From the Principal
Hard to believe, but we are here once again heading into Christmas. Perhaps you remember the excitement of end-of-school celebrations, our beautiful carols and Christmas Chapel service, and the anticipation of Year 12 returning for their last hurrah in late December, the day after their HSC results are released.This is always a special time at the College, and looking back and reflecting on another year (that has flown by far too quickly) always fills me with a great sense of gratitude and pride. You may recall, 2025 was our designated Year of Respect. This was the first in a series of years when we intentionally shine a light on one College value at a time, noticing and celebrating how each one is demonstrated across K-12 and in all interactions among our wider community. From Year 12, who built uplifting messages of Respect into their ‘Come Alive in 2025’ Prefects’ theme, through to our Junior School, Pymble students approached each term with our respectful behaviour statement front of mind: I value diversity, my own worth and the worth of others. In this heartwarming video created in Term 1, our students, staff and families reflect on how they uphold respectful behaviour in their own way, each day at Pymble.
This year, we also launched our inaugural Pymble Values Art Prize to celebrate our long-standing commitment to the five College values of Care, Courage, Integrity, Respect and Responsibility, while simultaneously supporting female artists in Australia. This annual acquisitive painting prize awards $30,000 to the artist of the winning submission, which will reflect the year’s designated value. This year, artists were invited to explore the concept of Respect in their submissions. You can view the shortlisted finalists and the winning artwork here. Viva by Lynn Savery will hang proudly in our Main Reception for a few months until we find its forever home on campus, and we warmly invite you to pop in to see it next time you visit Pymble.
Thank you to all who have engaged in College life in 2025 – in big ways or small. We are grateful to those who have generously gifted their time, knowledge and expertise as Board members, ESU committee members, PPA committee members and volunteers, mentors and corporate partners, guest speakers, careers advisors, reunion convenors and attendees, and champions of our Pymble Foundation.
We hope to see you in 2026 for our 110 Years celebrations.
We close the year out in anticipation of the 2026 grand opening of our incredible new facility, Grey House Precinct, in addition to welcoming five more refugee students whose education has been gifted by our big-hearted donors through the Pymble Foundation Bursary program. We remain eternally grateful to our ongoing supporters of our First Nations Scholarship Program, which in 2026 will include 20 Boarders and one day student from different indigenous nations all over Australia.
Importantly, we look forward to a year filled with even more opportunities to connect as we gather to celebrate 110 years of Pymble Ladies’ College and generations of compassionate and influential women we are proud to call Pymble Alumni. At the start of next year we will share with you a link with an offer to purchase our beautiful coffee table book which celebrates 44 of our incredible ex-students. Each year we will add more to this publication. If you would like to self-nominate or nominate a fellow alumna for inclusion, we would love to hear from you.
Have a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones and, please, don’t be a stranger in 2026. Signing off with all my respect – and a little help from my elves.
Dr Kate Hadwen