About Kambala
Located in Sydney’s Rose Bay, Kambala is a vibrant, independent day and boarding school for girls up to 18 years.
We offer a choice of learning pathways. Girls can achieve the IB Diploma or the NSW HSC. Kambala inspires academic excellence, with the School consistently ranking among the top non-selective girls’ schools in Sydney.
History
Inspired learning. Empowering young women of integrity.
Since our pioneering days in the late 1800s, the Kambala community has shared a common goal: to educate ‘the whole girl’.
Kambala began as a humble class of 12 girls, taught in a terrace house in Woollahra by Miss Louisa Gurney, the daughter of an English clergyman. Louisa was later joined by Mademoiselle Augustine Soubeiran who became Co-Principal. The School moved in 1891 to a larger property in Bellevue Hill called ‘Kambala’.
In 1913, with an enrolment of nearly 50, the School moved again to its current site, on New South Head Road in Rose Bay. The School operated within the Tivoli townhouse, the home of Captain William Dumaresq. Tivoli has undergone several extensions and restorations; today, it remains the home to Kambala’s Boarders in Years 7 to 9, who enjoy some of the best harbour views Sydney has to offer.
In 1926, Kambala became a Church of England Foundation School with an independent council.
Massie House, for Kambala girls in Prep to Year 2, was founded at Vaucluse Hall on Coolong Road in 1949 and opened in 1950. In 1974, the site was sold and Massie students relocated to join the main campus on New South Head Road.
Kambala has strengthened its reputation for academic excellence and the education of the whole girl through continually evolving teaching and learning practices, improving facilities and expanding the opportunities provided to students.
Past Principals
- Louisa Gurney (1887–1914)
- Augustine Soubeiran (1891–1914)
- Minnie Roseby and Clara Roseby (1914–1927)
- Flora Stewart (1927–1932)
- Fifi Hawthorne (1933–1966)
- Joyce Gibbons (1966–1984)
- Barbara Monk (1984–1987)
- Peter Moxham (1988–1999)
- Roderick West (1999)
- Margaret White (2000–2013)
- Debra Kelliher (2014–2017)
- Shane Hogan (2017–2021)
- Amanda Bell (2021)
Our Principal
Ms Jane Danvers
BA, GradDipEd, GradDipEd(Lit&Lang), MEd, MACEL, MAICD, MACE
On 17 January 2022 we welcomed our new Principal, Ms Jane Danvers. Ms Danvers has served the Australian educational community for over 20 years. Prior to Kambala, she was Principal of Wilderness School for 15 years, one of the most successful girls’ schools in South Australia. She also served as the Presiding Member of the South Australian Certificate of Education Board (SACE) since.
Along with her leadership in education, Ms Danvers is Chair of the Jam Factory, a not-for-profit organisation that promotes outstanding design and craftsmanship through widely acclaimed studios and galleries. These roles illustrate Ms Danvers’ deep understanding of the intricacies and importance of wise leadership and good governance. She has sat on numerous industry-related committees, most recently the Premier’s Council for Women in SA; Committee for Economic Development SA/NT State Advisory Board (CEDA); and the Andy Thomas Space Foundation Education Advisory Committee.
Committed to continuous learning, Ms Danvers has completed a Masters of Education at the University of South Australia, Oxford University’s High Performance Leadership Programme and Harvard University’s Leading Learning that Matters Project.
Throughout her professional life, Ms Danvers has contributed to the wider educational debate in Australia and championed pedagogical advancement in schools. Co-author of the 2020 book Five Ways of Being: What Learning Leaders Think, Do and Say Every Day, Ms Danvers has mentored new principals in the Leading Learning Program at the Association Heads of Independent Schools of Australia. Ms Danvers will be able to apply this experience to enrich our leading Kambala Institute of Teaching Excellence (KITE) Program.
Ms Danvers is dedicated to the significant achievements in the advancement of women and girls’ education and the advocacy for gender equality and diversity. Her experience in promoting girls’ leadership positions her well to enhance our students’ passport to SHINE program.
Ms Danvers educational leadership has been recognised nationally. She is the recipient of Principals Australia Institute John Laing Award and the AISSA Noel Volk Excellence Award. In 2021 she was awarded the Australian College of Educational Leaders (ACEL) Alby Jones Gold Medal for her influence and outstanding contribution to the study and practice of educational leadership.
EXECUTIVE TEAM
Stuart Rose, BCom
STRATEGIC PLAN
It is an exciting time in Kambala’s 131-year history and Kambala’s Strategic Plan 2019-2023 will lead us over the next five years and build on the ambitions and direction of our heritage.
At Kambala we nurture and challenge every girl to realise her full potential. We do this by focusing on four strategic pillars:
- Academic excellence
- Care
- Community
- Sense of place
Our Strategy is underpinned by our core values and an evolved vision and mission, which best represents Kambala’s heritage and future.