary day and boarding school for 5 years.[11] She is a member of the Australian Heads of Independent Schools and the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia. In 2017, she was named as a Finalist in the Telstra Business Women’s Award for leading growth and inclusivity through innovation.[11]
Campus
The College comprises five campuses: four situated along The Boulevarde in Strathfield, and an outdoor education campus at Tallong in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales. The four city campuses are Mary Bailey House Early Education Centre (Pre-school), Santa Maria del Monte (Kindergarten to Year 4), Gioia House (Years 5 & 6) and Santa Sabina (Senior Years). Santa Maria del Monte also takes boy students from Kindergarten to Year 4,[12] with most boys then continuing on to St. Patrick's College to complete their schooling.
The Strathfield campus includes a 33-metre (108ft) outdoor swimming pool, six tennis courts, three ovals and a chapel. In 2002, a Middle School was established for students in Years 6 and 7. In 2005 The Aquinas Centre was opened, featuring a library, lecture theatre and student services facility. In 2025, St Lucy's @ Santa, a satellite campus of St Lucy's School – for students with disabilities, was set up within Santa Sabina in the St Dominic Building.
Co-curricular activities
Debating
The College debating activities include: The Archdale Competition for Years 7 to 12, against twenty similar type independent girls' schools; the AHIGS Festival of Speech; the Catholic Schools' Debating competition; Schools' Speaking competition; the Catholic Schools' Speaking competition; the Junior Legacy Speaking competition; Senior Plain English Speaking competition; and the Rostrum Voice of Youth Competition.[13]
Debating and Public Speaking is also offered through inter-house competitions.[13]
Arts
Santa Sabina is seen as the sister school to St Patrick's College. As such the two schools combine drama classes to stage shows, and musicals.[14]
Sport
The sporting program at Santa Sabina includes: School sporting clubs, Saturday and midweek competitions, gala days, and representative opportunities up to national level. Each year the College takes about 2500 sports registrations for approximately 85 sports competitions and activities across 22 sports.[15]
Controversies
The school was the subject of international news coverage following the suicide of Charlotte O’Brien, a 12-year-old student enrolled at the school, following allegations of years of “relentless bullying” in September 2024.[16][17] The school administration was accused of failing to respond to reports of the bullying, and public outcries mounted over the school’s alleged inaction in the aftermath.[16][18] In the days following, some former and current parents and students of the school have come forward to question the school’s handling of the incident and whether enough was being done to tackle the issue of bullying.[16][19]
A former staff member at the school took their own life earlier in 2024 and had informed their family there was “a culture of bullying at the school”.[20]
Principal Paulina Skerman responded to these reports, "suggestions of a culture of bullying at the college are confronting and go against the very fabric of our faith and the way we live our lives” clarifying, "they are certainly contrary to what we have witnessed in our community over the last few weeks."[21][17] Skerman said the allegations are “new claims to the College and are not consistent with school records,” though O’Brien’s parents said they sent several emails to the school, the first in August 2022, that “begged” the school to intervene.[17][16][22]
1 2 "Overview". About Us. Santa Sabina College. 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
↑ "AHISA Schools". New South Wales. Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. November 2007. Archived from the original on 13 July 2007. Retrieved 19 June 2007.
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