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Somerville House, South Brisbane QLD

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Somerville House, South Brisbane
Somerville House is a Prep to Year 12 day school for girls, with boarding available from Year 6 and a co-educational Pre-Prep program.
17 Graham Street
South Brisbane
QLD
4101
PO Box 3357, South Brisbane
Brisbane Central & Inner-West, Brisbane South

 An International Baccalaureate World School

Early enrolment advised
Outstanding results
Exceptional facilities
Enrolment Spaces available
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Contact School / Apply for Enrolment

 

Events Calendar

Upcoming Events

SOMERVILLE HOUSE - SomerTour
Wed Oct 21 @ 9:00AM - 11:00AM [10 Days to go]

View all events here
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Honour Before Honours

Virtual Tour

Dr Deborah Priest
  • Early Learning ELC
  • Primary School
  • Secondary School
  • Primary - Year 12 School
  • Single School Location
  • Christian
  • Methodist
  • Presbyterian
  • Uniting Church
Pre-Prep to Year 12
Presbyterian and Methodist
Contact school
CRICOS Yes
00522G
Girls Girls
Boys accepted in Pre-Prep
1400
Early Learning CentreYes
Boarding Boarding Available
From Year 5
  • Academic Achievement
  • Co-curricular Activities
  • Community
  • Creative Arts
  • Culture / Tradition
  • Information Technology
  • Languages
  • Music
  • Numeracy / Literacy
  • Pastoral Care / Guidance
  • Performing Arts
  • Personal Values
  • Robotics
  • Science/Technology
  • Sport
  • Tertiary Pathways
  • Chinese
  • French
  • German
  • Japanese
  • Athletics (Track & Field)
  • Australian Rules Football
  • Badminton
  • Basketball
  • Cricket
  • Cross Country Running
  • Equestrian
  • Gymnastics
  • Hockey (field)
  • Netball
  • Rowing
  • Softball
  • Swimming
  • Tennis
  • Touch Football
  • Volleyball
  • Water Polo

Welcome to Somerville House

The only Presbyterian and Methodist Schools Association Pre-Prep to Year 12 day and boarding school for girls located right in the heart of Brisbane.

For 125 years we’ve evolved our teaching to the way girls learn best. Every Somerville girl is known and cared for, compassionate and confident, and empowered to believe in themselves and their potential.

 


Founded in 1899, Somerville House is the leading Presbyterian and Uniting Day and Boarding School for Girls’ leading and leadership development, providing empowering education for girls from Pre-Prep to Year 12 and co-educational Pre-Prep.  Boarding is offered to girls from Years 5 to 12.

 

Located in South Brisbane in an enviable position overlooking the Brisbane city skyline, Somerville House focuses on girls’ education, development, and wellbeing. Our schools provided a personalised learning experience in an environment where girls can be fearless leaders of change.  With us, they can develop confidence, pursue excellence and find their purpose.

 

Learn more about the opportunities for your child at Somerville House. Book a personalised tour of our campus and facilities via somerville.qld.edu.au or phone 07 3248 9267.

Curriculum and Pathways

Somerville House offers a wide range of subjects, allowing for various student preferences and pathways. In Year 10, students undertake a comprehensive Careers and SET planning program to assist in selecting subjects for Years 11 and 12. Our curriculum encourages students to think deeply about the future they can help create for Queensland, Australia, and the world. We value their insight, initiative, confidence, commitment to a better world, and ability to form soundly-reasoned judgments.

