Re-igniting the Light Her Path Capital Campaign

Over the last two years the COVID pandemic has upended lives, communities, the functioning of institutions, economies, global movement and trade.  Our SCEGGS school community has adapted and managed the changing circumstances to minimise the disruption to the education and social growth of our girls.  Many things have been foregone, but our commitment to the place of SCEGGS and the importance of a SCEGGS education endures.  To fulfil that commitment, we are reigniting the Light Her Path Capital Campaign.

SCEGGS has a compact and valuable campus in the thick of a bustling inner-city suburb that grounds our community.  SCEGGS girls have strong values and a commitment to learning and to the broader community.  We want the school facilities to continue to meet the demands of contemporary education and life.  While Wilkinson House has served the school well, it occupies a meaningful part of the campus and has considerable shortcomings.

SCEGGS has exciting plans to re-develop Wilkinson House and to also expand the School’s scholarship program.  To realise these plans, the Light Her Path Capital Campaign was launched and subsequently paused due to the pandemic.  However, despite these difficulties, generous supporters have contributed $6 million towards our goal of raising $20 million; $12 million for the redevelopment of Wilkinson House and $8 million to expand our means-tested scholarship program.  Despite the tumult of the last two years, the work to re-design Wilkinson House, to ensure SCEGGS’ neighbours understand the nature of the project and the work with NSW planning authorities and Sydney City Council to gain approval for the plans, has been methodically rolling forward.

As Ms Allum wrote in last week’s Behind the Green Gate, the plans for Wilkinson House have been submitted for final approval with a view to engaging builders and contractors to begin the carefully planned project towards the end of the year. Del Kathryn Barton, the renowned and celebrated Australian artist, has generously offered SCEGGS an artwork for the new building.  The extraordinary colours and embellishment of Del Kathryn Barton’s work will be a beautiful complement to the work of architect William Smart who has sympathetically and imaginatively re-invented Wilkinson House, an example of the work of renowned architect, Emil Sodersten.

Throughout the year, there will be many opportunities to engage with the community and we look forward to connecting with you! We hope that our whole community will support the campaign.  Every donation is valued (and will be recognised in the new Wilkinson House) and we encourage you to please give generously for you.  Together, we can bring the exciting next stage of SCEGGS to fruition to benefit your girls and generations of SCEGGS girls to come, as we have benefitted from prior campaigns that have built the SCEGGS experience we enjoy today.

See the proposed plans for Wilkinson House and pledge to the Light Her Path Capital Campaign on our website.  You may also call our Development Office on (02) 93321133 with any inquiries.

Michael Kotowicz
Chair of the Trust Board

Christy Boyce
Chair of the Capital Campaign Committee