FEARLESS PURSUIT OUR STRATEGIC FUTURE

As an independent, forward thinking girls’ school we are committed to preparing students for a lifetime of learning, leadership and engagement in our global community.

Our school was established and nurtured through the foresight and courage of trailblazers. Over the decades our fearless leaders have remained steadfast in their future-focused commitment to educating students for the challenging world we live in. This vision is ingrained in the fabric of our school as we inspire girls to be bold and educate them to lead lives of impact and purpose.

As the world grappled with the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, the Ruyton Board made the wise decision to delay our strategic planning process. Initially in recognition of the immediate need for school communities to pivot and reinvent in many ways, this was a period of significant learning. Providing time to connect and consider our capacity to negotiate change, seek innovation, rediscover our creativity and to identify what we value and cherish most as a community.

Over the course of 2021–2022 we engaged with students, staff, parents and Old Ruytonians to contemplate our priorities. We recognise the future is inherently unknown as it is in the making and with this knowledge, we have devised a five-year Strategic Plan with a ten-year horizon, focused on five Strategic Directions:

Empowering Girls: We empower every girl to flourish by embracing emotional, social, physical and academic wellbeing practices. This approach supports our girls to lead lives of impact and purpose with courage, character and the desire to make a difference.

Powerful Learning: We build on our strong academic reputation for excellence and promote intellectual curiosity, creativity and collaboration. Personal best is central to our cultural understanding of excellence.

Engaged Community: We nurture our relationships and alliances, both locally and globally, to provide innovative and transformative experiences.

Valuing People: We are a recognised leader in education, forming valuable partnerships and attracting outstanding staff. Our investment in staff development benefits, students, staff and parents.

Sustainable Resources: We ensure Ruyton’s continued prosperity as a leading girls’ school, providing an environment where our other strategic directions thrive.

Fearless Pursuit launches an adventurous series of pathways as we explore the possible, plausible and probable futures in our context and culture. Through the realisation of this plan, we will build on the known, using our experience and knowledge alongside our collaborative partnerships and alliances, to best meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world.

At the centre of our strategy are our girls. Ruyton is proudly a school for all girls, recognising that while we are a single-sex school we do not educate in a singular way. Ruyton girls are themselves, pursue their individual dreams and achieve their personal best. Our staff are focused on meeting their individual learning needs; providing an environment where girls flourish and find their passions.

In Fearless Pursuit we recognise that now is the time to uplift girls and young women, actively break down stereotypical norms and welcome them to centre stage. Quite simply, at Ruyton we believe in girls.

To read Fearless Pursuit, Strategic Plan 2023 and Beyond please visit www.ruyton.vic.edu.au/our-school/ strategic-plan-2023-and-beyond/

Virginia McLaughlan President of The Ruyton Board

Linda Douglas Principal