The News Hub

Published: 4 February 2026

Did you know that Pembroke School was originally founded through the combination of two separate single-sex schools merging into a single co-educational college?

One of these schools was Girton Girls’ School, which was founded by Lillie Smith in 1915. The school was originally located on Angas Street, Kent Town, but in 1925 it was relocated to the former home of James Holden in Kensington Gardens. At the time of the relocation, no purpose-built school buildings existed on the property, so classes were conducted in the former Holden residence, with some overflow classes even being held on the home’s verandah.

In the 1930s, Girton Girls’ School hosted an annual Mothers v. Daughters tennis match which was reported in local newspapers to be hotly contested.

In 1974, Girton Girls’ School merged with King’s College all-boys’ school to create the co-educational Pembroke School, with Pembroke’s junior and senior campuses situated on the former Girton Girls’ School site.

Photographs: Mother-Daughter Tennis Match 1937, courtesy of the National Library of Australia. Tuckshop at Girton 1973, courtesy of Pembroke School Archives.