A comprehensive history of one of Sydney's most distinctive Catholic girls' schools
Loreto Kirribilli is a Sydney institution. With a long-standing reputation for excellence in education, it is a Catholic girls' school that has enjoyed both respect and success since its foundation. It is an integral part of a network of Loreto schools worldwide.
The Loreto Sisters came originally from Ireland to Ballarat and, in 1892, a group were sent to Sydney to open a Loreto Convent school at Randwick. A few years later, Loreto Normanhurst was opened to accommodate boarders, and in 1901 the Sisters moved the day school to Kirribilli, though very soon boarders found a place there too.
'A School with Spirit' traces the development of the kind of education the Sisters gave to Sydney, an education which owes much to the insights of Mother Gonzaga Barry, who brought the Institute to Australia in 1875, and to the many educators who have followed in her footsteps. This book concentrates on the 100 years or more of direct leadership by the Sisters themselves until the first lay principal was appointed in 1999.
Loreto Kirribilli has never advertised itself to any great extent, relying instead on word of mouth, and the witness of its ex-students to convey the nature and success of the school and its culture. What kind of culture is this that has such power of persuasion? What is the substance of this school's much vaunted spirit? What are the forces which shaped it and continue to shape it today? 'A School with Spirit' offers some of the answers to these questions, and provides a comprehensive and enjoyable history of this distinctive school.
