The SDF focuses on our built environment as an integral part of the MGGS experience and how it facilitates the advancement of an innovative curriculum for our students. Positioned as one of the leaders globally in girls’ education, it has been imperative for Melbourne Girls Grammar to plan the development of our Merton Hall campus to be flexible and be able to adapt for what we know to be an unpredictable but changing future. Our School Vision remains our guide.  

"Through a focus on learning, research, and innovation, we will be recognised by our own community, the national and international community as a leading school in girls’ education. "

^{- MGGS Vision}

Melbourne Girls Grammar is uniquely positioned in one of the most beautiful locations in Melbourne. Situated at the pinnacle of the Anderson Street hill, we enjoy sweeping views of the CBD, Melbourne’s world class sporting precinct, the Yarra river, and the Royal Botanic Gardens. The diversity of the landscape – architectural forms interspersed with lush verdant spaces – holds a mirror to the beauty of Melbourne and is reflected in the iconic features of our Merton Hall campus. Our heritage buildings speak of our longevity while the most recent addition to our streetscape, Artemis, defines our future focus. We have looked to capture this sense of evolution and innovation at MGGS in the SDF, while also ensuring the learning environment addresses the significant changes occurring within our workplaces, our communities, and globally, that impacts the skills our graduates of 2030 and beyond will need.

Innovation often references the relentless development in technology, our ever-growing need to personalise it through our online communications, and to engage with it to streamline our processes, curate our content, and, for some, develop automated behaviours to enhance our response rates. Most recently, we see this in the emergence of artificial intelligence and ChatGPT and note the lively debates of how this will impact our children’s education. As we navigate these new information frontiers, Council are reminded of the importance of staying openminded, and the need to recognise new trends. We must give our educators license to innovate teaching practices and education programs that empower our Grammarians to be confident and competent users of these new platforms and tools. But we also know that the future holds much more. We understand the significance of knowledge, skills and dispositions that will be sought in the future workplace.

"Creativity and curiosity will be valued, as will our graduates’ capacity to adapt to change, and to also know what it means to be human. Knowing how to collaborate and communicate effectively is as intrinsic to the education of the future as the technology that enables it."

^{- Mark Burgess, Chair of Council}

Our learning environments, as have been identified in other editions of IE, showcase how the spaces our Grammarians learn in can be an effective third teacher. Our natural environment provides places for quiet reflection, internal and external settings become places for meeting up with friends, and dedicated learning spaces define behaviours and how our children approach education. Where they learn and how spaces are conceived determine their opportunities – to engage in group work, quiet study, teacher-led projects, research, or play. Fostering independence, and capacity to access knowledge and find information we know can be a curated experience, achieved via a digital portal or a physical hub.

"Collectively, the MGGS campus of the future will provide our Grammarians with experiences that echo life beyond school and simplify access around the campus for everyone."

^{- Mark Burgess, Chair of Council}

The SDF defines new structures that will house flexible learning spaces and breakout areas designed to promote independent and self-managed learning, and areas for team-based project work that will foster strong interpersonal interaction and engagement. This, we believe, will be critical to creating a strong balance between social and emotional strength needed to feel a sense of belonging, and knowledge acquisition on an academic level. Our sports, theatre and creative activities foster avenues for extension and development, and we have plans both for the reinvigoration of our facilities in the shorter term, while planning for exciting spaces that reinforce the importance of creativity and the Arts over the long term - for our Grammarians and as a community.  

"Open spaces and outdoor activities remain pivotal to our Grammarians' wellbeing and personal development."

^{- Mark Burgess, Chair of Council}

These traditional supports within the learning environment reinforce the value of our natural environment and how important it is to create balance and provide ‘a pause’ between the architectural structures across our campus. A key element of our consideration has been to prioritise sustainability, to look to a future where we all understand the significance of climate action as well as, for Council and the leadership team, the social, economic and governance implications of our behaviours, ideas, and future developments.

Some immediate signals of our SDF in action will be the relocation of our administration services to our new Community hub, Glenhope, in Punt Road. This is the catalyst to opening up teaching and learning spaces on the Merton Hall campus. Other key features include an "unlocking of the campus" and a clear delineation of the progressive nature of learning. The journey commences at Wildfell and, like a nautilus, it radiates outward until it culminates in the broader opportunities inherent in the Senior Years program.

This concept of spiralling growth in body, mind and spirit is reflected in the vision for the future of education at MGGS, and the SDF supports this through six guiding principles used to evaluate ideas and ultimately define the outcome – to ensure long-term flexibility to adjust and adapt to an evolving and unpredictably changing world.

We very much look forward to discussing the details of the SDF with our community during 2023. On behalf of Council, I would like to thank all those involved to date for the work they have done in supporting the development of this long-term plan. It is indeed an exciting time for Melbourne Girls Grammar. We look forward to bringing you on the journey as we create the future of MGGS together.