Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools


The Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools, is an association for independent girls' schools, based in North Ryde, in the Northern Suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Established in 1916 as The Association of Head Mistresses of New South Wales, the Association that as of 2017 comprised 31 member schools, enables inter-school aesthetic, cultural and sporting activities between New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory's most exclusive independent and Catholic girls' schools.
AHIGS also exists for the purpose of encouraging communication and a bond of co-operation and collegiality among independent girls' schools and their "heads", and working towards advancing the cause of the education of girls through policy development on major issues of concern. The association actively represents its members and the interests of their schools at a political level, through lobbying governments and politicians. Through AHIGS competitions, member schools and their students, are encouraged to value good sportsmanship, participation, team spirit and fairness above undue competitiveness and individualism.
Of New South Wales' fifteen female Rhodes Scholars, eight have attended an AHIGS School.

Schools

Members

Former members

History

At the Women's Club on 8 November 1916 a group of eight Headmistresses from seven schools formed The Association of Head Mistresses of New South Wales, with Miss Edith Badham elected as Foundation President.
The seven founding schools were:
Eligibility for membership was eventually offered to a further 23 girls' schools.
In 1945, a national association was formed, and AHIGS New South Wales heads served as Presidents of that organisation as follows:
The national organisation was disbanded on 26 August 1985 when the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia was founded.
AHIGS first admitted male heads of girls' schools to membership from 1973 however, so far no male member has been elected to the position of President.

Presidents

Independent Girls' Schools Sporting Association

Twenty-eight member schools of AHIGS compete against each other in a number of sporting carnivals and termly sports through the Independent Girls' Schools Sporting Association. Secondary school girls compete in team and individual sports at school level and can be selected through IGSSA for state representative teams and higher competitions.

Archdale debating competition

The Archdale Debating Competition is a competition conducted by the Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools for the benefit of students from 22 of its Member Schools.
Established in the early 1970s, it is an annual competition conducted over two terms, with each member school entering a team into each of the seven divisions.
The Archdale Shield is awarded to the school which performs best across the whole competition. The award is determined through an overall points score after the conclusion of the final round.
The competition is named in honour of Helen Elizabeth Archdale, former principal of The Women's College at the University of Sydney, and former headmistress of Abbotsleigh. Betty Archdale was also a talented cricketer, captaining the English women's cricket team in 1934 and 1935. In 1944 Archdale was awarded an Order of the British Empire for her part in getting nurses out of Singapore during World War II. In 1999 she was one of the first ten women to be granted Honorary Life Membership of Marylebone Cricket Club in England. Archdale was listed as an Australian Living Treasure in 1997.

History

Although a number of AHIGS schools offered debating as an extracurricular activity from around the 1920s, it was not until the 1960s that inter-school debating became common among girls' schools.
In 1971, following a debate between Abbotsleigh and a combined high schools team, the decision was made to form a debating organisation for independent girls' schools. This organisation was called 'ISSGDA', and it was made up of sixteen independent schools divided into four geographic areas for competition purposes.
The first ISSGDA final was contested between Abbotsleigh and Moriah College at Abbotsleigh. The trophy, which Miss Archdale had donated, was won by Abbotsleigh and presented by Miss Kathleen McCredie, the then headmistress of Abbotsleigh. From this point on, the competition became known as the 'Archdale Debating Competition'.

Archdale winners

YearArchdale ShieldSeniorsYear 10Year 9Year 8AYear 8BYear 7AYear 7B
1988KambalaMLC
1989RavenswoodMoriah
1990MLCMoriah
1991KambalaRavenswoodPymble
1992AbbotsleighAbbotsleighSt Catherine's
1993St Catherine'sTaraAbbotsleigh
1994MLCAbbotsleighSCEGGSPymble
1995KambalaKambalaKambalaMoriah
1996PymbleMLCTaraTara
1997PymbleKambalaSCEGGSMoriahTara
1998PymbleRosevillePymbleSCEGGSPymbleKambala
1999PymbleKambalaKambalaPymblePymbleSCEGGS
2000PymbleAbbotsleighPymblePLCPymbleSCEGGS
2001SCEGGSMLCSCEGGSMLCMLCPymbleTaraSCEGGS
2002SCEGGSPymbleDanebankSCEGGSTar]MLCSt Catherine'sPymble
2003SCEGGSMLCPymbleTaraPLCPymbleMLCPymble
2004SCEGGSMLCTaraTaraSCEGGSQueenwoodTaraSCEGGS
2005AbbotsleighMeridenAbbotsleighAbbotsleighSCEGGSSCEGGSAbbotsleighLoreto Kirribilli
2006PLCPymbleSCEGGSRosevilleMLCSCEGGSSantaDanebank
2007AbbotsleighPymbleTaraPymbleAbbotsleighMeridenLoreto KirribilliMLC
2008AbbotsleighRosevilleSCEGGSTaraMLCSt Catherine'sQueenwoodAbbotsleigh
2009TaraPymbleTaraSCEGGSAschamMLCRosevilleAscham
2010SCEGGSTaraTaraSCEGGSSCEGGSAschamSCEGGSSCEGGS
2011SCEGGSMonteKambalaSCEGGSAschamSCEGGSTaraSCEGGS
2012TaraMLCMeridenSCEGGSTaraAbbotsleighMLCRavenswood
2013MLCSCEGGSAschamMeridenSt Catherine'sMLCMLCKincoppal
2014MLCAschamTaraWenonaMeridenMLCAbbotsleighSCEGGS
2015SCEGGSMLCSCEGGSPymbleRavenswoodSCEGGSAbbotsleighDanebank
2016AbbotsleighAbbotsleighMLCMLCAbbotsleighSCEGGSKambalaKambala
2017MLCMLCSCEGGSWenonaKincoppalSCEGGSAbbotsleighMLC
2018AbbotsleighAbbotsleighKambalaKambalaMLC

Festival of Speech

The concept of a 'Festival of Speech' for the Association of Heads of Independent Girls' Schools was first suggested in the early 1990s by Mr. Chris Faisandier, then Principal of Kincoppal-Rose Bay and a member of AHIGS.
Formerly a Principal of Sacred Heart College in New Zealand, Faisandier was involved with the O'Shea Shield Competition in which about twenty schools from the lower North Island of New Zealand participated.
The purpose of the O'Shea Shield Competition was to encourage students to develop skills in the areas of public speaking, debating, analysis and rhetoric. So popular was the competition and so high was the standard of presentation, that the winners of the O'Shea Shield were often featured on New Zealand television.
With the support of the AHIGS membership, Mr Faisandier established the Festival of Speech in NSW in 1996. The inaugural Festival, spanning Friday evening and all day Saturday, was hosted by Kincoppal-Rose Bay, won by Roseville College, and attended by fifteen schools.
Today the Festival continues to be hosted annually by an AHIGS member school, and some twenty-five schools now participate. Students have the opportunity to perform in the areas of drama, debating, poetry, prose readings, current affairs and religious and ethical questions. The Festival is open to girls from AHIGS schools in years seven to eleven.

Winning schools

YearOverall Champion
1996Roseville
1997PLC Sydney
1998PLC Sydney
1999PLC Sydney
2000PLC Sydney
2001PLC Sydney
2002PLC Sydney
2003PLC Sydney
2004PLC Sydney
2005PLC Sydney
2006PLC Sydney
2007Kambala
2008PLC Sydney
2009SCEGGS Darlinghurst
2010SCEGGS
2011PLC Sydney
2012SCEGGS
2013SCEGGS
2014SCEGGS
2015PLC Sydney
2016Ravenswood
2017PLC Sydney
2018Pymble