1970's

"Fill your minds with those things that are good and deserve praises: thins that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely an honourable"

-Miss Jeanne Conolly (1978 May)

The 70s at Penshurst Girls’ High School was the decade of young girls realising the importance of education for their future independence, whilst a time when the school community started to welcome new students from different cultures and countries. Physical developments had also occurred within the school at different faculties. 

Acknowledging the importance of education for girls 

The International Year of Women in 1975 raised awareness of the persistent issues of inequality towards women ‘that women were facing.  As a single-sex high school, girls at GRC Penshurst Girls started to realise the importance of education for a young girl’s future. By the 1970s, girls decided to stay at school to receive a Higher School Certificate that would open doors for many rewarding careers and university education rather. With greater subject choices as more electives were introduced, students were able to learn about their potential whilst gaining quality education (Penshurst Girls’ Union, 2005, p. 65). 

School Clubs

Debating was strongly encouraged amongst both juniors and senior students at GRC Penshurst Girls. The 1976 Penshurst debating team was composed of Karen Backhouse, Helen Williams, Debbie Keeley, and Joanne Croft. They had worked their way through the zone, getting closer and closer to victory with great enthusiasm which was described in the school magazine “Blues” (1976), “Our next debate was the climax of our career, a fight to the death with Sydney Girls’ High. Armed with only our meager vocabulary and inferior intelligence we felt like David meeting our Goliath.” (Penshurst Girls’ Union, 2005, p. 70). They almost achieved victory as they were defeated by the loss of one point. Great comebacks were made by the Year 10 Penshurst team in 1977 in the Teasedale Cup for debating.

Enhancing Student Welfare and Student Voice

A variation of welfare programs and clubs were established during the 1970s with the aim of enhancing a sense of belonging and helpfulness for new students in the community. For example, the ‘Buddy System’ was introduced, whereby Year 11 girls assisted the Year 7 to settle into high school with guidance and confidence (Penshurst Girls’ Union, 2005, p. 65). The school had also hosted international student exchange programs such as ‘American Field Scholarship’ in July 1975 and ‘Youth for Understanding’ (Y.F.U) that allowed overseas students to expand their perspectives on Australia in many aspects (Penshurst Girls’ Union, 2005, p. 68). One of the Y.F.U students Wendy Belcher from California in 1979 discovered the differences between Australian schools and American schools. She wrote, “I’ve written more essays this year than I have in all my years of schooling!” (Penshurst Girls Union, 2005, p. 69). Students at Penshurst Girls’ High School had also been cheerful and welcoming to these exchange students.

Students were also becoming more vocal about their opinions. This was refelcted in the “mini strike” where students sat cross-legged in the playground asking for improvements to the toilet block (Penshurst Girls’ Union, 2005, p. 66).  In 1979, the Student Council of Penshurst Girls’ High was established which generated leadership positions for pupils to enhance their self-confidence and leadership skills (Penshurst Girls’ Union, 2005, p. 66). 

Library Development

Multiculturalism as an important aspect of GRC Penshurst Girls Campus

Australia has always been known as a ‘multicultural nation’, and so is at GRC Penshurst Girls Campus. The introduction of the Racial Discrimination Act (Cwlth) in 1975 aimed to promote equal and effective protection of everyone against racial discrimination in Australia, It led to the rise of more people migrating to Australia. Many high schoolers chose to pursue an education at GRC Penshurst Girls during the 1970s. Thus, ‘EALD classes’ were established, where trained ESL teachers teach English to small groups of students of English as their second language (Penshurst Girls’ Union, 2005, p. 67). The GRC Penshurst Girls community exhibited their cultural appreciation on ‘Carnivale Day’ (Penshurst Girls’ Union, 2005, p. 67) where stalls were set up in the quadrangle that displayed food from different cultures. National dance and costumes were also performed and displayed. 

Work experience program 

Penshurst Girls highly prioritised their students’ future. Through the Work Experience Programs for Year 11, students had to attempt mock interviews prepared by the Special Careers Advisor (Penshurst Girls’ Union, 2005, p. 71). Ultimately, they would have to select one or two jobs to work under the guidance for the next one or two weeks. Students are able to learn valuable skills that can only be acquired through first-hand experience, proving the effort of the teachers, employer and themselves to be of worth. After obtaining employment addresses and dividing all students, they headed off towards Sydney University or the Careers Information Centre. The students would regroup in the library at the end of their program to review experiences collaboratively.