From the Principal
On Tuesday evening, the House of Lords was alive with the chatter and energy emanating from the 140th Anniversary reunion in London. The event was graciously hosted by Old Girl Baroness Natalie Bennett (1983) of Manor Castle. Natalie served as the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2012 to 2016. During her tenure, she focused on social justice, environmental sustainability, and democratic reform and she remains active in the House of Lords, advocating for issues such as universal basic income, and climate action.
As well as hosting our event on Tuesday evening, she busily dashed back into the House to debate and vote on an important issue before returning to address us all. Natalie described the importance of the ‘old boys network’ when it comes to having bills passed within the House and noted that as women, we need to build our own networks in order to have that same influence. She emphasised that MLC School reunions provide the perfect opportunity do just that and thanked the School for making such an opportunity possible.
Those in attendance ranged from Ros Coulson, who graduated in 1955 through to members of the classes of 2023 and 2025 who are studying or taking a gap year in the United Kingdom.
I never cease to be impressed by our Old Girls, they are such extraordinary women. Whether they graduated 30, 40, 50 years ago or in the last few years, they share common character attributes that span the generations. These include a quiet inner strength; a commitment to making a difference and working hard to achieve it; and a willingness to say what needs to be said. In my conversations, many also emphasised how the skills that they developed by being involved in co-curricular activities had later translated into opportunities beyond school.
We can sometimes lose sight of the ‘long game’ – the purpose of education. These women remind me that what really counts cannot be simply measured by an ATAR, a prize, or a leadership position while at school – it is who we become and how we make our way in the world that determines our success. Hence the importance of ensuring a well-rounded education that provides the right amount of challenge for our girls across a range of pursuits.
In the coming months we will host our annual reunions for the classes of 2016, 2006, 1996, 1986 (and so on) and welcome everyone back on our 140th Anniversary Back to College Open Day and our Boarders for lunch on Friday 1 May 2026 – please spread the word to any former or prospective staff, students, parents and family members.
And finally, I hope that you have had a chance to see the fabulous Creative Types episode featuring MLC School Old Girl Andrea Lam (1999) on ABC iView.
As part of the episode Andrea returns to MLC School to reflect on her journey to becoming one of Australia’s most highly respected concert pianists and to share her expertise with current student Sylvia Li (Year 8) in a lesson filmed in our Music Centre. It is inspirational and yet another example of just where an MLC School education could take a student.
– Lisa Moloney
Principal
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