Meet our Principal
Raising girls today brings unique challenges none of us could have imagined when we brought our precious daughters into the world.
Technology and social media. Mental and physical health. AI, climate change and global politics. Friendships and respectful relationships, financial security and independence. Beneath them sits the question every parent asks: how do I help my daughter grow into her best self, and live the life she chooses?
You don’t have to answer that alone. As experts in girls’ education for 110 years, we have thought deeply and carefully about how to set our girls up for success in life, and our answer is Watch Us Change the World. This is our strategy for girls’ education today, and it deliberately builds the four intelligences your daughter needs to thrive in a world that continues to evolve rapidly: Academic, Emotional, Social and Digital Intelligence. Our vision is for each girl to grow into a young woman of character and conviction, with a deep understanding of the world and the knowledge, compassion and confidence to influence it.
But strategy only matters when it is anchored in something human. Our anchors are our College values of Care, Courage, Integrity, Respect and Responsibility, which guide every member of our Pymble family, students and staff alike, in everything we do.
That is the Pymble difference: specialised education that equips your daughter with the character, knowledge and tools to make wise decisions in every aspect of her life, and the courage to be a changemaker. Watch Us Change the World is why I am here, leading this work. It is what motivates our staff and draws them to Pymble. And it is why I invite you to consider Pymble for your daughter.
What we love about Dr Hadwen
Dr Kate Hadwen
PhD, MEd, MNTCW, BTeach, MAICD
Principal, Pymble Ladies’ College
Dr Kate Hadwen has worked in education-related roles for more than 30 years, having taught and held senior positions across the breadth of schooling from Kindergarten to Year 12 and at tertiary level. She was formerly Head of Presbyterian Ladies’ College, Perth (WA), Head of Senior School at Peninsula Grammar (VIC) and Head of Boarding at Perth College (WA).
Kate worked for five years as a Senior Research Fellow at The Child Health Promotion Research Centre and was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research. She is an Honorary Fellow of the Kids Research Institute Australia and the Child Health Promotion Research Centre.
As a researcher, Kate authored State and National policies and curriculum resources related to technology, wellbeing and anti-bullying, and supported the establishment of the Office of the eSafety Commissioner. Her doctorate focused on transitioning challenges faced by boarding students and families, and she has since written a handbook for parents on this topic.
Kate also spent five years working in private enterprise developing and delivering a resilience resource called Peace Builders across Australia and working extensively with First Nations communities in the Top End Group Schools (NT).
Dr Hadwen is an inaugural Director of the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools representing over 350,000 students globally. She is a member of the Advisory Council for Independent Schools NSW (AISNSW) and the Independent Girls’ School Association (IGSA) Sport Standing Committee. She was formally a Director of the Australian Youth Orchestra, Chair of the Wellbeing Standing Committee (AISNSW) established to support young people and schools post the COVID 19 epidemic, and a Director (Treasurer) of the Association of Girls’ Schools Australasia.
