Why St Hilda’s

EXTRAORDINARY FUTURES

Modern learning in a supportive environment is a priority at St Hilda’s. Our strategic plan, St Hilda’s Reimagined, outlines our commitment to creating a school of the future that provides young women with the skills to flourish in this world beyond our gates.

How do we do this? At the heart of our success is our staff. Strong, vibrant leadership with a clear vision sets the school’s direction and values, and this dynamic combination underpins the culture of the entire community.

Our Strategic Plan, St Hilda’s Reimagined, sets out our path forward to deliver a contemporary and relevant education that sparks extraordinary futures. We are proud to chart our own course, creating opportunities that are unique to St Hilda’s based on our community’s individual needs.

Three beautiful campuses in Perth and Pemberton provide our students with state-of-the-art learning environments, both in and out of the classroom. Unique compulsory programs, including the Year 9 Wandering Spirit program, ESSTEAM program, the Junior School Dance program and our Outdoor Education program from Years 2 to 10, provide our girls with opportunities beyond the standard curriculum. A vast array of cocurricular activities offer girls the chance to find their niche and shine.

With a history dating back from 1896, St Hilda’s has led girls’ education in Western Australia for over 125 years. Over 50,000 inspiring women have been educated by St Hilda’s. These women demonstrate the power of the St Hilda’s spirit – a sense of confidence, belonging and a belief in their own abilities.

Our Vision and Values

Vision: To spark extraordinary futures by inspiring inventive and adaptive thinkers with a curiosity for learning.

Our values aren’t just a list of nice words. They are qualities that you will find throughout the School in all interactions. Our staff lead by example and instil these values in our students.

Excellence  //  We encourage the pursuit of our personal best and lifting others.

Authenticity  //  We value who we are and respect others knowing that self-belief is our greatest attribute.

Belonging  //  We nurture relationships, the St Hilda’s spirit and the part we play in the global community.

Imagination  //  We are courageous and open our minds to possibilities.

These values are woven into our behaviours, our recognition programs and our leadership opportunities.

Spirit of St Hilda's

Some call it culture, we call it the Spirit of St Hilda's. It's about girls lifting girls; it's building friendships for life; it's about being part of something bigger and yet knowing your contribution is essential.

People who visit our campuses comment on the comradery between teachers and students. This is because it's more than just a teaching profession. Our staff are passionate about their role in shaping their students' futures.

The St Hilda's Spirit extends into our broader community. Families share their loyalty to the school through their participation in community events, barracking on the side of a field and supporting the school to reach its potential through volunteering, fundraising and advocacy.

Why a girls school?

St Hilda’s has been educating girls to strive for excellence since 1896. Our teaching staff understand girls and the way in which they learn, develop and communicate. The benefits of choosing a single sex girls’ education are thoroughly researched. As a proud member of International Coalition of Girl’s Schools, further research as to why choosing a girls’ school is beneficial can be found on their website.

The question ‘Why St Hilda’s?” becomes easier and easier to answer as the St Hilda’s secret sauce becomes more and more transparent.

Ultimately our girls want to perform well and are motivated and inspired to do so. Furthermore, they don’t want other girls to underperform.  Examples of this are plentiful.  Whenever a girl gets stuck other students immediately offer assistance without hesitation. They do this across all subject areas and do it in a very mature way. They ask leading questions rather than simply giving answers. They guide rather than show. They encourage rather than mock. “Let me help you” is part of their learning vocabulary.

Our girls’ ability to share their gifts for the common good is impressive and is what gives St Hilda’s the point of difference of not just being an academically excellent school but one with an amazingly impressive soul. It is the spirit of St Hildas, which comes from within our girls, that makes it the school it is, and a joy to lead.

Fiona Johnston, Principal

Hear it from the girls

Girls benefit from single-sex environments where there are no expectations that they should fulfil traditional gender stereotypes in the subjects they study, the activities they participate in or the careers they pursue. Girls attending girls’ schools are more confident and assertive in single-sex environments. Research demonstrates that girls feel empowered to behave in more competitive ways without the presence of boys. Girls in girls’ schools are free to pursue academic excellence in any area they choose, including in the 'gender atypical' areas of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). Statistics show that girls from girls’ schools are more likely to study STEM at school and pursue university studies and careers in STEM fields.

Discover the Spirit of St Hilda's for yourself

The best way to get a feel for whether St Hilda’s is the right fit for your family is to see the school in action. We encourage you to book a tour and meet the Director of Junior and/or Senior School to see what a St Hilda’s education has to offer.