Soil-Turning Ceremony at Pymble Ladies’ College

The 8th of February is a special day In the College’s calendar. It was on this day in 1916 that Dr John Marden welcomed 60 young ladies as the very first students at, what is now, Pymble Ladies’ College.

With that momentous occasion in mind, our Principal Dr Hadwen, Mr Chris Fydler OAM Chair of the College Board, Board members, parents, staff and girls gathered to celebrate the start of construction at Grey House Precinct with a special soil-turning ceremony. Mr Tim Seymour was a special guest and gave a moving and heart-felt Acknowledgement of Country and conducted a smoking ceremony.

The first stage of the College’s Masterplan, the new Grey House Precinct development will deliver a world-class educational and co-curricular learning space that prioritises student and staff health and wellbeing with leading pedagogical practices and the flexibility to accommodate developments in learning and teaching methods.

The Grey House Precinct will provide a new home for girls in Years 5 and 6, a dance academy with six new studios, out-of-school hours care and an early learning centre catering for 90 girls and boys from zero to six years. A new purpose-built health and wellbeing centre will also be created within the Precinct. The Years 5 and 6 Junior School component will provide high-quality general and specialist learning spaces, with a focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

Pymble’s Dance Captain Emily spoke eloquently about the future of dance at Pymble and two of our Junior School students spoke at the ceremony about their excitement and anticipation of the new learning spaces.

“I am so excited to be given the opportunity to learn in Grey House Precinct. I really love that the centre will offer students a unique and enriching experience that combines the best of both worlds: STEM and the arts. I love science, because it allows me to explore and understand the world around me, and we can use it to find solutions to real world problems.

We are all different, but Grey House Precinct will offer us all a space to be our best selves as learners. I am so grateful to Dr Hadwen, Mrs Brown, and all the staff and builders who are working so hard to make this happen.

I can’t wait to see how this new site will inspire and encourage us to be the best students we can be and send ripple waves of change into the world around us.” Violet Year 3

“I am really excited that Grey House Precinct will bring together Year 5 and 6 in one space from 2025 – it’s going to be an AMAZING space for us all.  It’s lovely that we will have dance studios there too which we will be able to use for rehearsals for our Year 6 musical which is a highlight of Year 6.

Most of all I can’t wait to be learning in a space with a huge STEM centre right there so we can easily access technology tools and resources to spark our curiosity, challenge our thinking and help us be innovators.” Arin Year 4