The MLC School girl is daring and brave. She pushes societal, academic and creative boundaries. She challenges the perceptions of what a woman can and should do. She embraces her responsibility to contribute to the world, both actively and positively.
MLC School girls are fostered to be free-thinking women, and to challenge the norm by taking measured risks. Girls come from across Sydney and reflect the variety of cultural and faith backgrounds that are evident in our global city. Difference is encouraged through MLC School's academic and co-curricular programs, which recognise and celebrate diversity and hold notions of what might be seen as 'typical' up to the light. These programs allow girls to discover their academic, creative and physical strengths, reward curiosity and provide a safe framework for experimentation and risk-taking.
From our earliest days, MLC School has recognised the pivotal role that education plays in the empowerment of women and sought to challenge community assumptions about the roles and limitations of women.
Our mission to 'educate young women to be fearless thinkers with moral courage and compassion to be agents of change in their own lives and the lives of others', is as relevant and necessary as ever.
Member of the Round Square network
Round Square is an internationally diverse network of 200 like-minded schools in 50 countries on six continents that connect and collaborate to offer world-class programmes and experiences, developing global competence, character and confidence in our students. We are like-minded in our shared understanding of the hardwired link between character education and academic success. The aim is to equip students for positive, active and engaged global citizenship by offering them more than academic knowledge and qualifications.
Round Square schools share a commitment to character education and experiential learning built around six themes – IDEALS – International Understanding, Democracy, Environmental Stewardship, Adventure, Leadership and Service.
Source: https://roundsquare.org/
Founding Member of the International Coalition of Girls' Schools
MLC School is a Founding Member of the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools, a powerful global network that is united in elevating women’s leadership worldwide by educating and empowering our students to be ethical, globally minded changemakers. ICGS is the leading advocate for girls’ schools, connecting and collaborating globally with individuals, schools, and mission-aligned entities dedicated to educating and empowering girls.
Independent Girls' Schools Association (IGSA) Affiliation
MLC School is proud to be affiliated with the Independent Girls' School Association (IGSA).
For more than 100 years, the Independent Girls’ Schools Association has provided support and services to Heads of independent girls’ schools in NSW as it seeks to promote and progress girls’ education. The Association currently has 32 members who all share a vision for the education of girls in girls’ schools. More information can be found at https://igsa.nsw.edu.au/.
Athlete Friendly Education Centres (AFEC) Accredited
As an AFEC accredited school, MLC School can provide flexible learning pathways to student athletes with policies and procedures as well as excellent support services. Being a World Academy of Sport school now allows our International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme students to complete the IB over a three-year period, rather than two years.
More information about AFEC can be found here.
This complements the HSC pathway available to elite athletes. More information about the School's Emerging Athlete Program can be found here.
Immersive Learning
The experiences aim to broaden horizons, encourage resilience and foster a growth mindset to underpin success in their senior years of schooling. The experiences also aim to provide lasting memories, whilst supporting the building of connections and the formation of lifelong friendships. These programs deepen the bonds between students, open new perspectives on the places visited and allow girls to meet significant personal and academic challenges prior to their entry to the senior years of high school.
Immersive learning experiences begin in our Junior School and continue on in the Senior School. Each one is unique in it’s design but they all have some common threads that link the experiences together. For example, each experience has a service learning component, each has an indigenous component and each one is linked to curriculum and pastoral care outcomes.
*This information is very much dependent on the capacity of the School to run such programs within prevailing health guidelines.
IB and HSC – Your Choice
MLC School offers both the pre-eminent International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme, and the highly regarded Higher School Certificate (HSC) for Year 11 and Year 12. The IB is an internationally recognised qualification that particularly suits all-rounders, while the HSC suits students who have a strong interest in a particular academic area, such as science or the arts. MLC School also offers strong support for VET courses such as Entertainment in Year 11 and Year 12.
The Junior School
The atmosphere at the Junior School is warm and friendly, at times energetic, yet always with time for quiet reflection, mindfulness, music, physical activity and more. Each student’s learning in literacy and numeracy is personalised, ensuring instruction is targeted to her specific learning needs, regardless of her level.
This ‘just right’ approach to learning leads to significant growth, which we monitor closely over time and share with parents. The Junior School is a place of purpose, passion and possibilities, establishing a love of learning that will carry our girls all the way through their school years and beyond.
Music
Music is in MLC School’s DNA. The whole school is involved in performing music, be it at the Sydney Town Hall or the Sydney Opera House. MLC School has a reputation for musical excellence across a wide range of styles. Music enriches the lives of all our students – the program is inclusive and open to all.
MLC School's music program has been recognised with two national awards for embracing innovation and excellence. The Australian Music Centre and APRA National Award was received for the most distinguished contribution to the advancement of Australian music in education. The TOAN National Award, presented by The Orchestras of Australia Network, was for the best school orchestral program. Both these awards are testimony to our extended commitment to musical excellence; a program that has enriched the musical lives of our students and established MLC School as a leader in Australian music education.
Sport at MLC School
Sport is an integral part of the MLC School life and plays an important part in the development of the whole person. MLC School has a proud sporting tradition and we applaud those who give it a go as much as those who excel. Girls from all age groups are strongly encouraged to participate in the wide variety of sports offered.
Co-curricular Programs
From Coding to Orchestra, Debating to Football, co-curricular activities have long been recognised as a way for students to indulge a passion, try a new skill, learn and develop leadership, social and organisational skills and provide service to the school and community.
At MLC School, our co-curricular activities and programs provide valuable learning experiences through practical situations involving teamwork, sportsmanship, winning and losing, hard work and fun.
Unlike traditional co-curricular programs, here at MLC School we have a strong focus on both skill acquisition and character education. Our character education outcomes are achieved through incorporating the Round Square Discovery Framework throughout all of our co-curricular programs. This agile framework assists our coordinators and tutors to embed character and values education into our programs to enhance student outcomes and put the MLC School girl at the heart of everything we do.
The Round Square Discovery Framework gives a common language across all programs enabling our girls to explore, demonstrate and use the 12-character attributes to critically reflect on their growth throughout their journey at MLC School. This results in MLC School girls being able to articulate who they have become based on the programs they have participated in.
Dance, Drama and Entertainment
MLC School is dedicated to creating rich artistic experiences that provide the opportunity to extend creative talents and skills in a variety of imaginative and challenging ways. We believe that learning through the Arts should not only be lively and enjoyable, but should also lead students to a better understanding of themselves and of the real world in which they live.
All students have the opportunity to participate in some form of Performing Arts activity whether through MLC School co-curricular dance programs, Theatresports competitions and drama productions or through our partnership with speech and drama providers, The Speech and Drama Studio and the Acting and Communication Academy.