From the Principal
It was a privilege to join the Wenona community at the commencement of 2025. From those first days it quickly became apparent to me that this is a community focused on nurturing each girl’s potential, challenging her to discover her authentic voice, embrace intellectual courage and pursue excellence. This focus is guided by our enduring values of Courage, Strength, Grace, Wisdom and Kindness. It is nurtured within a supportive and joyful learning community.
In 2025, our girls thrived as learners, participating in a broad range of learning and co-curricular programs and opportunities. They questioned, created and strived with ambition; they supported one another, met challenges with curiosity rather than caution, and led with compassion and purpose. Their individual growth as learners and citizens, and their commitment to contributing to community through service, both individual and collective, are the truest measure of success.
This year we embarked on a comprehensive consultation process with students, staff, families and Alumnae to best understand what our community values highly about Wenona and our ambitions for the future. This involved a dedicated program of workshops, surveys and focus groups with stakeholders, providing rich and valued feedback and discussion. With the full strategic plan scheduled for launch in Term 1, 2026, we identified our strategic priorities as: Academic Mastery, Empowering Girls, Valuing People and Culture, Engaged Community and Responsible Stewardship.
I thank our staff for their expertise, dedication and care, our Board of Governors for their commitment and counsel and our families for the partnership and support that underpin all we do. In 2026 we will mark 140 years of Wenona, a fitting moment to carry our strong tradition forward with renewed ambition.
Ut Prosim.
Ms Linda Douglas
Principal
From the Head Prefect
This year has held moments that drew headlines and others that passed quietly. Stepping into the role of Head Prefect, I have thought most about the quiet ones: the small, routine hours that, taken together, shape who we are becoming.
Much of what makes Wenona distinctive happens between the big events: a friend spending the last five minutes of English writing notes to encourage younger students, or a Mathematics teacher writing a song we hum for weeks. These moments rarely reach the stories we bring home, yet they are where character quietly takes shape.
What strikes me most is that our community is not united by a single ambition. Walking to class, we pass debaters, scientists and sailors, with more passions than any of us could name and learn in a culture that makes room for everyone.
That understanding guides our 2026 Prefect initiative, Give More to Grow More: what we offer our community returns to us as our own growth. As one line I came across this year put it, “Life is so subtle sometimes you never notice yourself walking through doors you once prayed would open”. That is how Wenona works on us: slowly, through ordinary days, until we find ourselves transformed.
Poppy
Hardy
Head Prefect 2025 to 2026
About Wenona
Founded in 1886, Wenona is an independent day and boarding school for girls from Kindergarten to Year 12 in North Sydney.
Wenona enrols a diverse range of day and boarding students, as well as a small number of overseas students who are required to board. In 2025, there were 1,384 students, including 46 boarders drawn from across regional Australia and overseas.
Academic results are sustained by an evidence-based approach to teaching, with a rich and broad curriculum offering, expert teaching practice, and an academic peer culture that respects effort and personal growth alongside achievement. Wellbeing is supported through ageappropriate programs and practices, the School’s vertical House system, professional psychological and counselling services, and an Allied Health Clinic. Our dedicated Careers team guides students through an increasingly diverse range of post-school pathways.
Through the School’s Renaissance Woman philosophy, and signature program Renaissance Studies, our girls are immersed in an holistic education specifically designed for girls. Curriculum and teaching practice includes deep thinking, ethics, philosophy, culture and humanities, creative expression, STEM and physical development. This intentional focus strengthens our girls’ understanding of self and their world, encouraging active engagement as global citizens.
Heritage buildings sit alongside contemporary facilities, including The Athenaeum, with water polo and Learn to Swim pools, cardio and fitness spaces, STEM laboratories, and a Senior College university-style learning commons. Local, national and global co-curricular and servicelearning opportunities develop leadership and teamwork, guided by the School motto Ut Prosim, that I may serve.
Vision, Mission and Values
To educate and empower young women, in a global learning community, to serve and shape their world.
To provide a preeminent global education for the girls in our care by developing a contemporary, innovative and engaged learning community, committed to the inherent value and potential of each child.
Ut Prosim, that I may serve
Academic Outcomes
Higher School Certificate
Tertiary destinations – Class of 2025
National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)
NAPLAN was completed online by students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. NAPLAN results indicate that Wenona students are performing well above the national standard in all areas of literacy and numeracy.
Summary Year 3
Summary Year 7
Summary Year 5
Summary Year 9
Staff identification
At Wenona we embrace all faiths and backgrounds for all our staff.
In 2025 we had one full time academic and one full time professional services staff member who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
Professional learning highlights
In 2025, the School-based professional development focus for teaching staff was Educating Girls, Education Futures and School Culture. Teaching staff also engaged in professional learning in Educating Girls, Generative Artificial Intelligence and Using Academic Data. The Mental Health First Aid course was also made available to all staff. A number of our staff attended and presented at the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools Symposiums.
Attendance and Policies
Attendance
Wenona is committed to supporting student wellbeing and regular school attendance. The overall attendance rate across the School in 2025 was 93.90%, consistent with previous years.
While non-attendance is not a significant issue for the School, attendance patterns are monitored by Class Teachers (Junior School) and Connect Teachers (Senior School), with issues addressed on a case-by-case basis.
The School maintains a register of daily attendance for every student, recording the reason for each absence and the documentation that substantiates it.
On the day of an absence, parents are required to contact the School before recess to report that their daughter is unable to attend and to give the reason. The School follows up all unexplained absences daily by contacting parents directly.
Where a pattern of non-attendance emerges, the Head of School works with the family to identify the cause and put appropriate support in place, drawing on the School Counselling team, School Nurses, the Learning Enrichment team, or external specialists as needed.
School Policies
The following School Policies are available on the School’s website: wenona.nsw.edu.au/our-publications
• Enrolment Policy
• Child Protection Policy
• Student Welfare
• Anti-Bullying Policy
• Discipline Policy
• Complaints and Grievance Policy
Student attendance rates
Stakeholder Survey
Stakeholder Satisfaction
In 2025, we invited our community to take part in an independent and confidential survey, conducted by MMG Education, to provide performance and perspective feedback on a broad range of educational factors. Feedback was sought from parents, staff, and students regarding their views, expectations, and satisfaction with key elements of the School’s value proposition. The survey covered more than 300 aspects of a Wenona education, and participation was strong with 57% of parents (Kindergarten to Year 12), 93% of students (Years 5 to 12), and 73% of staff taking part.
These survey results have informed our operational and strategic planning. We sincerely thank members of our community for their valuable and thoughtful feedback.
Parent Satisfaction
Parents gave Wenona a ‘very high’ rating for overall satisfaction, community engagement, boarding, student wellbeing, and the School’s reputation. Parents told us that their daughters’ happiness and wellbeing matter most to them, followed by the strength of the Wenona community and the connections it creates, and the quality of our teaching and staff. They also value the School’s values and the breadth of opportunities open to their daughters.
The academic program was given a ‘high’ rating. Parents pointed to the range of subjects on offer, the support given to students in building their confidence as learners, the relevance and currency of the curriculum, and a learning environment that is both stimulating and challenging.
The key areas parents identified for continued attention: how we pursue academic excellence, the way we support student wellbeing, academic reporting, differentiation to meet each student’s learning needs, and the ongoing development of our co-curricular Sport program (where parents noted improvement since the previous survey).
Student Satisfaction
Students gave Wenona a ‘very high’ rating for overall satisfaction and a ‘high’ rating for non-sport co-curricular, facilities and resources, reputation, academic program, Sport program, management and leadership, and affinity (loyalty). Students showed great appreciation for their class teachers (Junior School) and Connect teachers (Senior School), the strength of the academic program, and the range of co-curricular activities.
The key area students identified for continued attention was communications, with reference to the Portal, homework and assessment and improved alignment communications with students and parents at times.
Staff Satisfaction
Staff gave Wenona a ‘very high’ rating for student wellbeing, boarding, and non-sport co-curricular. They gave a ‘high’ rating for overall satisfaction, reputation, affinity (loyalty), academic program, sports program, and facilities and resources.
The key areas staff identified for continued attention: staff professional development, staff wellbeing, goal alignment and leadership support.
Financial Information Summary
Wenona’s 2025 Annual Report is available for download on the Wenona website at wenona.nsw.edu.au/our-publications and has been provided in electronic form to NESA on RANGS Online.
E: reception@wenona.nsw.edu.au
W: wenona.nsw.edu.au
