Denomination Non-denominational Chairman Dana Fleming Phone +61 3 9830 1388 | Established 1896 Principal Suzy Chandler Founded 1896 | |
Type Independent, girls' school, Day school Motto Latin: Age Quod Agis
("Do what you do well") Address 79 Balwyn Rd, Balwyn VIC 3103, Australia | ||
Fintona Girls' School is a small, independent, non-denominational, day school for girls, located in Balwyn, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
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Established in 1896, Fintona is a non-selective school and currently caters for approximately 600 students from the Early Learning Centre (ELC) to Year 12.
Fintona is a member of Girls Sport Victoria (GSV), the Alliance of Girls Schools Australia (AGSA), the Junior School Heads Association of Australia (JSHAA), and the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA).
History
Fintona was established as a Presbyterian, day and boarding school for girls, in 1896. The school was founded by Miss Annie Hughston and was originally located in the Melbourne suburb of Camberwell.
The school occupies 'Balwyn', the historic home and vineyard built by early settler Andrew Murray, from which the suburb of Balwyn takes its name.
Curriculum
Fintona Girls' School is divided into 4 teaching sections:
- The Early Learning Centre (ELC)
- Junior School, catering for Prep to Year 4
- Middle School, catering for Years 5 to Year 8
- Senior School, catering for Years 9 to 12
The school's ELC curriculum is based on the Reggio Emilia approach to education. From Prep to Year 6, students are involved in the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program which covers the subject areas of language, social studies, mathematics, science and technology, arts, and personal, social and physical education. Senior School students are prepared for the Victorian Certificate of Education, in which Fintona is consistently ranked as one of the best performing girls schools in Victoria. In 2006, Fintona was ranked in the top five schools in the state of Victoria, based on its VCE results, with 33% of study scores over 40. Fintona was ranked the No. 1 non-selective school in Australia based on the Naplan results in 2011.
Fintona offers four languages, Latin, French, Indonesian and Japanese.
Houses
The three Junior School (P-6) houses of Fintona are Bedggood, Menzies and Reid. The six Middle and Senior School (years 5-12) houses of Fintona are Boyne (after school benefactors), Clarke (after first Fintona boarder and matriculant), Hughston (after first headmistress), Murdoch (after Reverend Patrick John Murdoch of Trinity Church, Camberwell, where many boarders attended), Maxwell (after father of one of Fintona's first prefects), Ower (after member of staff 1900 - 1930).
Notable alumnae
Ex-students of Fintona Girls' School are known as 'Old Fintonians' and may elect to join the 'Old Fintonians Association'. Some notable 'Old Fintonians' include: