St Mary’s welcomes first female pupils as Sydney school goes co-ed

One of the oldest Catholic schools in the country is marking the start of a new chapter by welcoming these pupils for the first time in nearly six decades.

One of Sydney’s oldest Catholic schools has welcomed the return of female students for the first time in almost 60 years.

Shortly after 8.20am on Wednesday, a wave of pupils, boys and girls, ushered through the gates St Mary’s Catholic College in Sydney’s CBD, marking almost six decades since girls last attended the school.

Pupils, including Evan Zafiropoulos, Irene Klieoprasert and Isabelle Onley, have arrived at St Mary's College in Sydney for the first day of the new co-ed school. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

St Mary’s Cathedral College first opened in 1824 and is the latest school in the state to transition from an all-boys’ school to co-ed for kindergarten to year 7, following in the footsteps of Newington College in Stanmore and Cranbrook School, which will begin accepting girls from 2026.

St Mary’s is ushering in a new era alongside Catholic school St Paul’s in Manly, which will also welcome girls for the first time this year.

Principal Kerrie McDiarmid welcomes boys and girls to St Mary’s. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

However, unlike the others, St Mary’s will not introduce senior female students into the school, instead slowly staggering 60 female pupils into year 7 and gradually phasing out the all-boys year levels over the next five years.

It is not the first time female students have walked the halls of the school, which celebrated its 200th anniversary last year. St Mary’s last welcomed female pupils in 1967.

Principal Kerrie McDiarmid said the change was an “exciting moment for the school and Catholic education right across the city”.

Brother and sister Darcy and Margot King walked into the school hand-in-hand on Wednesday morning. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

To accommodate the influx of new students in the school, St Mary’s has opened a new campus on Williams St, a five-minute walk from its main school grounds. It will be used as a “home base” for older male students in years 9 to 12 for the next two years.

Ms McDiarmid told The Daily Telegraph the new campus would allow the students a “smooth transition” as the school expanded its number of students.

“Any change in a school context requires you to ready all of the people in the school for that, and we’ve got a unique ‘phronesis’ program, a character education program,” she told the outlet.

“We’ve been doing that work for a couple of years now, readying students for the co-ed context.”

Students pour through the gates Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

The news comes after Newington College in Sydney’s inner west announced it would be welcoming female pupils to its once all-boys’ school in 2026, resulting in swift backlash from parents and former students.

In 2024, the 160-year-old school announced it would be transitioning form an all-boys’ school to co-ed in 2026, with the college council stating it had an “ongoing responsibility to consider what is best for the long-term future”.

“This decision has been made to ensure the college remains a vibrant, contemporary institution, in step with the society it is part of,” the statement read.

Following the news, 50 students were unenrolled from the school and people parked themselves outside the school gates holding signs in protest.

Parents Leeann Soden and Quinton Smith with their daughters Arabella, who is attending St Mary’s, and Estelle. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

However, Newington College headmaster Michael Parker said there had been almost 1000 applicants for female pupils to attend the prestigious school since the announcement.

“We knew there would be significant pushback from some alumni who loved the school as it was in their time as students, but we did not expect some of the intensity of the campaign and some of the misinformation that was put out there or the personal attacks,” Mr Parker told the Australian Financial Review.

“I do feel that we got caught up in the wash of the culture wars … we became a piñata for a while there – our text choices, our curriculum, even our school symbol.”

It’s a big day for the girls at St Mary’s. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

Originally published as St Mary’s welcomes first female pupils as Sydney school goes co-ed