She was the oldest daughter of Reverend Charles Badham and his first wife, Julia Matilda (née Smith).

Although women were not allowed to attend university, she studied all the subjects on the arts course and became so proficient that she helped her father in his work and corrected examination papers alongside him.

In particular, she focused on the teaching of classical languages such as Latin and Greek; however, the curriculum also included a wide variety of courses.

A kindergarten was opened in 1900, and the school moved again to larger premises at Barham, Forbes Street.

[3] Badham's views on education and social thinking have been described as conservative; for example, she was an anti-suffragist (arguing against women's right to vote in The Brisbane Courier in 1895), and argued that motherhood and marriage were the highest developments of women's nature, a theme her schooling instilled into its pupils.