Methodist Ladies' College, Perth (MLC Perth), is an independent, Uniting Church, day and boarding school for girls, located in Claremont, a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Founded by the Methodist Church of Australia in 1907, MLC is a non-selective school, and in 2024, it had about 1,040 girls from pre-kindergarten to Year 12, including 90 boarders. The college was ranked as the number one TEE school in the state for 2006 and 2008 seeing 55.1 percent of students achieving a mark of seventy five percent or above in at least one subject.

History

The foundation stone of the Methodist Ladies' College was laid, and building began in 1907, by the Methodist Church of Australia. Classes were first commenced in February 1908 with 31-day girls and 23 boarders. The early traditions of the college were established by Maud Connell, Head Mistress from 1908 to 1913, who chose the colours of green and gold, and the school motto Per Ardua Ad Alta, which may be translated from Latin as "Strive for the Highest". She was succeeded by Gertrude Mary Walton who allowed students to learn at their own pace using the Dalton Plan. In 1917, MLC's first university students graduated from the University of Western Australia, which had begun teaching in 1913. Walton retired in 1945 when the Dalton Plan was still in operation. During her retirement she wrote a history of the school and a guide to her educational approach. In 1957 the new library was named after Walton who had believed that a love of books was more important than academic achievement. MLC became a school of the Uniting Church in Australia in the 1970s, as the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational Churches came together to form the Uniting Church.

House system

As with most Australian schools, MLC utilises a house system through which girls participate in inter-house activities. When the house system first came into effect in June 1927, there were four houses: Athens, Rome, Sparta and Troy. In 1967, two more houses were added, Corinth and Olympia. Each house is named after a famous ancient city. Annual house events include: A new initiative in 2010 is The Spirit Cape. In all house events, houses will also compete for the Spirit Cape with it being awarded to the house that shows the most spirit over the course of the day. At the end of the year, one house will be awarded the Spirit Cape for the showing the most year-long house spirit. In 2010, Athens won the inaugural year-long Spirit Cape.

Annual events

MLC holds a large number of events annually for sports and the arts, including:

Academics

ATAR for Year 12 students Year – Rank – Median score 2019 – #6 – 89.95 2018 – #4 – 92.55 2017 – #19 – 87.5 2016 – #9 – 90.3 The school has performed well in the WACE exams and is often rated as one of the best schools in the state.

Notable staff and alumnae

The painter and potter Flora Annie Landells was an art teacher here from 1908 to 1948. Alumnae of MLC are known as Collegians. Some notable Collegians include: