4 minute read
Prior to 1974...Our ‘covert girls’
Though 2024 officially marks 50 years of co-education at The Geelong College, 1974 was not truly the first time girls were educated in our school.
Long before the official integration of girls in 1974, small groups of girls were quietly attending science classes at The Geelong College, paving the way for future generations.
Earlier this year, Vivienne Lewis (MOC 1964) approached the College to share her story.
“In 1962, I was one of the ‘covert coeds’ who ‘snuck’ through the College campus to lab classes,” Vivienne said.
As a student at girls’ school, Morongo, she recalls a paucity of science options.
“Even into the late 1960s the girls’ school had only a basic Biology room but no laboratory or equipment for Physics and Chemistry practical training.”
Thankfully, there was a solution.
“Those few girls who followed a science stream were permitted to undertake their lab sessions in Geelong College’s facilities - but not with the boys!”
Presumably to ensure minimal interaction between the two groups, the girls’ classes took place after the boys had left school for the day.
Vivienne’s cohort was off to a strong start in 1962, with nine Year 11 girls engaging in science studies.
“Maths, Biology, Physics and Chemistry theory classes (were) given at Morongo.
“We were bussed after school two afternoons a week to take prac. classes in the vacated College labs.”
The year ran smoothly. However, things were a little different in Vivienne’s final year of schooling.
“The ‘sciency girls’ were down to six in number,” she recalls.
There were changes, too, to the way classes were delivered for the girls. Their lessons were to be held in daytime hours, in co-ed classes with the College boys!
It was a challenge for the ‘covert girls’, but one that was made even greater for Vivienne by her choice of subjects. Taking on Calculus and Pure & Applied Maths that year, Vivienne was the lone girl in her additional classes, and found navigating the new environment to be challenging at times.
“I was a naïve only child - sixteen years and one month old when I started that year, after 11 years of girls-only schooling.”
“I was isolated and alone as I was thrust into an alien male world,” she recalls.
Splitting her time between the two schools also took its toll.
“I was shuttled back and forth between College and Morongo, juggling four science subjects at College with just English and Phys Ed at Morongo. I was a stranger also in my own school.”
At the College, too, Vivienne had little opportunity to make social connections with her classmates.
“The school could not have an unsupervised girl in the grounds, so I had dispensation to leave the grounds to go to lunch.
“We were a sorry little lot, considered by the boys to be total nerds and undatable. None of us got invited to the Ball!”
“My regular attitude was hat down over my face and eyes lowered as I moved around the College grounds.
“Early on, in a Maths class, I had asked the teacher a question. From the back of the classroom came an intentionally audible comment, ‘What a dumb question!’ I never forgot that.”
There is no doubt that Vivienne’s experience was a difficult one.
However, despite the hardships they faced, many of these pioneering girls thrived.
“Most of us achieved good results and went on to successful science careers, with one becoming a doctor and another an architect.”
Vivienne’s experience highlights just how much our College has grown since those days.
Change often comes with its challenges as we seek to navigate previously uncharted waters, and the journey toward co-education at The Geelong College was no exception to this.
However, the stories of our ‘covert girls’ serve as a testament to the resilience and determination of these young women who quietly broke new ground and helped shape the inclusive spirit of the College as it is today.
