{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Use Australian English|date=January 2012}} {{Infobox school | name = Preshil School | other_name = The Margaret Lyttle Memorial School | image = Preshil Hall Entrance.JPG | caption = Entrance to the junior school (Arlington)'s Kevin Borland Hall, in the 1970s | motto = Courage | established = {{start date and age|df=yes|1931}}<ref name="SchoolChoice">{{cite web|url = http://www.schoolchoice.com.au/schools_vic/find_a_school?cid=12222&pid=1865853|title = Preshil The Margaret Lyttle Memorial School|access-date = 9 October 2007|year = 2007|work = Victoria|publisher = School Choice|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070831042324/http://www.schoolchoice.com.au/schools_vic/find_a_school?cid=12222&pid=1865853|archive-date = 31 August 2007|url-status = dead}}</ref> | type = Independent progressive school | denomination = | slogan = Courage to Question | principal = Aaron Mackinnon | president = Emma Zipper | founder = Margaret J. R. Lyttle | city = Kew, Melbourne | state = Victoria | country = Australia | grades = P–12 | grades_label = Years | coordinates = {{coord|37|48|48|S|145|2|57|E|region:AU-VIC_type:edu|display=inline,title}} | enrolment = ~350<ref name="SchoolChoice"/> | staff = ~52<ref name="AnnualReport">{{cite web|url = http://www.preshil.vic.edu.au/assets/downloads/2007-Preshil-Ann-Rep.pdf|title = Annual Report to Parents|access-date = 9 October 2007|last = Millane|first = Vivien |year = 2007|work = About|publisher = Preshil School |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070830075528/http://www.preshil.vic.edu.au/assets/downloads/2007-Preshil-Ann-Rep.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 30 August 2007}}</ref> | colours = Green and gold {{color box|#008000}}{{color box|#FFD700}} | website = {{URL|www.preshil.vic.edu.au}} | campus = Suburban }}

'''Preshil School''', also known as '''The Margaret Lyttle Memorial School''', is an independent progressive co-educational, day school located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1931 by Margaret J. R. Lyttle, the school caters for students from Kindergarten through to Year 12. Preshil teaches a progressive curriculum,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/education/where-children-rule-in-a-spirit-of-progress-20110807-1ihlq.html|title=Where children rule in a spirit of progress|last=Carey|first=Adam|date=7 August 2011|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en|access-date=29 May 2018}}</ref> and is Australia's oldest progressive school.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/rn/hindsight/stories/2006/1674657.htm |url-status=dead |title=Free to learn - the history of progressive education in Australia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091120225748/http://www.abc.net.au/rn/hindsight/stories/2006/1674657.htm |archive-date=20 November 2009 |work=ABC Radio National |last=Morton |first=Tom |date=9 July 2006 }}</ref>

The original Arlington campus houses the Kindergarten and Primary school, while the Secondary School is located at the Blackhall Kalimna campus. The campuses are located on Barkers Road and Sackville Street respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Preshil - Secondary School |url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Preshil+-+Secondary+School/@-37.813414,145.046964,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x6ad64162a0d251f3:0x45ab44eda784afaf!8m2!3d-37.813414!4d145.0491527 |access-date=5 July 2020 |website=Preshil - Secondary School |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Preshil - Kindergarten and Primary School |url=https://www.google.com/maps/place/Preshil+-+Kindergarten+and+Primary+School/@-37.8159047,145.0501429,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x6ad6417ce100a5e3:0xd33f4eeec7b3fa29!8m2!3d-37.8159047!4d145.0523316 |access-date=5 July 2020 |website=Preshil - Kindergarten and Primary School |language=en}}</ref>

== History == Preshil was founded in 1931 by Margaret "Greta" J. R. Lyttle.<ref name=":0" /> In 1937, growing numbers lead to the relocation of the primary school to its present site, Arlington campus, further along Barkers’ Road. Greta and her niece Margaret E. Lyttle continued to live at the school.<ref>{{cite web |title=Relocation to Arlington &#124; Preshil |url=https://preshil.vic.edu.au/announcement/relocation-to-arlington/}}</ref> Greta used the Hungarian psychoanalyst Clara Lazar Geroe as an advisor after she moved to Melbourne in 1941.<ref>{{Citation |last=Brett |first=Judith |title=Clara Lazar Geroe (1900–1980) |work=Australian Dictionary of Biography |url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/geroe-clara-lazar--10796 |access-date=3 October 2023 |place=Canberra |publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University |language=en}}</ref> Following Greta's death in 1944, Margaret took over as principal.<ref name=":0" />

In 1975, Preshil purchased former chief justice of Australia, Sir Owen Dixon's home in Kew 'Yallambee' after he died. The interior was gutted to construct classrooms. The school later sold the campus.<ref>[https://www.vicbar.com.au/sites/default/files/Documents/VBN_160_2016_Summer_compressed.pdf The Library of Sir Owen Dixon] ''Victorian Bar News'' (160). Summer 2017. p.59. Retrieved 29 March 2023</ref>

Preshil purchased Blackhall for its Senior School in 1978.<ref>{{cite web |title=Catherine Booth Girls' Home - Organisation - Find & Connect - Victoria |url=https://www.findandconnect.gov.au/ref/vic/biogs/E000262b.htm}}</ref> During the 1980s, David Corke and students and teachers from Preshil identified a number of blazes marking Robert O'Hara Burke's camps from the Cooper Creek to the Diamantina River. Corke also replotted the site of William John Wills' death and an additional memorial cairn was erected by Joe Mack at the revised location.<ref>{{cite web |title=Retracing Burke and Wills Route |url=http://www.burkeandwills.net.au/Expedition_Map/retracing.htm}}</ref>

In 2017, the school phased out the Victorian Certificate of Education in favour of the International Baccalaureate programme.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Cook |first1=Henrietta |last2=reporter |first2=education |date=1 November 2015 |title=Preshil in Kew set to axe VCE because it is too competitive |url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/school-set-to-axe-vce-because-it-is-too-competitive-20151031-gknv40.html |access-date=20 September 2017 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2022, Preshil paid $2.1 million to a victim of sexual abuse by a teacher who worked at the school in 1991.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=O'Brien |first=Susie |date=3 June 2024 |title=Preshil, Kew selling off land to pay for sexual abuse payouts |url=https://www.heraldsun.com.au/victoria-education/preshil-kew-selling-off-land-to-pay-for-sexual-abuse-payouts/news-story/5c64836b6dfd872a6cff397fe2fb0e02 |url-access=subscription |access-date=18 July 2024 |work=Herald Sun}}</ref> Declining enrolments and financial difficulties led the school to sell its Kalimna mansion campus to nearby Carey Baptist Grammar School in 2024. Carey will rent the campus back to Preshil for 42 months.<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Brien |first=Susie |date=15 July 2024 |title=Carey Grammar purchases Kalimna mansion from struggling Preshil Secondary School in Kew |url=https://www.heraldsun.com.au/victoria-education/carey-grammar-purchases-kalimna-mansion-from-struggling-preshil-secondary-school-in-kew/news-story/a8efc23401a4e12140414cbfe2ac0353 |url-access=subscription |access-date=18 July 2024 |work=Herald Sun}}</ref>thumb|right|250px|Preshil's Kevin Borland Hall under construction

==Principals== {| class="wikitable" |- !Period !Name |- |1931&ndash;1944 |Margaret "Greta" J. R. Lyttle |- |1944&ndash;1994 |Margaret "Mug" E. Lyttle |- |1997&ndash;2004 |Dermot Lyttle |- |2004&ndash;2010 |Frank Moore |- |2010&ndash;2020 |Marilyn Smith |- |2020&ndash;2021 |Natalie Jensen (Interim) |- |2021&ndash;2022 |Cressida Batterham-Wilson (Interim) |- |2022&ndash;2024 |Josh Brody<ref name=":1" /> |- |2024&ndash;present |Aaron Mackinnon |}

