Kilvington Grammar School traces its origins back to 1922 when Phyllis Fethers employed the services of a young woman called Constance Barrett as a tutor for her children. As more children joined the group, it became apparent that there was a need for a school in the Ormond area. Constance enlisted the experience of her mother, a qualified educationist, and together they established Ormond Girls' School, with thirteen students on 19 June 1923. Finding a permanent residence for the Ormond School proved difficult, and after several moves the Barrett women decided to purchase a vacant block of land and build. Constance successfully negotiated a sizeable bank loan to fund the new school. The school was built in Walsh St, close to its current site and was officially opened as Kilvington Girls' Grammar in 1929. The School was named after another of a similar name in England. Enrolment numbers improved at the new site, and in 1948 the school was sold to the Baptist Union, where it was subsequently renamed Kilvington Baptist Girls' Grammar School. To accommodate further growth, Kilvington moved to its much larger current site in 1955. The principal, Jon Charlton, announced in June 2010 that from 2011 the school would become coeducational. The decision was a controversial one, and some parents threatened to withdraw their daughter's enrolment from the school. Kilvington Grammar School has recently completed two new buildings since its change to a co-ed, independent school; the Middle School Centre for Excellence and the VCE Study Centre. In 2017, it will commence building a Sport Centre.
Principals
Education Program
The Character Initiative
In 2016, Kilvington launched The Character Initiative. As one of the key pillars of a Kilvington education, the School has developed a framework to help students develop key character traits so that they can flourish in and out of the classroom and the future. These are taught explicitly through a sophisticated program across the entire school – from ELC to Year 12.
Kilvington Grammar is committed to the Growth Mindset theory, developed by Stanford University Professor, Carol Dweck, which is intelligence is not set and that with effort and dedication, intelligence can be grown as the brain continues to develop over the course of a student's life.
Music
Kilvington Grammar School has a diverse music culture, which includes the Kilvington Orchestra, Kilvington Madrigals, Kilvington Choir, String Orchestra and many chamber and instrumental ensembles. Kilvington Madrigals came second in the 2006 ABC Youth Choir of the Year competition. A select few from the madrigal group also partook in a music festival in Chengdu, China in early 2007. They helped raise money for the welfare and preservation of the giant panda. In 2009 the madrigals small group, participated in the Festival of Voices in Hobart, Tasmania and had recent success at the Ballarat Royal Southstreet Competitions with placings in all categories.
Sport
Kilvington offers a large sporting program, including sports such as football, Association Soccer, swimming, netball and hockey. Previously a member of Girls Sport Victoria, Kilvington is now a member of the E.I.S.M. and competes against 21 other school in weekly sports competitions and carnivals for swimming, cross country running and athletics.
House system
As with most Australian schools, Kilvington utilises a house system through which students participate in inter-house competitions. The four school houses are:
