# Fintona Girls' School

Fintona Girls' School is a small, independent, non-denominational, day school for girls, located in Balwyn, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
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 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.

## Principals

| Period | Details |
| 1896–1921 | Annie Hughston |
| 1922–1926 | Isobel Macdonald |
| 1927–1929 | Majory Black |
| 1930–1934 | Jeanie McCowan |
| 1935–1962 | Margaret Cunningham |
| 1963–1991 | Elizabeth Butt |
| 1992–2000 | Deborah Seifert |
| 2001–2005 | Karen Starr |
| 2006–2017 | Suzy Chandler |
| 2018–present | Rachael Falloon |

## 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.
Fintona offers three languages, Latin, French and Japanese.

## Houses

The three Junior School (P–4) 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 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).

## Sport

Fintona is a member of Girls Sport Victoria (GSV).

### GSV premierships

Fintona has won the following GSV premiership.
* Basketball – 2001

## 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:

### Media, entertainment and the arts

* Norma Bull – Australian painter

### Medicine and science

* Dora Mary Lush – pioneer bacteriologist
* Dame Beryl Beaurepaire AC, DBE (née Bedggood) – feminist, former chairwoman of the Federal Women's Committee of the Liberal Party of Australia, wife of Ian Beaurepaire (of Beaurepaire tyre's fame)
* Helen Caldicott – environmentalist and anti-nuclear campaigner
* Andrea Coote – politician
* Pattie Maie Menzies (née Leckie) – wife of former prime minister Robert Menzies, appointed Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (Civil) for public duty in hospital work

### Sport

* Louise Bawden – Olympic volleyball player
* Georgia Griffith – Tokyo 2020 Olympics middle-distance athlete