St Aidan's is a Prep to Year 12 Anglican day school for girls, with a co-educational Kindergarten, established in 1929 by the Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Advent – an order of Anglican sisters committed to serving God through nurturing and serving young women.
On day one, Sister Elisabeth was Sister-in-Charge at St Margaret’s, and Mrs Christine Hartland was Headmistress at St Aidan’s. They both upheld the view that education for girls needed to equip them for life. To this day, the school’s mission remains the same: to encourage confidence and success in students through pursuit of their academic, sporting, cultural and community pursuits within a caring environment.
Vision, Mission and Values
Our Vision
St Aidan's nurtures each student's personal aspirations within a vibrant learner-centred community.
Our Mission
St Aidan's strives to provide excellence in education, in a caring, friendly environment, where each individual, nurtured and shaped by the values of the Christian Faith, has the opportunity to achieve her full potential and to develop a passion for life and for learning.
Our Values
Our focus is to develop and promote authentic, caring, confident, creative and connected women who value reason, imagination, truth, compassion and responsibility.
Key Facts
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Kindergarten to Year 12 Anglican day school for girls (with a co-educational Kindergarten)
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Located in suburban Corinda
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Established in 1929 by the Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Advent (an Anglican religious order) and continues to hold their values and traditions. Our environment is one, which cares for all and seeks to provide a nurturing and supportive school experience where each girl is able to safely grow and evolve her gifts and belief in herself.
Mother Eunice & Sister Gillian, Ascension Day 2016
The Society of the Sacred Advent
On 9 December 1892, Sister Caroline Amy arrived in Brisbane to begin the work of the Society of the Sacred Advent (SSA). She had come from Clewer in England, from the Community of St John the Baptist, and had answered a plea for assistance from the Vicar of St John’s Pro-Cathedral in Brisbane, the Reverend Stone-Wigg. He had requested someone to come to Australia to establish a Religious Order for Women here in Brisbane.
Sister Caroline Amy’s dedication and faithfulness saw the community quickly grow and a strong ministry focusing on the needs of women and children establish itself and develop. In 1906, Mother Emma took over as the Superior, a position she served in until her death in 1939.
Since its inception, the SSA has been responsible for the establishment and nurturing of several schools and children’s homes throughout Queensland. Today, we are fortunate to have on-going contact with the Sisters. In 2004, the Sisters’ Trust was established to oversee the progress of the two remaining schools, St Aidan's and St Margaret's. Mother Eunice is the leader (Mother) of the Order. In 2012 she celebrated 30 years as Mother.
The ethos and ministry of the SSA is firmly based on the ministry of St John the Baptist (their Patron Saint): "to prepare a place for God in their own hearts and minds, and in the world in which they live". We, at St Aidan’s, being firmly established with the same ethos, see our focus as "preparing a place for God in our own hearts and minds, within our School community, and in the world in which we live". This underpins all that we are and all that we do, including our pastoral care, our educational program and our emphasis on community service.
The Sisters’ educational philosophy, based on religious principles and never narrowly academic, also actively sought to educate “the whole personality, physical, mental and spiritual that the girls may live to their fullest capacity”. This philosophy informed each of the SSA schools - St Margaret’s (established in 1895) and St Aidan’s (established in 1929), both which remain SSA schools.