Through their engagement in this dynamic and challenging educational community, our students are prepared to thrive as independent, life-long learners and responsible global citizens.
Students travel from around Australia, and the world, to take advantage of the School’s superb academic, cultural and sporting facilities located on the doorstep of Brisbane’s academic, cultural and medical precinct, in South Brisbane.
• The Foundation Building houses the Early Learning Centre and Pre-Prep program.
• The Junior School features specialist Science Laboratories, Music Rooms and Art Rooms with specialist teachers.
• Valmai Pidgeon Performing Arts Centre (VPAC).
• M.K Jarrett Music School.
• Boarding facilities for Year 6 to Year 12.
• Seymour Library Information Centre and Constance Cotton Junior School Library.
• Heritage Listed Buildings – Cumbooquepa, The Chapel, The Chambers.
• Graham Street Set Down Loop.
• Sports and Aquatic Centre.
• Water Sports Facility (Rowing Shed).
• Technology Services support.
• Health Centre.
• Under The Clock café (open to the public).

Co-Curricular

At Somerville House, we empower our students to develop their potential and discover new passions through a diverse range of cultural, musical, sporting, and social opportunities. 

Participation in co-curricular activities helps our students grow spiritually, socially, physically, and culturally. We encourage involvement in cultural and community activities, literary pursuits, faith-based groups, and exchange programs. Music is integral to our school, with our choral and instrumental ensembles exemplifying the excellence for which Somerville House is known.

Our dedicated and passionate coaches create a welcoming and inclusive environment, fostering student participation in physical activity and competitive sports.

Somerville House offers and diverse range of co-curricular activities, as an integral part of the educational experience.All students are encouraged to participate in the School’s co-curricular program which provides opportunities across a wide range of sporting, cultural, musical, social and personal activities.
Music at Somerville House caters for a wide range of skill levels. The Music Program is conducted in the classroom (Academic Music program) and in a co-curricular capacity (Performance Music program).  The School’s comprehensive co-curricular program includes string ensembles, bands and vocal choirs as well as woodwind, percussion and string small ensembles.
Sport is an important part of life at Somerville House. The School upholds a proud and prestigious tradition within the QGSSSA and Andrews Cup Sporting Associations. Somerville House competes in 17 sports within QGSSSA, Andrews Cup and other organisations. 

There is no better example of the celebrated Somerville House spirit than that embraced by our Boarding Community. It is the friendships, a sense of belonging and a shared commitment to the fullness of life and learning and that makes the Somerville House boarding house a true home away from home.

In the supportive and warm boarding environment, students are encouraged to balance structure and routine with the freedom to explore and develop individually. 

Boarders of diverse nationalities and culturally rich backgrounds travel from around Australia and the world, to take advantage of our renowned academic, cultural and sporting facilities at Somerville House. 

Our boarders enjoy modern bedrooms, shared leisure spaces, in-house kitchens, modern bathroom facilities, supervised study spaces, sound-proof music practice areas and views overlooking Brisbane city.

Our central location means students have the cultural heartland of Queensland literally on their doorstep with easy access to South Bank parklands, the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, the Queensland State Library, Museum and Art Gallery, the botanical gardens and much more. 

For more information about boarding at Somerville House, please visit www.somerville.qld.edu.au/boarding

Shaping the future of young people – the way they think and solve problems, and the way they perceive themselves, others and the world around them – is an increasingly complex challenge. In a world that demands innovative, ethical solutions to a wide range of humanitarian, environmental and commercial challenges, Somerville House strives to ensure students leave with, not only a first-class education, but a well-rounded and supported schooling experience.

Since its establishment, Somerville House has exercised its unwavering commitment to provide an education that nurtures students into well-rounded, confident and knowledgeable citizens of integrity. 

In addition to our efforts to develop academic excellence, this commitment is reinforced through the provision of extensive staff and peer support networks, student-led activities, progressive leadership opportunities and dedicated Pastoral Care within the School curriculum.

Junior School Pastoral Care
Pastoral Care is an essential element of the Junior School curriculum and is primarily delivered by the classroom teacher. Initially, students learn the social skills required to work and play happily with other children in both formal (classroom) and non-formal (playground) settings. 

Students will explore topics which are relevant to their year level, such as self-responsibility, interpersonal understanding, the changes associated with puberty, and the skills to promote successful learning are explored. 


Middle and Senior Schools Pastoral Care
In the Middle and Senior School, Pastoral Care is arranged in a horizontal structure, with Heads of Year assisting at each year level. Homeroom Teachers and Tutors, who have extensive contact with students on a daily basis, take significant responsibility for the care of students in their class groups, assisting new students to settle in and providing a knowledgeable point of contact for any initial parental or student concerns.  

Formal weekly Pastoral Care sessions, conducted by Homeroom Teachers or Tutors cover a variety of important topics through discussion and activities. These include: manners and demeanour, assertiveness, resolving conflict, strengthening support networks, dealing with stress, how to stay safe, making decisions, developing friendships and the ethical use of technology.

Pastoral care at Somerville House is more than an action, and more than a subject to be studied, it is implicit in our daily interactions with each other, in our many family events such as welcome evenings for parents, mother/ daughter breakfasts, family chapel services and boarding family gatherings, it is our cultural norm.

 

2025 ATAR RESULTS

From the Class of 2025:

  • 9.35% in Queensland’s top 1% with an ATAR of 99 and above (10 students)
  • 29.9% in Queensland’s top 5% with an ATAR of 95 and above (32 students)
  • 52.3% in Queensland’s top 10% with an ATAR of 90 and above (56 students)
  • 84.11% In Queensland’s top 20% with an ATAR of 80 and above (90 students)
  • 7 Students achieved a perfect subject score of 100 across 3 subjects: Literature, Specialist Maths and Physics
  • The 2025 Year 12 cohort achieved a median ATAR of 91.6
  • 30 students achieved an additional vocational qualification – Diploma of Business
  • 99% of students were ATAR eligible
 
 
Principal's Image
Established in 1899, Somerville House is and has been for generations, known as an esteemed place of learning, inspiration and aspiration for girls and young women in addition to being a nurturing home away from home for our boarders. As a former Somerville House Head of Senior School (2008 – 2011), a mother of a Somerville House ‘Old Girl’ and now as the 14th Principal, I know it to be far more than this.
 
 

Since departing Somerville House in 2011, I have had the opportunity to lead other Australian and international school communities as a principal, all the while cultivating and clarifying what I value in an all girls’ education.  Research conducted over many years unequivocably shows that girls perform better academically, emotionally and socially in an all-girls’ learning environment. As society makes modest progressive steps towards gender equality, Somerville House continues to equip our students to be independent learners and creative thinkers, resilient and confident change makers, and leaders of the community in a broad cross-section of career fields.

I am keenly aware of the importance and value of a strong faith-based learning environment where students feel safe to explore and grow their own Christian faith, or to explore faith for the first time. In practice, for Somerville House, this manifests as a strong emphasis on inclusion, character building, Christian worship and community service that all sit, with equal importance, alongside scholarly endeavour. In combination they empower girls to be architects of their futures.

The strategic pillars of Somerville House are clear. The ability for our students to learn creatively, think globally, act purposefully and engage meaningfully underpin everything we do. So too do the School’s values of courage, compassion, inclusion, integrity, gratitude and respect. While we take lessons from the rich history and traditions of Somerville House, we acknowledge that we are preparing our students to thrive in an ever-evolving world where global issues have local impacts. As such, our students need to be clear on their guiding values and become comfortable with managing change in a world where borders and spheres of influence become blurred.

I look forward to guiding the School throughout 2026 and to meeting and interacting with many members of the wider school community. It is through this strong partnership that together we lay the foundations for our girls to thrive.

Dr Deborah Priest
Principal

Somerville House encourages academic excellence and personal growth. To support this, the School and the Somerville House Foundation offer a range of scholarships for students in Years 7 to 12. 

 

Our Scholarship program provides opportunities for exceptional students who demonstrate academic excellence and support the values of the School. For more information, visit www.somerville.qld.edu.au/admissions/scholarships

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Map

Somerville House, South Brisbane QLD






South Brisbane,
Queensland