Our Lady’s College is a girls-only Catholic Secondary College located in Annerley, Brisbane. It seeks to uphold the ideals of Mary MacKillop and to pursue excellence as embodied in the College motto, “Ad Altiora” – Ever Higher. Its mission is to provide a high-quality Catholic education for young women in a vibrant, caring and engaging environment that prioritises Tradition, Excellence and Community.
Take a virtual tour of the school here.
Our Lady’s College Tradition
Our Lady’s College has a proud tradition spanning more than 50 years of educating the minds and hearts of Brisbane’s young women.
Founded by the Sisters of St Joseph in 1964, it aspires to be a community based around the wisdom and spirituality of Australia’s first saint, Mary of the Cross MacKillop.
Its rich tradition is captured in the words of Mary MacKillop, founder of the Sisters of St Joseph, when she said: “There where you are, you will find God”.
Excellence
At Our Lady’s, the pursuit of excellence encompasses all dimensions of College life be that academic, sporting or cultural. They seek to uphold the ideals of Mary MacKillop and to pursue excellence as embodied in the College motto: “Ad Altiora” – Ever Higher.
Every student is challenged and encouraged to strive ever higher to reach her potential.
Past luminaries of Our Lady’s include 2021 Richmond AFLW Captain, Katie Brennan; fashion designer and winner of the US reality show “Project Runway”, Juli Grbac; and Professor Maree Smith, who is the inventor of the pain relief medication for chronically ill patients – EMA401.
Academic Excellence
Our Lady’s College has extensive subject choices in both ATAR and Vocational Educational courses. The College has enjoyed consistently strong results in NAPLAN tests and Queensland Certificate of Education examinations.
From 2016-2019, on average, approximately 80 per cent of Our Lady’s OP eligible graduates achieved an OP 1-15. In 2020, 41 per cent of senior students at the College achieved an ATAR of 90 or higher.
Read below News from Our Lady’s celebrating our academic success.
Blessy scores top ATAR result
When Our Lady’s Annerley 2020 Dux Blessy Mathew learned her final school result, she was stunned into disbelief.
“I refreshed the screen about five times to make sure,” she said. “I was hoping to do well but it’s a new system with a whole new set of subject scaling.”
Blessy achieved an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of 99.9, which places her in the top 60 students in Queensland. 41 per cent of senior students at the College achieved an ATAR of 90 or higher.
The final year of school can be challenging, and that is without the additional stress of a global health pandemic.
Blessy said she kept motivated during lockdown by working to the school schedule and prioritising subjects that had assessment due. She named teacher feedback as significant to her learning during lockdown.
“We also had exams at that time and had to prepare for those at home, which was good preparation for university because it was self-directed study,” she said.
Blessy studied English, Study of Religion, Mathematical Methods, Specialist Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry.
She has been offered a place in the prestigious Bachelor of Advanced Finance and Economics (Honours) at the University of Queensland, and she has been awarded the UQ Vice Chancellor Scholarship.
Blessy acknowledged all the teachers at Our Lady’s for inspiring her to do her best. She said the Our Lady’s College motto “Ad Altiora – ever higher” was a guiding light through her high school years.
“That’s always been in the back of my head since Grade 7 and I really like it,” she said.
Sporting Excellence
Our Lady’s College is a member of the Catholic Secondary Schoolgirls’ Sports Association (CaSSSA) consisting of 13 Catholic girls’ schools.
The sports offered through the CaSSA on a Wednesday afternoon competition include AFL, volleyball, indoor cricket, netball, soccer, touch football and basketball. All students at Our Lady’s have the opportunity to represent the school at an interschool level in the Swimming, Cross Country and Athletics carnivals.
Girls are given the opportunity to excel through these sporting bodies and be selected for composite district teams with the opportunity to go through to the met east regional level and state levels of competition.
Creative Excellence
Our Lady’s College offers an extensive variety of co-curricular activities to broaden students’ experiences and express their creativity. Girls may choose to become involved in bands, choir, cultural dance groups, musical productions, Robotics and Coding Club, Drama Club and STEM Cell Club.
The College also embraces creative learning in the classroom. This innovative approach to learning is the result of dedicated, enthusiastic teachers who take standard curriculum and transform lessons, making them relatable, interesting and fun.
STEM subjects are traditionally deemed non-creative, but Our Lady’s prides itself on developing exciting and practical approaches to learning in this field, both within and outside the classroom. Psychology has been added to the suite of STEM subjects offered, while co-curricular activities including UAV Flight Training, Chemistry of Cosmetics and Robotics Club puts our Girls in STEM philosophy into action.
Our Lady’s College community
The College is proud to be a supportive, caring and inclusive community that recognises the important role of parents in the education of their daughters.
Its popular Big Sister Program is an integral part of fostering a sense of belonging in the community. Under the supervision of teachers, Big Sisters organise fun activities to help Year 7s transition into the organisational structures of high school, make new friends quickly, and to develop decision making and problem-solving skills.
Community service as expressed through Mary Mackillop’s words: “never see a need without doing something about it” is a key part of the Our Lady’s community.
Opportunities are offered at each year level to participate in social justice and service experiences including Rosies Street Outreach and visits to a local nursing home. Students can also join community service groups such as St Vincent de Paul and Benenson Society.
What are the public transport options to Our Lady’s College?
The College is well serviced by public bus and train. There is also a College bus service.
What are the Our Lady’s College school fees per term?
For the most up to date information regarding fees and levies, follow this link.
Find out more about Our Lady’s College
The best way to get a real feel for a campus, particularly one that offers students such personalised learning, is to see it in person. Our Lady’s College encourages you to book in to one of its small group tours or make an enquiry today.
Contact:
Phone: 07 3426 8000
15 Chester Road Annerley, QLD 4103
See More:
Catholic Secondary P-12 Schools
Choosing a School: The Benefits of an All-Girls’ Education
