There are endless reasons why families choose Dio for their daughters’ education. Some are attracted by the opportunities offered in sport and the arts, some because a mother or grandmother is an old girl, or because one parent or both went to boarding school. Invariably it is because we deliver an excellent academic education and parents believe that their daughters will be happy and well cared for. 

But whatever families’ original motivation and accompanying expectations might be, it is our challenge each year to gather up 140 new entrants from up to 30 different contributing schools, to bind them together into a harmonious whole and absorb them into our existing school culture while still meeting the needs of every individual and satisfying the varied expectations of each family. 

The achievements and accomplishments we celebrate at prize-giving and at other awards evenings are uplifting but they are only end points. More important is the journey, the gradual building of competence, the developing of skills, the lifting of standards. More worthy than the achievement itself is the endless practice, persistence and perseverance that make it possible. Together as parents and educators we aim to influence the way our girls respond to setbacks and challenges, we need to frame the way they respond to and prepare to address the imperfections of their world. Whatever your initial motivation for sending your daughter to our school, this is the journey we now share.