Our school has a proud and rich history thanks to the vision and bravery of our Foundress, Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat.
Madeleine Sophie founded the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1800 and this year we are celebrating 180 years of the Society. Madeleine Sophie was a pioneer of educational thinking and saw education as a response to the needs of society.
She was convinced that education flourishes in an atmosphere of mutual trust and that the best education takes place through relationships.
The first Sacred Heart school was founded in Amiens, France in 1801. Soon a network of schools, centred on the Heart of Jesus and value of the individual was established throughout France and beyond. By the time of her death in 1865 there were Sacred Heart schools on four continents
In 1905, the Society of the Sacred Heart purchased the 18th Century building known as Fenham Hall and established a school and teacher training college on the site. The complex between Fenham Hall Drive and Cedar Road housed the convent, chapel, schools and higher education college, known as St. Mary’s.
Today, our school continues to education girls so that they can have a transforming influence in society and become responsible members of society, confident of their own worth, and are capable of pursuing their personal missions.
The mission of the Sacred Heart Schools was influenced by the insights and vision of Madeleine Sophie’s early companions. The combined faith, interaction and reflection shared among our school communities, shape the mission of our schools for the 21st century.
As a proud Sacred Heart School, we are joining our fellow Sacred Heart Schools and wider communities to celebrate our wonderful Society and heritage.
Day by day we write the stories of our lives; no day in our life is without influence on the last, for ourselves as well as others.” (Janet Erskine Stuart rscj)
