Academic Clubs

Chess

Chess is a fun and challenging game that brings people together. You do not need any experience to get started. Everyone is welcome, from complete beginners to more experienced players. In fact, many students join without knowing how to play and quickly discover how enjoyable and rewarding it can be. As one former student shared, she was hesitant to join at first, but it soon sparked a passion for chess that has stayed with her ever since.

There are also opportunities to compete and be part of a team, with students achieving great success at a high level.

The Chess Club is a welcoming space to learn, improve, and enjoy the game at your own pace.

Debating

Debating is an excellent way to develop confidence in communication skills and public speaking. It encourages students to both listen and respond clearly and fluently. Debating is an activity that develops critical thinking skills and argument construction skills. It enhances essay writing skills for subjects such as English and History, as well as communication skills that are vital in many career paths, such as law and politics.

Teamwork, an important life skill and valued in virtually all professions, is also enhanced through debating. Debating students have deep knowledge of, and passion for, current affairs and topical issues.

Debating is a co-curricular activity that is not only highly regarded by universities and employers alike, but also provides students with the opportunity to make new friends within the school, meet other students from competing schools and join a vibrant community that continues into university.

Public Speaking

Public Speaking aims to provide opportunities for students to develop their speech writing and speaking skills. Students will have the opportunity to audition for external competitions such as Rostrum, Junior Legacy, Sydney Morning Herald Plain English Speaking Competition and the Eastern Suburbs Public Speaking Competition. The school also runs the Soapbox program, where students have the opportunity to speak at the school assembly on a topic.

Creative Clubs

Dance

Dance at Sydney Girls High School is more than just an opportunity to perform - it is a place to grow in confidence, build teamwork skills, form lasting friendships, and have fun along the way.

With a range of options including junior and senior dance groups as well as open classes, there is something for everyone, no matter your experience level.

Students have the chance to perform each year at events such as “In the Spotlight” and the State Dance Festival, while our Company group also represents the school at the Sydney Eisteddfod. These experiences allow students to shine on stage, challenge themselves, and perform at their very best.

Drama

Drama at Sydney Girls High School offers a wide range of opportunities for students to explore their creativity, both in the classroom and through co-curricular activities.

Students can get involved in workshops, productions, camps, festivals, and both performance and technical ensembles, allowing them to experience all aspects of theatre. Whether on stage or behind the scenes, there is something for everyone.

As an art form, drama brings ideas to life through performance. It encourages collaboration, creativity, and the sharing of perspectives, helping students to better understand the world around them while expressing their own voice.

Throughout the year, students have many opportunities to showcase their work, including regular performances, the Junior Drama Twilight Showcase, and Open Night. These events celebrate student talent and provide a chance to perform for the wider school community.

Music

The co-curricular Music program at Sydney Girls High School offers a wide range of vocal and instrumental opportunities for all students. With ensembles catering to different styles and experience levels, there is something for everyone, and all students are encouraged to get involved.

Students also have the opportunity to learn an instrument of their choice, with support from experienced music staff, access to rehearsal spaces, and some selected instruments are provided by the school.

Music ensembles are a vibrant part of school life, giving students the chance to connect with others, build confidence, and enjoy making music together. Joining the choir is a particularly accessible way to get involved - no prior vocal training is required, just a willingness to participate and have a go.

Sporting Clubs

Badminton

Badminton has become an increasingly popular co-curricular activity at Sydney Girls High School, with a strong and growing club of over 50 students.

The season runs from mid-term 1 through to the end of Term 3, giving students plenty of time to develop their skills and enjoy the game.

Open to students from Years 7 to 12, badminton welcomes players of all experience levels from complete beginners to more advanced competitors. With supportive coaching and a focus on participation, the only requirements are enthusiasm, commitment, and a willingness to get involved.

Basketball

Basketball at Sydney Girls High School is a long-standing and thriving co-curricular program, running for nearly three decades. Its popularity continues to grow, offering students from all year groups the chance to participate in weekly training sessions and games.

Currently, the program fields 15 teams - around 125 students - competing on Friday nights in the City of Sydney Basketball Association (CSBA) competitions at Alexandria. CSBA is a not-for-profit community organisation that attracts players from across the east, south-east, inner city, and inner west, giving SGHS students the chance to compete in a vibrant and diverse sporting community.

Table Tennis

Table Tennis started small back in 2008, but it has quickly become one of the school’s most popular co-curricular clubs. Each year, more students join, making it a fun, buzzing community where everyone can enjoy the game.

To keep up with growing numbers, the club has extra tables and racquets, all provided by the school - though students are welcome to bring their own if they like. Whether you are a beginner or already have some skills, Table Tennis is a great way to have fun, stay active, and meet friends.

