Mr Mark Staker – Principal, Pembroke School
Pembroke is a truly independent, proudly co-educational school, supported by an inclusive community of care. Our students learn and thrive by engaging in a holistic education that honours respectful relationships.
Pembroke has a proud heritage reaching back for over a century, when young women were educated at Girton Girls’ School, and young men at King’s College. Nearly 50 years ago, these two unique schools combined to form the contemporary Pembroke School, a school that fosters equality of opportunity within a co-educational context. Our students share the mantle of leadership with girls and young women, boys and young men, all taking their place at the table – listening to one another and actively sharing their informed opinions as equals. They lead together, their voices are equally heard, and opportunities are shared equitably.
Pembroke is a proudly non-selective school, where all students are seen and valued as individuals. Our students comprise a community of learners – who develop skills and attributes to help manage the demands of their education, now and into the future: academic expertise, perseverance, self-discipline, resourcefulness, collaboration, independence, eloquence, grit, spark, creative and critical thinking, craftsmanship, adaptation to change, and engagement with technology.
Our Pembroke staff nurture these personalised journeys, using their expertise to teach and foster curiosity from the ELC to Year 12. Our staff understand that learning and care extends beyond the classroom and are committed to their own development as educators and professional staff who teach, care and support our students.
We know that students thrive when their learning is valued, both in the classroom and beyond. The holistic development of a young person is honoured and respected throughout the School, allowing all young people to be dedicated to a full life of learning and development, and to understand themselves as a person. At Pembroke, we ensure that all students are supported to develop their intellectual, social, physical, creative, emotional and spiritual nature. We challenge students to understand each aspect of their nature and how one relates to another.
Within this environment all students are encouraged to find their place at Pembroke and we know that ‘place’ may change as they develop and evolve as a learner and a person. The community is supportive and caring, and this extends to an acceptance of individual difference, which is respected and celebrated across the School.
Towards achieving student fulfillment and understanding, we offer an extensive array of academic programs including SACE and IB, co-curricular opportunities, and pastoral and wellbeing programs in each of the Junior, Middle and Senior schools.
Our Year 12 academic results are consistently excellent, and outstanding compared with state, national and international (IB) averages.
The tone of our School is underpinned by an egalitarian, engaged community encompassing staff, students, parents and old scholars.
Our beautiful Junior, Middle and Senior School campuses are situated on the traditional land of the Kaurna people, in Adelaide’s leafy eastern suburbs, and include our incredible Shipsters Road building for Art, Science and Technology. Our wonderful Outdoor Education Learning Centre, the centrepiece of our extensive camp program, is situated on the traditional land of the Ngarrindjeri people, on the Finniss River.
I welcome you to experience Pembroke for yourself – a school where all young people are welcomed and known as individuals, enriched by the breadth of opportunity and graduate willing to take their place in the community, and lead in their own unique ways.
Our Open Days allow you to experience our School, and I personally look forward to welcoming you and your family to Pembroke at these events in the future.
Our outstanding Admissions Team is a great first point of contact and I encourage you to reach out if you would like to tour the School or receive any further information or discuss the possibility of admission.
Mark Staker
Principal