Miss Eveline Brownlie B.A. was appointed headmistress in place of Miss Ironside. She took up her duties at Girton at the commencement of the second term towards the end of May 1921. She was a graduate of the University of Sydney and had had a wide experience of secondary schools in Australia, England, America and France. Her most recent appointment had been headmistress of the Casino Church of England Girls’ Grammar school in New South Wales. She had a particular interest in preparing girls for university examinations.
Later in 1921 Girton came under criticism from parents of pupils and also from the Education Department regarding the management of the school and its educational standards. In July Mr Akeroyd, the Government Inspector, visited the school and gave an adverse report on its activities. He suggested that the State should take over the School, reorganise it “on proper lines” and “conduct with the headmistress an annual written examination of the whole school.” The Girton Council kept the matter under review, but with the great improvement in standards and the tone of the School the following year, the suggestion of handing over to state control was dropped.
As the senior classes at Girton were very small, it became clear to Miss Brownlie that she should accept a position elsewhere at a school where there was a larger number of matriculation candidates. She resigned at the end of 1921.