==Notable alumni== <!-- Please DON'T add any more external links here. If they're notable enough for inclusion, then please write an article about them. Please ensure that alumni are sorted in alphabetical order by family name. Please also add references for all Alumni, otherwise they '''will''' be omitted.--> * Polly Borland{{spaced endash}}artist<ref name=":1" /> * Clare Bowditch{{spaced endash}}musician<ref name=":1" /> * Lauren Burns{{spaced endash}}gold medallist in taekwondo at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games<ref name=":1" /> * Zahava Elenberg{{spaced endash}}architect<ref name=":1" /> * Nicolette Fraillon{{spaced endash}}chief conductor of The Australian Ballet Orchestra<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.preshil.vic.edu.au/2014/05/principals-blog-august-20th-2010/ | title=School Blog &#124; Preshil }}</ref> * Zana Fraillon{{spaced endash}}author * Todd Goldstein{{spaced endash}}Australian rules footballer playing for the North Melbourne Football Club * Lisa Gorton{{spaced endash}}novelist, poet, granddaughter of Prime Minister John Gorton * Greg Hjorth{{spaced endash}}Australian Professor of Mathematics, chess International Master (1984) and Commonwealth Champion in 1983 * Stephen Housden{{spaced endash}}musician, lead guitarist for Little River Band * Kaiya Jones{{spaced endash}}actor on ''Neighbours'' * Catherine Anne Money (née Menzies){{spaced endash}}scientist at CSIRO (attended primary School) * Toby Martin{{spaced endash}}singer–songwriter * Brendan Murphy{{spaced endash}}former Chief Medical Officer of Australia and Secretary of the Department of Health<ref name=":1" /> * Rachel Nordlinger{{spaced endash}}linguist * Sue Richardson{{spaced endash}}economist and academic * Gina Riley{{spaced endash}}actor known for playing Kim Craig on ''Kath and Kim'' * Jane Routley{{spaced endash}}fantasy author * Peter Singer{{spaced endash}}philosopher * Charlie Thorpe{{spaced endash}}singer in Dash and Will * Stephen Wilkins{{spaced endash}}physicist, phase-contrast X-ray imaging (PCXI)

==ERA Secondary School== ERA Secondary School in Donvale was founded by Preshil parents who wanted a secondary school to complete education after Preshil. Although Preshil later withdrew support in 1970 the school officially opened in 1971 at 'The White House' in Warrandyte int a temporary premises and later that year in Donvale. The school closed in 1987 due to financial struggles.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.era-school.net/history/index.html | title=Era School history }}</ref>

==See also== {{stack|{{portal|Schools}}}} *List of schools in Victoria, Australia

==References== {{reflist}}

==Bibliography== * {{cite book |author=Burns, L. |title=Fighting Spirit |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2003 |isbn=0-670-04037-1}} * {{cite book |author=Lyttle, Dermot |title=Preshil Uniquely Different |location=Kew, Melbourne, Victoria |publisher=Preshil |year=2002 }} * {{cite book |author=White, Naomi Rosh |title=School Matters: The Preshil Alternative in Education |location=Port Melbourne |publisher=Mandarin |year=1995 }}

==Further reading== * {{cite news |url=http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,17394511%255E5000114,00.html |url-status=dead |title=Preshil vision is still splendid |first=Matthew |last=Pinkney |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060221063718/http://heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,17394511%255E5000114,00.html |archive-date=21 February 2006 |work=Herald-Sun |date=29 November 2005}}

==External links== * {{Official website}} * {{Commons category-inline|Preshil School}}

{{Education}} {{Secondary schools in Victoria|state=collapsed}}

Category:Private schools in Melbourne Category:Alternative schools in Australia Category:Educational institutions established in 1931 Category:1931 establishments in Australia Category:International Baccalaureate schools in Australia