From the Principal
Electric-powered racing cars, robots and drones – it’s all happening for our girls in the world of STEM at Pymble!
We begin this week by cheering on our Year 6 students as they prepare for Australia’s first Formula Goblin competition coming up in May, when they will race other teams in electric cars built from scratch.
Meanwhile, it is with a great deal of pride and excitement that we received the news Pymble has qualified for the World Robotics Championships in Houston, Texas. This is a highly competitive environment and an outstanding acknowledgment of the quality of our program to be invited to compete against top robotics teams from around the world, including NASA. Best wishes to our Pymble Pride Robotics team, who are looking forward to building on the success they have experienced throughout the year on the world stage.
In other super-exciting news, we are now on track to launch our inaugural Pymble Drone Academy next Term, thanks to generous parents who are keen to help us make this happen as soon as yesterday! This is such a great opportunity for students in Years 4 upwards to get up to speed with this increasingly useful technology and, ultimately, obtain their Drone Pilot’s License during their time at Pymble. Our plan is to launch this as a co-curricular activity for 20 girls in Years 4 to 6 and 20 students in the Secondary School, so stay tuned for more information coming your way soon!
You can read more about the Pymble Drone Academy here.
It is a long-standing strategic intent of the College to promote STEM subjects and careers for our girls. This work bridges both our Academic and Digital Intelligence pillars and is important for many reasons, not least of which is the fact that jobs in STEM fields are growing twice as fast as non-STEM occupations and women are still underrepresented (and underpaid) in STEM fields compared to men.
We continue to invest heavily in researching, identifying and innovating to bring a myriad of new STEM opportunities and partnerships into the College. Our aim is to enable students to develop the knowledge, skills and character traits required to thrive in our ever-changing world, whatever that may hold for them, when they leave Pymble.
Our comprehensive STEM learning program in the Junior School is summarised by our Head of STEM K-6 Mr Dan Brown in this report, which I warmly encourage you to read.
As Mr Brown writes, “STEM is not just a subject taught in isolation – it’s a mindset cultivated from the very beginning. Across every year level, from Kindergarten to Year 6, students are immersed in purposeful, creative and challenging STEM experiences that build curiosity, capability and confidence. Because at our school, STEM isn’t a moment. It’s a movement.”
STEM certainly is a movement in our Secondary School, too. This year we have launched two new STEM subjects, with a third planned to commence in 2026. Our Deputy Principal – Academics, Mrs Christine Kenny, outlines what these new subjects offer our Pymble girls.
Cambridge Mathematics – new in 2025
Following our successful registration as a Cambridge International School last year, Pymble can now offer IGCSE subjects, which are the UK equivalent of Years 9 and 10. Our inaugural Year 10 Cambridge Mathematics class launched this year will sit exams in October/November.
In addition to Mathematics, we are planning to offer Cambridge Global Perspectives as an Elective for Year 9 in 2026. Global Perspectives involves understanding the viewpoints of those around us – locally, nationally and globally. Cambridge International claims that “It is an important subject for students heading into a complicated world and will give them the skills they need to succeed in life.”
Engineering – new in 2025
As of this year, Pymble is one of only three independent girls’ schools to offer Engineering at HSC level. While the subject is a great training ground for boosting problem solving skills, it is still male dominated and universities are trying to address this by offering scholarships for women. UNSW, UTS and USYD currently offer a range of scholarships to increase the number of women studying Engineering at tertiary level, which is great news for our girls who are interested in this field.
New Biotechnology Elective – coming in 2026
Australia is a world leader in Biotechnology and many future career opportunities are predicted to sit within this space. Commencing in 2026, Pymble will offer a Biotechnology Elective for students in Year 9 who are keen to work in sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and environmental management. We are proud to partner with the Center for Curriculum Redesign in Boston to write our Biotechnology course and create the resources required for this subject.
See you at the Careers Expo next week
It’s hard not to get excited about learning at Pymble when new opportunities and potential career paths keep opening up before our eyes. On that note, our annual Careers Expo will be held on Monday 7 April (next week) from 5.00pm in our Gymnasium and we’d love to see you there.
All are welcome to come and hear insights and advice from universities, TAFE, private colleges, and industry representatives. We hope many families take this opportunity to explore the possibilities and pathways to the bright futures that await our Pymble girls.
