In a world where education is one of the most powerful tools for sustainable change, Loreto Normanhurst offers more than strong academic outcomes – it cultivates values-driven leadership in young women.
Set in Sydney’s green northern corridor, the school has built a reputation not just for academic success, but for nurturing students who are self-assured, thoughtful and ready to make a meaningful impact.
Principal Marina Ugonotti has championed an approach that looks well beyond the curriculum. Students are challenged to think independently, act ethically, and step into leadership with confidence. At Loreto, character formation—resilience, integrity and self-awareness—is central, not supplementary.
The outcome? Graduates who are prepared to lead with purpose in a world still learning to hear women’s voices.
“Since the role of Principal in 2019, my vision has been to deepen the culture of Loreto Normanhurst as a place where every girl is known, valued and inspired to become her true self,” Ugonotti told The Educator.
“Culture at Loreto is embodied daily through the relationships we form, the diversity we celebrate, and the courageous conversations we invite. It is an inclusive culture where authentic faith expression is promoted while understanding and respect for diverse religious traditions is fostered.”
A community that thrives on authenticity
Underpinning everything at Loreto Normanhurst are the school’s values and its award-winning Loreto Normanhurst Student Growth Model (LNSGM) underpinned by the FACE Curriculum – Faith, Academic, Community and Extra-Curricular, says Ugonotti.
“This ensures that learning happens not just in classrooms, but in music rooms, sporting fields, boarding houses and community immersions,” she said. “This unique model places equal value on academic progress and personal formation, recognising that emotional intelligence, spiritual depth and social connection are as crucial as exam results.”
Ugonotti said girls at her school are encouraged to explore who they are, to think independently, to lead with integrity, and to serve with compassion.
“We see education as formation – and our graduates, our ‘compassionate warriors,’ are the proof: articulate, courageous young women, shaped not into sameness, but into leaders grounded in purpose, grit and a strong moral compass.”
With private schools like Shore and Kincoppal-Rose Bay reversing their plans to offer co-education at junior levels, the debate over whether single sex schools are as outdated as some claim has resurfaced.
Girls’ schools help to level the playing field
Ugonotti believes the recent shift by several leading schools away from junior-level co-education reflects a broader and more urgent question parents are asking in 2025: what environment best enables my child to thrive, lead, and grow into a confident adult?
“At Loreto Normanhurst, we believe in offering the best education for women,” Ugonotti said. “While there has been significant advancement in the status of women in society, families, public life and the Church, the fact remains our students enter a world in which, as young women, the odds remain stacked against them.”
Ugonotti said the statistics on gender parity “speak for themselves”.
“We are preparing our young women for a social context that is not all girls, but also one where there isn’t parity either,” she said.
“We know from experience that girls thrive in the single-sex learning environment. In an all-girls’ environment, they’re not just included in the conversation – they lead it.”
From Year 5 to Year 12, girls at Loreto Normanhurst move through a continuum of growth with a strong sense of belonging, surrounded by mentors, peers and role models who see their potential and expect them to rise to it.
Ugonotti said parental confidence in single-sex education reflects a recognition that young women still face real-world barriers – from unconscious bias to gendered expectations – and that, in these critical developmental years, school can be a powerful counter to those influences.
“Here, girls are emboldened to pursue a broad curriculum, take on leadership, and speak their minds – not in spite of the culture, but because of it,” she said.
“Our programs – from our OakSEED Social and Emotional Education framework to our leadership pathways – are designed specifically to empower girls at every stage. What we offer is not just an education, but an ecosystem of growth, voice and values.”
‘Girls must be empowered as agents of change’
Over the next decade, Ugonotti believes single-sex education will continue to evolve as a catalyst for female leadership – not just in terms of access, but in terms of impact.
“Our mission has always been to grow independent, articulate and compassionate women of integrity. The next frontier is ensuring these women are equipped to drive change in complex, global contexts,” she said.
“Girls’ schools will play a pivotal role in bridging the gap between aspiration and action – by cultivating mindsets of innovation, agency, digital fluency, ethical reasoning and collaborative leadership.”
Loreto Normanhurst is already embedding these elements into its curriculum through a future-focused lens grounded in our values of verity, justice and freedom, Ugonotti pointed out.
“It’s no longer enough to encourage girls to ‘enter’ STEM or leadership spaces, we must form them as agents of change within those domains. The Mary Ward tradition calls us to be 'seekers of truth and doers of justice’ – and our graduates must carry that legacy forward not just confidently, but courageously,” she said.
“The future of all-girls' education is about shaping women who don't just navigate the world – they reimagine it.”