- Source: Preshil
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
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