St Scholastica's College, Glebe School Reviews

St Scholastica's College, Glebe

School Reviews

By Parent - 17 Dec 2023, Rate: excellent

Loved this school! My daughter never had a bad experience. She had solid friends from day one and excelled academically under the thorough guidance of the Schols staff. The Drama teachers ROCK!

By Parent - 02 Feb 2023, Rate: bad

The cohort is toxic and I agree with other comments here: the faculty sweep it under the carpet. When a student does identify they are bullied they are brought into an office with the bullies and told to 'all make friends again'. The academic status has slipped too. The Principal is completely out of touch with the toxic culture and is only interested in funds. My daughter hates Schols and comes home everyday asking to change schools and says so many of her friends are asking their parents the same. The teachers do have favourites, do prioritise the confident girls and are not particularly caring, discreet or supportive of girls that have been diagnosed with ADHD etc. Pick another school for your daughter so they are not miserable.

By Parent - 23 Nov 2021, Rate: poor

not enjoy

By Student - 20 Nov 2021, Rate: bad

when i first moved to this school I loved it but after a term I moved friend groups because the other one was boring and little did I know almost every girl was nerdy and so so mean, rude, manipulating, one girl turned all my friends against me. every one of them spreads the weirdest rumours like their funny like actually all of them. and if you wanna have no actual fun in high school and just never "live" go there. but if your sane DONT DO IT

By Parent - 19 Jul 2021, Rate: bad

If you're a total bitch they will love you. If not, you will either suffer, or leave. Be warned. Some teachers such as science and home science relish being cruel. The principal lives in her bubble & beautiful girls are destroyed.

By Parent - 19 Nov 2020, Rate: bad

my daughter hates it here.

By Alumnus - 16 Jun 2020, Rate: average

I left this school in a few years ago, and I am glad I left. I am a 3rd generation Schols student and I imagine I will be the last. Take my experience with a grain of salt since I imagine things have changed since I left (I hope so at least). Also, my year group was unlike any other, and was said to be the worst year group ever. Other year groups were definitely friendlier with one another and had a lot less petty fighting, which I know definitely impacts ones experience at any high school.
Highlights of this school are the teachers who genuinely care about the students education, as well as the facilities being mostly up-to-date (currently renovating apparently). Towards the end of my high school career, the teachers became a lot more understanding, personal and generally better teachers. The teachers I had in year 12 really inspired me to take on my current interest at university, which is a place I never thought I would be able to get to. The head of my year group was of great help when I got diagnosed with ADHD, and I am thankful that he was there to help me through the process of telling teachers. A large portion of my year group were kind, friendly and were willing to help each other out.
In terms of actual education, it was pretty good! Due to the teachers genuinely caring about the students academically, the passion came through, especially the drama, english, history and art teachers (I cannot speak on the science/maths teachers). You could tell they wanted to be there, which really made class great. I enjoyed many discussions about the world with teachers who cared about what we had to say, instead of dismissing us or rejecting us simply for our age. Especially in HSC, the teachers really came to our aid and assisted us with after school lessons, cheat sheets to look at before the exam full of useful notes, answering all of our questions whenever and really great attitudes. I only wish they didn't place so much importance on the HSC, as I feel I would've done better if I didn't feel so pressured to get good marks.
However, that sadly is where the good aspects end in my opinion.
This school (more specifically the social life of the school) was terrible. The school, in my experience, did not stop bullying or cliques among popular girls, but in fact created a deeper division with teachers excusing bullies, mean popular girls and trouble-makers simply because they wouldn't change themselves to become better. The lack of action towards the very obvious bullying/teasing that went on speaks volumes to me.
These specific students were allowed to wear the uniform incorrectly (an insignificant and petty rule that we were reminded of almost daily), got away with not being in class and seemed to be handed these privileges on a silver platter. Now, frankly, I did not care about this, but what bothered me was when any other (not popular) student broke these rules, harsh punishments were given. To me it seemed that many of these teachers did not care about why unpopular students would act up occasionally (many students facing incredibly difficult circumstances), but cared about making sure it didn't happen again. An example is when I found out about my ADHD, my medication made my personality change and had side effects that teachers would talk to me about, disregarding the fact that it was due to discovering I had a cognitive disorder. I, and I imagine many other students, felt that we were invisible because we weren't them. I really got the sense that the girls who were mean/bullies had bad things going on at home due to this lack of concern for their behaviour, but that does not excuse how they treated other students. Towards our final year, I felt that many of the acts of bullying, childish behaviour and general bad attitude of some students was swept under the rug because they *magically changed into great students who attended class and didn't bully anymore!!!!*, as if that isn't a requirement to be a normal student. Many other students who went through horrible tragedies and life-changing events, but still managed to make it to the end of high school, were not acknowledged for their hard work. It is always the loud minority that scream over to quiet majority. The same happened at yearly awards nights at Town Hall, where the same names were called to get awards and the nobodies had to watch said achievers every year for hours get awards (it was compulsory).
Generally, there was a sense of favouritism in my year group among some teachers, which happened within other year groups. I understand completely having preferred students, but it would be great if these teachers didn't make it so obvious. A fond memory I have is when my friend and I asked a teacher to teach us as he was busy chatting with a group of girls he preferred to talk to. This was not all teachers, but still was a frustrating aspect of class.
The therapist at the school, while great that she was there, was basically useless. She gave me no genuine advice and we did not connect on any level other than small chat. Maybe that is just my experience, but she made me realise I needed to see a real therapist who knew how to help with my issues. Maybe other students had better experiences.
Speaking of the therapist, the discussion around self-harm and cutting was a genuine waste of time. Self-harm was surprisingly rampant in my year group but no amount of boring pieces of paper, stupid talks with unexperienced teachers and time-wasting group discussions could actually help anyone suffering. It just continued. I hope they have changed that strategy since I left.
Also, their discussion around online bullying (which was also rampant) only led to a couple talks with a police officer. Not helpful at all. Teachers should have made it clearer that they could help if someone was being bullied online. Bullying in general was incredibly easy to get away with, through many year groups.
This may be a small, insignificant aspect of being a schols student, but absolutely one that changed my view of the school; our formal was essentially taken over by a number of students who enjoyed having attention drawn to themselves. They did this by giving out "awards" to students (apparently by vote?), but all the awards coincidentally happened to be awarded to their friends (also, awarding a student "most likely to be the next Kardashian" is not exactly what I think of when I think of a proper womens high school). The reason why this is significant to me is that the teachers allowed for this to take place. This event was meant to be a celebration of students finishing HSC and a celebration of our year group collectively, not popular girls giving out awards to their friends for 30 minutes. I hope other year groups didn't have this happen to them. It reminded my friends and I about all the experiences we had were we felt insignificant due to this type of behaviour, and dampened the night for us. I doubt anyone would want their daughter's last experience with her high school to be a bunch of girls making it about themselves. This event was a great representation of my experience with the school.
The bright side out of all of this was that I learnt how to become more resilient to students making fun of my interests both in real life and online, I became better at coping with drama, I became thankful that I didn't peak in high school and it made me realise that the university environment is where I really thrive. I also discovered who my true friends are among the toxicity, who I still am friends with today.
To sum it all up, if you want your daughter to get a good education while learning how to deal with bullying, cliques, early peakers and ridiculous hierarchies, this is a great place to send your child. I believe I would've had a much more pleasant experience if I was in a different year group, but it is also important to look at how the school reacts to such year groups, because sadly you cannot pick who your child is surrounded by.

By Parent - 01 Mar 2020, Rate: bad

I'M OUTRAGED THIS SCHOOL IS BASICALLY A STRIP CLUB WITH HORNY TEENS!

By Student - 23 Jan 2016, Rate: excellent

Proud To Be A Schols Girl. There Are Lots Of Different Sports To Chose From, Also The Teachers Are Very Understanding.

By Student - 17 Sep 2015, Rate: excellent

Schols is a great school, filled with many opportunities. I'm a 2015 student in year 9 and I must say, spending 3 years at Schols is the very wonderful. There were not much bullying, everyone is nice to each other here. We all have this silent rule, which is, respect me and I will do the same. Some teachers could be very rude but most teachers here are sweet and very knowledgeable. I'm proud to be a Schols girl.

By Student - 31 Jul 2015, Rate: excellent

This skewl is cool. I love lernding. Me no friends, that ok I sit in hygienic toilets.

By Student - 30 Jul 2015, Rate: excellent

This is an outrage! The chapel is too small, the nuns never come out and the student just walk all over the holy grass. I only have religion once a week. I pray for this school.

By Parent - 05 May 2015, Rate: poor

Very dysfunctional student community. Very clicked and lots of bullying. Not very catholic, essentially private girls public high school.

By Parent - 01 Mar 2015, Rate: excellent

I don't likeit

By Parent - 28 Dec 2014, Rate: excellent

The teachers need to write less and speak more baddd

By Employee - 18 Dec 2014, Rate: excellent

A terrific community that balances academic excellence with pastoral care of the individual. It encourages students to be independent thinkers whilst contributing to a vibrant and caring place. As an employee, I have thoroughly enjoyed my experiences. I recommend it to people who want a great school for their daughter.

By Parent - 21 Aug 2014, Rate: excellent

Couldn't be happier with choosing Schols for our daughters ( who are both very different individuals ) It empowers, encourages, supports girls to reach their potential while being respectful and proactive of the social issues that influence their generation. They have a lot of fun along the way. The teachers are very focused, passionate and have a sense of humour. 6 stars

By Student - 06 May 2014, Rate: excellent

st scholasticas school, is not very good, all girls are mean and teachers hate students that are slightly difert

By Student - 10 Feb 2014, Rate: excellent

I'm not an enrolled student of St. Scholastica's Glebe Point but a student of another sister school. St. Scholastica College is a very good school for girls as it promotes simplicity of lifestyle and feminism. It's a good breeding ground. It is in this school where girls are nurtured in the right way. Although the nuns might seem a little crazy to others as they promote ora et labora.