The College Mission

Presbyterian Ladies' College is a Christian independent girls' school, which aims to provide breadth, strength, balance and quality of education in both the national and international context for the purpose of encouraging leadership, service and life-long personal development and learning.

The College Objectives

• to provide for students of the College an education of a humane, scientific and general nature, consistent with the teachings of Christianity;
• to provide religious instruction and education in the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments interpreted not inconsistently with the Westminster Confession of Faith, the 39 Articles of Religion of the Anglican Church and the Basis of Union of The Uniting Church in Australia ;
• to encourage each student to achieve the highest standard of which she is capable in all her activities;
• to encourage the full development of the personality and sense of responsibility of each student;
• to encourage in each student respect for others and capacity to work with them
• to promote the development of Christian ideals of citizenship, personal character and a spirit of reverence in the entire life and work of the College
• to provide for the students of the College opportunities for religious observance and worship not inconsistent with the usage of the Presbyterian Church.

Presbyterian Ladies' College

Presbyterian Ladies' College was founded in 1875, the first public school for girls in Australia . The College was situated in East Melbourne , and its initial enrolment was 60 students. Among its students in that first year were Catherine Deakin, sister of future Prime Minister, Alfred Deakin, and Ellen Mitchell who was to become Dame Nellie Melba.

When the University of Melbourne opened its doors to female students in 1881, many were from the College: Constance Ellis, the first Victorian woman to receive the degree of Doctor of Medicine, Flo Greig, the first woman to be admitted to the Victorian Bar; Ethel Godfrey, Victoriaís first woman dentist; and Vida Goldstein, suffragette and the first woman to stand for election to Federal Parliament.

In 1939, with 600 pupils and 40 teachers, accommodation at East Melbourne was strained and 'Hethersett', a residence in extensive grounds in Burwood in the developing residential suburbs 15 kilometres to the east, was purchased.

The Junior School moved to the new site that year and in 1958 was joined by the Senior School and Boarding House, all in new purpose-built buildings.

In 1980, the College was incorporated, retaining its links as an educational institution in connection with the Presbyterian Church of Victoria.

The College maintains its tradition of educational leadership. Many of today's prominent Australian women were educated at Presbyterian Ladies' College. Two former students of the College have been awarded Rhodes Scholarship in the past eight years.

Present Position

Educational Principles: The College emphasises many of the same educational principles as in 1875 - a love and rigor of learning, a wide curriculum, sensitive appreciation of the abilities and needs of all students, success through encouragement, and discipline through self-control and co-operation.

Motto: The ultimate goal of the College is expressed in the motto Lex dei vitae lampas: The law of God is the lamp of life.

Staff: The quality of the College's staff is outstanding and has always been a major strength.

Students: 380 students in the Junior School and 950 in the Senior School . Students come from many inner and outer Melbourne suburbs. 200 girls and boys are enrolled in the Early Learning Centre and many of these girls proceed to Junior School .

Motivation: Each student is encouraged to reach the highest standard which her natural gifts enable her to achieve, and to use those gifts not exclusively for her own ends but in a way which recognises responsibility and service to others.

The College Community: The College provides an environment in which values are translated into action; where students and staff support each other in a co-operative learning environment.

Facilities: A new Junior School for Prep to Year 6, a new Boarding House officialy opened in 2008 featuring modern individual bedrooms in the new building for girls in Years 11 and 12 and fully refurbished and stylish bedrooms for girls in Years 7-10. All boarders benefit from additional recreational rooms to relax and chat, play games or watch big-screen movies and there are additional new music rehearsal rooms, an exercise room and study and computer rooms. 

The Early Learning Centre; Music School; state of the art Auditorium; Gymnasium; Sports Centre; Aquatic Centre with swimming and diving pools; numerous ovals, tennis, netball and basketball courts.

Information Technology: From Prep to Year 12, PLC’s Computers for Learning program aims to prepare students to be competent, discerning users of today's technology, confident to adapt to the changes of the future. In Senior School, one computer is provided for every 2 students and in the Junior School one computer is provided for every 2.5 students. Interactive white boards are also used to encourage explorative learning in the classroom.

At PLC, computer use is integrated across the curriculum with applications matched to individual subject content to enhance student learning. Computers are tools to aid learning; their use is not an end in itself.

All students can save their work to central servers and from Year 5 students have access to Studywiz – a virtual learning environment.