As our milestone year comes to a close, I am grateful for the opportunities that we have taken to celebrate our traditions and our heritage. We have been able to come together across the year to share some wonderful and memorable experiences.

There is, of course, plenty to celebrate at this time of year. For our Year 12s, we have marked the end of their secondary education in preparation for their next stage of life; one that will be new, but that carries the Wilderness values we have instilled in them forever. For our younger girls, it means the end of another great year of learning and growing, with a break to reflect and rejuvenate with family and loved ones.

Our long-lasting history means our traditions live in everything we do here at Wilderness, from our spaces for learning to specific events like Founders Day. Since our beginning, Wilderness has been a place of innovation. Earlier, it meant forging ground for girls to step outside of traditional roles, now it means providing a learning environment that prepares girls for an entire world of boundless possibilities.

Of course, the end of any school year makes me consider how we have grown as a community, and what success our girls have achieved. Not only with their academic achievements, but with their relationships, their critical and creative thinking, their leadership and citizenship.

In our 140th year we have used the learnings of the past to enable a continued innovative focus. We are collaborating further with our network of national and global experts to integrate the world’s best research about how girls learn and thrive. Being recognised by His Royal Highness, King Charles, as a global thought leader in education is an honour and an impetus to continue our work.

Thank you all for your part in making Wilderness the best School that it can be for the girls today, and for those that will be Wilderness students in the years to come.

Belinda Arnfield
Principal