Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School

Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School is an independent, Uniting Church, co-educational school, with campuses located in Essendon, Moonee Ponds and Keilor East in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The school is the product of an amalgamation of two schools, Penleigh Presbyterian Ladies' College and Essendon Grammar School, which was completed in 1977. Uniforms were different for boys and girls until Term 3 2006 when a new combined school uniform was launched.The school is a member of the AGSV and competes against the other member schools in a range of sports. It was ranked 11th in the 2005 Victorian Certificate of Education.HistoryThe history of Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School is the history of two schools, Penleigh Ladies' College and Essendon Grammar School. Each of these schools has its origins in the early years of Melbourne. Essendon Grammar School was established for boys in 1934 following the amalgamation of Northern Grammar School and St.Thomas' Grammar School. Northern Grammar School commenced in 1921 in the Moonee Ponds area but soon moved to new premises on the site of St.John's Church in Essendon.In 1924, the school acquired the present site at 59 Raleigh Street, Essendon. Carlton College opened in 1872 and this school occupied several premises in the Parkville area. This school combined with St Thomas's Grammar in 1910, when thiey moved to a larger property in Essendon. In 1948 Essendon Grammar School began its affiliation with the Presbyterian Church. The site of the senior school in Keilor East was purchased in 1956 and this new campus of the school was officially opened by the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. Robert Menzies in 1960. Penleigh was originally established in 1871 as Dorset House, Mrs. Tulloch's School for Young Ladies. The school occupied several sites in the Moonee Ponds area. The school developed and expanded particularly under the guidance of the Limerock sisters. The school was renamed Penleigh Ladies' College during the First World War and it moved to the present site at 83 Park Street, Moonee Ponds in 1921. After the Second World War Penleigh was purchased from the Limerock sisters by the Presbyterian Church.