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Preshil School
Entrance to the junior school (Arlington)'s Kevin Borland Hall, in the 1970s
Location
Kew, Melbourne, Victoria Australia
Coordinates	37°48′48″S 145°2′57″E / 37.81333°S 145.04917°E / -37.81333; 145.04917
Information
Other name	The Margaret Lyttle Memorial School
Type	Independent progressive school
Motto	Courage
Established	1931; 93 years ago (1931)
Founder	Margaret J. R. Lyttle
President	Emma Zipper
Principal	Aaron Mackinnon
Staff	~52
Years	P–12
Enrolment	~350
Campus	Suburban
Colour(s)	Green and gold
Slogan	Courage to Question
Website	www.preshil.vic.edu.au

Preshil School, also known as The Margaret Lyttle Memorial School, is an independent progressive co-educational, day school located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1931 by Margaret J. R. Lyttle, the school caters for students from Kindergarten through to Year 12. Preshil teaches a progressive curriculum, and is Australia's oldest progressive school.

The original Arlington campus houses the Kindergarten and Primary school, while the Secondary School is located at the Blackhall Kalimna campus. The campuses are located on Barkers Road and Sackville Street respectively.

History

Preshil was founded in 1931 by Margaret "Greta" J. R. Lyttle. In 1937, growing numbers lead to the relocation of the primary school to its present site, Arlington campus, further along Barkers’ Road. Greta and her niece Margaret E. Lyttle continued to live at the school. Greta used the Hungarian psychoanalyst Clara Lazar Geroe as an advisor after she moved to Melbourne in 1941. Following Greta's death in 1944, Margaret took over as principal.

In 1975, Preshil purchased former chief justice of Australia, Sir Owen Dixon's home in Kew 'Yallambee' after he died. The interior was gutted to construct classrooms. The school later sold the campus.

Preshil purchased Blackhall for its Senior School in 1978. During the 1980s, David Corke and students and teachers from Preshil identified a number of blazes marking Robert O'Hara Burke's camps from the Cooper Creek to the Diamantina River. Corke also replotted the site of William John Wills' death and an additional memorial cairn was erected by Joe Mack at the revised location.

In 2017, the school phased out the Victorian Certificate of Education in favour of the International Baccalaureate programme. In 2022, Preshil paid $2.1 million to a victim of sexual abuse by a teacher who worked at the school in 1991. Declining enrolments and financial difficulties led the school to sell its Kalimna mansion campus to nearby Carey Baptist Grammar School in 2024. Carey will rent the campus back to Preshil for 42 months.

Principals

Notable alumni

• Polly Borland – artist
• Clare Bowditch – musician
• Lauren Burns – gold medallist in taekwondo at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games
• Zahava Elenberg – architect
• Nicolette Fraillon – chief conductor of The Australian Ballet Orchestra
• Zana Fraillon – author
• Todd Goldstein – Australian rules footballer playing for the North Melbourne Football Club
• Lisa Gorton – novelist, poet, granddaughter of Prime Minister John Gorton
• Greg Hjorth – Australian Professor of Mathematics, chess International Master (1984) and Commonwealth Champion in 1983
• Stephen Housden – musician, lead guitarist for Little River Band
• Kaiya Jones – actor on Neighbours
• Catherine Anne Money (née Menzies) – scientist at CSIRO (attended primary School)
• Toby Martin – singer–songwriter
• Brendan Murphy – Chief Medical Officer of Australia
• Rachel Nordlinger – linguist
• Sue Richardson – economist and academic
• Gina Riley – actor known for playing Kim Craig on Kath and Kim
• Jane Routley – fantasy author
• Peter Singer – philosopher
• Charlie Thorpe – singer in Dash and Will
• Stephen Wilkins – physicist, phase-contrast X-ray imaging (PCXI)

ERA Secondary School

ERA Secondary School in Donvale was founded by Preshil parents who wanted a secondary school to complete education after Preshil. Although Preshil later withdrew support in 1970 the school officially opened in 1971 at 'The White House' in Warrandyte int a temporary premises and later that year in Donvale. The school closed in 1987 due to financial struggles.

See also

• List of schools in Victoria, Australia

References

1. ^ "Preshil The Margaret Lyttle Memorial School". Victoria. School Choice. 2007. Archived from the original on 31 August 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
2. Millane, Vivien (2007). "Annual Report to Parents" (PDF). About. Preshil School. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 August 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2007.
3. ^ Carey, Adam (7 August 2011). "Where children rule in a spirit of progress". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
4. Morton, Tom (9 July 2006). "Free to learn - the history of progressive education in Australia". ABC Radio National. Archived from the original on 20 November 2009.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
5. "Preshil - Secondary School". Preshil - Secondary School. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
6. "Preshil - Kindergarten and Primary School". Preshil - Kindergarten and Primary School. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
7. "Relocation to Arlington | Preshil".
8. Brett, Judith, "Clara Lazar Geroe (1900–1980)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 3 October 2023
9. The Library of Sir Owen Dixon Victorian Bar News (160). Summer 2017. p.59. Retrieved 29 March 2023
10. "Catherine Booth Girls' Home - Organisation - Find & Connect - Victoria".
11. "Retracing Burke and Wills Route".
12. Cook, Henrietta; reporter, education (1 November 2015). "Preshil in Kew set to axe VCE because it is too competitive". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
13. ^ O'Brien, Susie (3 June 2024). "Preshil, Kew selling off land to pay for sexual abuse payouts". Herald Sun. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
14. O'Brien, Susie (15 July 2024). "Carey Grammar purchases Kalimna mansion from struggling Preshil Secondary School in Kew". Herald Sun. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
15. "School Blog | Preshil".
16. "Era School history".

Bibliography

• Burns, L. (2003). Fighting Spirit. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-670-04037-1.
• Lyttle, Dermot (2002). Preshil Uniquely Different. Kew, Melbourne, Victoria: Preshil.
• White, Naomi Rosh (1995). School Matters: The Preshil Alternative in Education. Port Melbourne: Mandarin.

Further reading

• Pinkney, Matthew (29 November 2005). "Preshil vision is still splendid". Herald-Sun. Archived from the original on 21 February 2006.

External links

• Official website
• Media related to Preshil School at Wikimedia Commons

• Private schools in Melbourne
• Alternative schools in Australia
• Educational institutions established in 1931
• 1931 establishments in Australia
• International Baccalaureate schools in Australia