From Ms Allum

Welcome back to a new term! I hope you had a good holiday and your daughters are looking forward to another exciting term of opportunity and hard work. It was lovely seeing everyone back yesterday and celebrating our 127th birthday with our Foundation Day Assembly.

You might be aware of the “pink coloured” terrace house on the corner of Bourke Street and St Peter’s Street, adjacent to the SCEGGS campus. As a property with an entrance and driveway in St Peter’s Street, we have long considered this one of the most strategic properties around us.

Unexpectedly, the terrace was about to be put on the market at the end of last term, and fortunately for us, we are very pleased to have been able to acquire the property.

Why is this such a strategic acquisition for the school?
As you may be aware, our team of school counsellors is currently located in Wilkinson House. The proposed redevelopment of Wilkinson House provides for larger classrooms and additional sporting facilities while still retaining the same exterior walls and building envelope, so naturally some of the school services currently located in Wilkinson House need to be moved to other places around the campus. The school counsellors are one of these services that we will need to relocate. In addition, we have been considering how we might be able to provide increased specialist wellbeing student support facilities for our students. With minimal refurbishment, this terrace will allow us to provide a welcoming, comfortable, homely student wellbeing hub and counselling service in a convenient location. Positively, we can establish this new hub before any potential redevelopment of Wilkinson House commences.

In addition to the vastly improved teaching and learning spaces that will be created for a 21st-century learning environment in Wilkinson House, we recognise the increasing need to provide specialised well-being student support – we believe that to learn well, our students have to be well, and so the terrace will allow us to develop a dedicated space where students can access resources and support in a slightly more private and discreet setting.

So we are thrilled with this purchase and I look forward to unveiling our new refurbished purchase over the next few months.

I hope you all have a good term.