First girls carved a pathway

The very first girls to attend St Andrew’s College were in the Preparatory School, with Caiti Morgan (OC 2003) and Aften Lyttle (OC 2002) starting on the same day in 1990 in Year 1. The following year, in 1991, Elizabeth Dumergue (OC 1992) was the first and only girl in the Secondary School for half of the first term before being joined by three other girls in Term 2. A much larger group of 55 girls started at the College in 1992.

Rector, Christine Leighton, commends the trailblazing first Senior girls at the College for their courage. “Integrating into a male dominated environment, they probably didn’t dwell on the fact they were carving out a pathway for future students. Today our culture is dynamic, diverse, and welcoming and I think those first girls would be proud to see what they started. It is wonderful that some of the children of those first girls have, or now attend, the College.” Darryl Bruce (OC 1992) was Head Boy when St Andrew’s became co-educational. He says there was some resistance from people in the College community with more traditional views, but this was a ‘storm in a teacup’ as far as the students were concerned. “Many of the existing boys knew some of the girls, and like any typical new school year it probably took two or three weeks for the dust to settle. After having spent our entire school life with the same cohort it was wonderful to bolster the year group with a host of new students and personalities. Having girls at St Andrew’s really improved the overall dynamic.”

Later, under Rector Barry Maister (1995–2001) girls were also able to enrol in Years 9–11. “Girls who attended the Preparatory School would leave in Year 8, and often come back for their final years of schooling in Years 12–13. Introducing girls to the Middle School was the final piece of the puzzle,” says Christine. Today, girls make up around 40 per cent of the roll. Subject options have diversified over the last 30 years, with girls holding their own with their male counterparts across all subjects.

Female teachers make up 52 per cent of staff, and a number of female staff hold senior leadership roles including, Head of Secondary School (Academic), Helaina Coote; Assistant Head of Secondary School (Data), Sarah Exon and Head of Innovative Practice and Strategy, Chami Hutterd (all in the Senior Leadership Group); Board Chair, Felicity Odlin and President of the Old Collegians Association, Meg Black. In the Preparatory School, Head of Teaching and Learning, Vicki Pettit; Head of Junior Syndicate, Heather Orman; Head of Middle Syndicate, Megan Feller and Year 7 Team Leader, Kelly McBride are all part of the Leadership Group.

“The natural integration of girls and women into the fabric of College life in 2022, shows that 30 years on from Dr Rentoul’s vision, co-education has truly come of age at St Andrew’s College,” says Christine.