Established in 1913 by Winifred West,[2] the school has a non-selective enrolment policy and currently caters for approximately 300 students from Years 7 to 12, including 222 boarders.[5] Students come to Frensham from Sydney, the Southern Highlands, regional New South Wales, interstate, and overseas.[4] The school is governed by the Winifred West Schools Limited, along with Miss West's other two schools, Sturt School Craft Centre and Gib Gate Primary school.
Frensham is affiliated with the Boarding Schools' Association of the United Kingdom,[6] the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA),[7] the Australian Boarding Schools' Association (ABSA),[5] the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia (AGSA),[8] and is a founding member of the Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools (AHIGS).[9]
History
Frensham was founded by Winifred Mary West (1881–1971) on 17 July 1913, with three students and five teaching staff.[2][10]
West first came to Australia in 1907, where she met Phyllis Clubbe, and the two soon after considered the founding of a school. To prepare for this they returned to England, where West furthered her experience in teaching, and Clubbe undertook teacher training. In 1912, they returned to Australia to begin the search for a suitable site, preferably a country region with an invigorating climate, within a reasonable distance of Sydney. On 1 June 1913, "Y Berth", a house belonging to Mr Tooth, was leased for five years with the option to purchase. The property featured a twelve-room house and 5 acres (2 ha) of grounds.[10] The school was named after West's birthplace, Frensham in Surrey.
Based on word-of-mouth, the school population had grown to 100 by 1918, and continued to grow to 250 by 1943, and 330 in 1963.[citation needed] In 1934, photographer Harold Cazneaux published a book of photographs of the students and the school titled The Frensham Book. This collection is now in the National Library of Australia, and formed part of a National Library public exhibition of his photography. S. E. Emilsen wrote another book on the school in 1988.[citation needed]
Frensham students in the art studio, 1934. (Harold Cazneaux)
In 1941, Miss West established the Sturt Craft Centre for local students, teaching weaving, spinning and carpentry as a community service. Eventually other crafts such as pottery, jewellery, textiles and screenprinting were introduced. Today, Sturt also hosts annual Summer and Winter schools focussing on the arts in January and July.[citation needed] The Sturt School for Wood was established in 1985, and runs full-time courses for designer makers of fine furniture. Gib Gate was established as a preparatory school for Frensham in 1954. The school had planned to open a preparatory school named "Little Frensham" in 1939, but the grounds were destroyed by the 1939 bushfires. In 1970, Gib Gate became co-educational, catering for day students from pre-school to Year 6, with boarding available in Years 4, 5 and 6.
In the mid 1970s, Frensham established a mass recruitment advertising campaign to achieve an increase in attendance, as the school faced unfavourable outcomes in net profit. The campaign lasted approximately five years, and by 1983 enrolments had doubled.[citation needed]
Heads
Students in the school grounds, 1934 (Harold Cazneaux)
In 1917, Winifred West established a school Council consisting of staff, the head girl and prefects, old girls and community representatives. In 1932, Frensham School Limited was formed in order to provide for the school after the death of West, with the Council becoming the executive body. A Board of Governors became the executive body in 1952, with the council becoming an advisory body. Frensham School Limited was renamed as Winifred West Schools Limited in 1954, as recognition of Winifred West's other two schools, Sturt School and Gib Gate.
Notable alumnae
Frensham School's Old Girls (alumnae) may elect to join the Frensham Fellowship. The Frensham Fellowship was established in 1918, as a way of linking past and present students. Membership is open to former students and staff, with honorary membership offered to current staff and school prefects.[12] Some notable Old Girls include:
Rosemary DobsonAO – author and poet with 13 published works; Winner of awards including a 1996 Australia Council Writer's Emeritus Award
Henrietta Drake-Brockman – playwright; 1938 winner of a Sesquicentenary Celebration Prize for best full-length play for Men Without Wives; Winner of a Bulletin short story prize[14]
Elizabeth Fell – activist, journalist, academic, feminist and public intellectual
Joan PhipsonAM – author of 25 novels, including The Family Conspiracy; Winner of the Australian Children's Book of the Year (1963), and the New York Herald Tribune Children's Spring Book Festival Award (1964)[16]
Ruth DobsonOBE – former Ambassador to Denmark and the Republic of Ireland.
Rosemary FootAO – former Deputy Leader of the NSW Liberal Party. First woman to be elected to a leadership position of a major party in a lower house anywhere in Australia
Jane MathewsAO – judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
Jessica Young – member of the Israeli National Netball Team, who competed at the 2017 Netball Europe Championships, Aberdeen and 2017 Maccabiah Games[24]
^"The School Motto". About Frensham. Frensham School. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
^ abcKennedy, Priscilla (1990). "Winifred Mary West (1881–1971)". West, Winifred Mary (1881–1971). Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol. 12 (Online ed.). Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. pp. 447–448. Retrieved 3 February 2008.
^"Frensham". New South Wales Schools. School Choice. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
^"A country to write home about". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 April 2003. Joan Phipson's obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald
^Lees, Jennie, "Kathleen Mary Robinson (1901–1983)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 4 August 2024
