At Our Lady's College, girls are empowered to pursue academic excellence in any area they choose, including in the 'gender atypical' areas of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

Our Lady's approach to education is supported by research, which demonstrates that girls benefit from single-sex environments where there are no expectations that they should fulfill traditional gender stereotypes in the subjects they study. Statistics show that girls from girls' schools are more likely to study STEM at school and pursue university studies and careers in STEM fields.

There are positive effects of single-sex schooling in Australia in relation to numeracy and literacy testing and tertiary entrance scores.  

A 2017 study of Year 3, 5 and 7 numeracy and literacy (NAPLAN) data by Dr Katherine Dix of the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) found that boys and girls at single-sex schools achieved higher scores than co-ed students even when socio-economic status was taken into account.

There are also benefits of all-girls schooling in terms of leadership opportunities.

Girls at Our Lady's College have access to all leadership positions, every position on school sporting teams, every role in school drama productions and musicals, and every instrument in a school's bands and orchestras.

Girls are encouraged to participate, lead, compete and take risks – all of which are advantageous skills for careers and leadership.

©Brisbane Catholic Education, Our Lady's College (2023)

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