All-girls Uniting Church Como, Perth Founded 1952

Penrhos College.

Uniting Church day and boarding girls' school in Como, founded in 1952 as Methodist Ladies' College South Perth and renamed Penrhos College in 1975 after a Welsh Methodist sister school.

Educatta is an independent tutoring provider. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Penrhos College. This page is general information for families only, compiled from publicly available sources.

Inside Penrhos

Penrhos was founded in 1952 as Methodist Ladies' College, South Perth. (Yes, the same denomination as MLC in Claremont; for some years there were two MLCs in Perth.) The Como campus opened in stages from the 1950s and developed into the substantial K-12 site it occupies today.

The school's own history records the name changing to Penrhos MLC in 1964 and to Penrhos College in 1975, with the school later coming under the Uniting Church after the 1977 union of the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational churches. The name was drawn from Penrhos College in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, established in 1880 by a Wesleyan Methodist minister for girls' education. The Welsh school merged with Rydal School in 1999 to form Rydal Penrhos, but its name lives on at the Como campus.

Penrhos serves around 1,100 girls from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12, with a boarding house for up to 100 girls in Years 7 to 12. The school has a non-selective enrolment policy. In its own reporting on the 2025 cohort, Penrhos said roughly one in three of its ATAR students scored 95 or above; in 2024 it reported 22% at 95+ and 16% between 90 and 95.

What Penrhos is known for

Personalised academic approach

Penrhos puts a long-standing emphasis on personalised learning paths through the senior school. The pedagogical approach is the school's main stated differentiator.

Strong ATAR results

Penrhos reported around a third of its 2025 ATAR students scoring 95 or above, and five courses in the state's top 15 in 2024. WA no longer publishes official school median ATARs, so any state ranking you see quoted elsewhere is a third-party estimate.

Boarding community

The Menai boarding house takes up to 100 girls in Years 7 to 12, mostly from regional WA. Boarding is integral to the senior school's culture.

Welsh heritage in name

The Welsh-origin name is unusual among Australian schools, and Penrhos maintains a small acknowledgement of that heritage in its identity (St David's Day, etc).

Things to consider

Penrhos isn't the right fit for every student. Here are the genuine tradeoffs to think through, drawn from publicly available information about the school.

Mid-sized cohort

At around 1,100 students Penrhos sits between MLC and PLC in size, with roughly 110 ATAR candidates a year. Subject offerings are broad but with less depth in less-common subjects than the largest schools carry.

Senior school fees

Fees are at the upper end of WA, comparable to other independents. Boarding adds a substantial second layer.

Single-sex environment

All-girls from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12. Interschool and combined events help socially, but the daily classroom is single-sex.

Uniting Church framing

Religious education and chapel-style events are part of the school. Worth understanding for non-Christian families.

The ATAR pathway at Penrhos

Penrhos girls take a broad pathway range. Most common: Pre-medicine (Methods + Chemistry + Human Bio + English), Health sciences (Methods or Apps + Chemistry + Human Bio + Psychology), Music + ATAR (Music + Methods + a science + English), and Law / Arts (Literature + History + a Language + Methods).

UWA and Curtin are the dominant tertiary destinations, with smaller streams to ECU and Notre Dame.

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From Penrhos to our Bentley centre

Penrhos is about 5 km from our Bentley centre, roughly a 7-minute drive. Many students travel together after school for late-afternoon classes, and the route through Como is straightforward.

Educatta near Penrhos College

Suburbs we serve near Penrhos College

Most Penrhos College students live in these suburbs. Pick yours to see drive times, local schools and pickup routes.

📍 Como 📍 Bentley 📍 Karawara 📍 Manning 📍 Waterford

Tutoring built for Penrhos students.

Small-group ATAR classes at our Bentley centre or live online, for the subjects Penrhos students are actually sitting. Free trial class, no card required.

Not affiliated. Educatta is an independent tutoring provider. We have no affiliation with, endorsement from, sponsorship by or connection to Penrhos College. The school name is used for identification and reference only. Nothing on this page is an offer made by or on behalf of the school. Details change — please confirm anything that matters with the school directly.

Information about Penrhos College drawn from publicly available sources: Penrhos College, Perth - Wikipedia, Penrhos College official site.

Penrhos College questions

Common questions from Penrhos College families

How far is Penrhos College from Educatta's centres?

Penrhos is about 5 km from our Bentley centre, roughly a 7-minute drive. Many students travel together after school for late-afternoon classes, and the route through Como is straightforward.

Does Educatta tutor the subjects Penrhos College students typically take?

Yes. Educatta tutors all the major ATAR subjects Penrhos College students are sitting: Mathematics Methods, Mathematics Applications, English, Chemistry, Physics, and Human Biology. Year 11 and 12 students from Penrhos College can attend small-group classes at our Bentley centre, or live online from anywhere in WA.

Can Penrhos College students attend Educatta classes after school?

Yes. Most of our weekly classes run between 4:00pm and 8:30pm on weekdays, with weekend slots also available. Penrhos College's school day finishes in time for students to arrive at our Bentley centre for after-school weekly classes.