Fencing

Fencing is open for everyone, but not your everyday sport and a really unique part of the co-curricular program at SGHS.
Students get to move fast, react quickly, and plan their next move all at the same time. In the program, they practice footwork and technique while building important skills like focus and strategy.

Fencing is exciting and both physically and mentally challenging. And a great opportunity for SGHS students to push themselves and try something new.

Sydney Girls High is one of the few girls’ schools in NSW and Australia to offer Fencing as a co-curricular sport for their students and often has a team competing in the National School Fencing Championships.

Netball

Netball is a hugely popular sport at Sydney Girls High School, with over 15 teams and around 140 students playing each week across all year groups.

With so many teams, there is a place for everyone - whether you are an experienced player or picking up a netball for the first time. It is a fantastic way to stay active, make new friends, and be part of the school’s vibrant co-curricular community.

Rowing

Rowing is a fun and rewarding sport that keeps you fit, strong, and activ. All while building close friendships through teamwork. Being part of a crew gives you a sense of belonging and camaraderie that lasts both on and off the water.

Out on the water, rowing is exciting and challenging. Training camps help improve the student's skills and bond as a team, while regattas bring out everyone’s competitive spirit. Along the way, students also learn the important principles of safe boating.

Rowing is not just about sport. It also teaches motivation, goal setting, commitment, and time management, skills that help students succeed in all areas of school and life.

Volleyball

Volleyball at Sydney Girls High School is a fast-growing and popular sport, with many students currently involved across all year groups. The program is full of energy and enthusiasm, welcoming players of all abilities, and continues to evolve to give everyone the best possible experience on and off the court.

Hockey

Hockey is a fun and engaging team sport that builds teamwork, leadership, confidence, and self-discipline. It’s a great way to make new friends while enjoying either a competitive or social game.

The sport is excellent for fitness, helping to improve endurance, agility, balance, and coordination. Safe, internationally played, and relatively affordable, hockey offers students the chance to represent their school, club, or even aspire to play at state, national, or overseas levels.

Water Polo

Water Polo at Sydney Girls High School is a fast-paced, fun team sport that is perfect for anyone eager to learn new skills. No prior experience is needed to join. It is also a great way to meet and interact with students across different year groups.

The sport runs throughout the year, but if you can not compete every term, it is absolutely fine to just attend training or rejoin when you can. There are usually three teams - Year 7, Junior, and Senior - each competing in their respective divisions, giving everyone a chance to play at a level that suits them.

Interest Clubs

Art Club

The Art Club provides a fantastic avenue for girls to extend and enrich their Visual Arts experiences. Membership to this club allows girls opportunities to develop new skills in artmaking practice and extend their creative processes and outcomes while working in a studio practice. Art Club is conducted by qualified art educators and/or artists.

Astronomy

The Astronomy Club meets each Thursday throughout the year. We have consistent numbers of about thirty students attending. In a world that is increasingly looking at space travel, tourism and technology there has never been a better time to get interested in Astronomy.

Some of the highlights of the Astronomy Club calendar are the Egg Drop Competition, the Rocket Launch, Open Night, space themed movie nights and excursions to places like Google to learn about software engineering, Macquarie University to look at careers and research in Astronomy and with NASA and the Sydney Observatory to use their telescope and planetarium.

Book Club

Students attend Book Club each week meet with other book worms to chat about their favourite books both past and present. As a group, they choose a book to read concurrently so that they can discuss the themes, characters, and events in the story. Book Club members also review new books that are on offer and help to decide which books to obtain for the school library.

Coding Club

Code Club provides students with the opportunity to extend their skills in computer coding. Students work in groups or individually on projects or online tutorials in the language that interests them, such as Python, C for programming Arduino microcontrollers, and HTML for web development. We also have workshops with guest tutors from UNSW who provide fun and challenging activities.

Film Club

Film club provides the participating students with the opportunity to learn basic film making skills. They will be trained in the use of numerous film-making resources such as iPads, video cameras, 3 dimensional cameras, green screen and drones. They will also learn how to make use of video editing software such as iMovie and Adobe Premiere as well as being able to live stream video for live events.

Students will record school events such as school assemblies, ceremonies and carnivals and conduct interviews of teachers and students to produce videos that they can share with the school community. They will use the skills and techniques that they develop to produce their own short films to enter student film competitions throughout the year.

Knitting in Company

All students are invited to participate in Knitting in Company. This group provides students with an opportunity to learn to knit or crochet. Students will be able to create their own projects or contribute knitted squares that will then be made into blankets to be donated to those in need.

Students share the fun of being engaged in a relaxing activity in the company of like-minded people. The students enjoy catching up with friends, or meeting people from other Years. It is a good change of activity after a busy day of concentrating in class.

Mathmatics Enrichment Club

Sydney Girls High School in partnership with UNSW runs a Mathematics Enrichment Club during Terms 2 and 3. The club aims to encourage mathematical understanding and appreciation among students from Years 9 to 12. Each session is led by tutors from UNSW and focuses on the solution of interesting and challenging problems using a variety of problem solving techniques. These problems are typically more complex than questions students face in the normal classroom setting and often require significant determination, creativity, collaboration and time.

This is a terrific opportunity suitable for students who enjoy the challenge of solving complex mathematical problems. Due to the difficult nature of the problems involved, it is most suited to students in Years 9 to 12.

Mock Trial

Each year Sydney Girls High School enters the Law Society of NSW Mock Trial Competition. The team is usually made up of senior students with the cast of speaking roles rotated throughout the course of the year.

The competition provides students with an opportunity to match wits with a range of schools across the state. Most trials take place in person but trials will occasionally occur virtually because of the tyranny of distance. For each trial six students are allocated speaking roles as either a barrister, a solicitor, a witness or a clerk. Those roles each require particular skill sets, so a benefit of participating in Mock Trial is the opportunity for students to work together with a wide range of their peers.

The Mock Trial competition allows students to refine and demonstrate their skills in a wide range of areas including: critical thinking; logical reasoning; strategic questioning and presentation.

Robotics

Our Robotics team design and build robots to compete in the First Tech Challenge which is held in December of each year. The team need to construct and code their robot to meet the requirements for the challenge which changes each year. No prior skills are necessary to join the Robotics team, just a desire to problem solve and learn new skills!

Puzzle Club

SGHS team claims NSW Puzzle Crown.

Our incredible puzzle team took Sydney Girls High School to the top at the NSW Interschool Puzzle Competition. They smashed a 500 piece jigsaw in just 32 minutes 21 seconds, clinching first place in the 2025 State Showdown.
Now they are heading to the National Competition. Huge congratulations to our puzzle champs.

Scrabble Club

Scrabble Club is a vibrant gathering that celebrates language, strategy, and friendship. At Scrabble Club, each tile becomes a potential masterpiece, and every word is a journey of exploration. The thrill of forming meaningful words from a random assortment of letters ignites the creative spark in every participant. As the tiles fall into place, friendships are forged through shared laughter, strategic manoeuvres, and the joy of intellectual engagement. Beyond the game board, Scrabble Club nurtures essential skills. From honing vocabulary to enhancing critical thinking and spatial reasoning, players discover the power of words as a tool for personal growth. Scrabble Club isn't just a gathering; it's a community of individuals united by their love for language. It's a place where scrabble enthusiasts exchange stories, strategies, and the joy of mastering new words.

Try it once and you’ll be hooked.

Shakespeare Carnival

We have an athletic carnival, we have a swimming carnival, why don’t we have a Shakespeare carnival? Sport for Jove’s Shakespeare Carnival is an opportunity for students all around NSW to engage in Shakespeare’s timeless plays and concepts in new innovative ways.

Students have the choice to stick to Shakespearean tradition with duologue and ensemble scenes, or re-present Shakesperean plays, themes and ideas through short films, playbuilt pieces, dance and physical theatre. The Carnival has it all.

The Shakespeare carnival presents Shakespeare in a way rarely approached through school curriculum English and Drama, encouraging students to step into Shakespeare’s shoes and embrace their creativity.

The Shakespeare Carnival develops communication, collaboration and playbuilding skills amongst its participants, nuanced theatre and performance skills. And not to mention, it makes a wonderful show for the rest of us.

Social Justice Group

The Social Justice Group provides opportunities for students to collaborate and develop impactful campaigns that raise awareness about a diverse range of social justice causes.

Formulating campaigns that confront issues such as systemic racial discrimination, religious intolerance, unjust treatment of refugees, mental and human costs of the fast fashion industry, this is a student-led group which creates informative resources that empower the school community to address social injustices, and encourages broad involvement from students across all Year groups. In addition to developing their own campaigns, the group has also contributed to established organisations such as the Asylum Seekers Centre and Share the Dignity and have shared petitions that seek to defend human rights from Amnesty International. Students’ committed participation in this group underlines the importance of encouraging younger generations to speak up and engage with social justice issues.

Sustainability Club

Sustainability Club is a fun and engaging way to learn about how to take care of our environment and engage in teamwork, cooperation and friendships over different Year groups. We hold meetings once a week to discuss our goals and plan events. Our group is divided into 4 smaller sections: Individual action, climate action, waste management and flora and fauna. Each of these groups focuses on a different aspect on how we can incorporate sustainability into our everyday lives and the club collectively come together to make our school as environmentally friendly as possible and spread the importance of self action.

Our future goals are introducing a compost system for organic waste, updating and maintaining the veggie beds and setting up bee hotels around the school. Hopefully, we will be able to establish more positive initiatives like these and continue to support our goals.