Homebush Boys High School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Homebush Boys High School
Homebush Boys High School Crest
Recte et Fortiter
(Latin:"With Courage and Integrity")
Established 1936
School type Public, Secondary, Single-sex, Day school
Principal/
Headmaster		 Dr. Ian Paterson
Location Homebush, New South Wales, Australia Flag of Australia
Coordinates 33°51′58″S 151°4′37″E / -33.86611, 151.07694Coordinates: 33°51′58″S 151°4′37″E / -33.86611, 151.07694
Campus Suburban
Enrolment ~1,208 (7-12)[1]
School colours Maroon & Sky Blue         
Homepage www.homebushbo-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

Homebush Boys High School, founded in 1936, is a comprehensive, public high school for boys, located in Homebush, an Inner Western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Homebush Boys is regarded as one of the academically best-performing comprehensive schools, and has, in the past, been ranked above selective schools on the Higher School Certificate results[2].

It has over the years produced some of Australia's most successful people. It is very common for students to enter into the areas of economics, law, commerce, finance, banking and accounting upon graduation[3].

The school has an enrolment of approximately 1200 students, fluctuating from year to year. The students and staff come from diverse backgrounds and many of them live outside the area[4] . This is unusual for a public school and can be viewed as a plus for the school's reputation.

Contents

[edit] Curriculum

The school has nine faculties, being English, Mathematics, Science, Social Science, History, Music, Languages, Art, industrial art, and PD/H/PE. Together they offer a large variety of subjects with a range of difficulty levels.

The 2003 Fellowship report noted that students at the school had much higher rates of literacy than the average in the state, and that the proportion of students in the upper achievement bands increased with each year of attendance. It described this as "a remarkable achievement for a school where 85% of the boys come from a non-English-speaking background." [2]

Homebush Boys is a consistent achiever in the Higher School Certificate (HSC) outcome, averaging 5-10 students achieving the Premier's Award every year. In 2004, a student became the first Homebush Boy to score 100 Universities Admission Index (UAI). In the following year, 7 students were awarded the Premier's Award. Since then it has been usual for the top 30% of the students to score in the high 90's.[citation needed]

[edit] School Certificate

The School Certificate curriculum is designed for Years 7 to 10.

Compulsory subjects at Homebush Boys High for Year 7 to 8 to meet the requirements of School Certificate are:

English Mathematics Science Geography History
Languages Physical Education Music Design and Technology Visual Arts

For Years 9 to 10, students choose two electives and only have to do the first five subjects above. Electives that are offered in 2006 were as follows:

Aborginal Studies Chinese Commerce Electronics Food Technology
Graphics Technology History Extension Industrial Technology Information and Software Technology Photography
Physical Activity and Sports Studies Visual Arts

[edit] Higher School Certificate

For Years 11 to 12, students must choose English plus at least eight other units as part of the Higher School Certificate. All subjects are worth two units unless stated. The following subjects are offered at Homebush Boys High as of 2007:

English Fundamentals [1 Unit] English as Second Language (ESL) English Standard English Extension 1 [1 Unit] English Extension 2 [1 Unit]
General Mathematics Mathematics Mathematics Extension 1 [1 Unit] Mathematics Extension 2 [1 Unit] -
Ancient History Modern History Biology Chemistry Physics
Business Studies Economics Legal Studies Chinese French
Engineering Studies Information Processes and Technology Information and Technology (VET): Certificate II Photo Video Digital [1 Unit] Software Design and Development
Hospitality Industrial Technology Multimedia Industrial Technology Timber Music Visual Arts
Sport Life and Recreation [1 Unit] Studies of Religion I [1 Unit]

[edit] Extra-curricular activities

  • Drum Corps - The drum corps participates in the annual Burwood march, the ANZAC march through the streets of Sydney City, the Sandakan service at Burwood and reserve forces day.
  • Chess Team - The school offers senior, intermediate and junior chess teams which participate every Friday afternoon against other schools in the area.
  • Debate Team
  • Mock UN
  • Public Speaking - The school offers various opportunities for students to hone their public speaking skills. Examples include the Toastmasters challenge that the school participates in annually.
  • Tournament of the Minds

[edit] Sporting achievements and opportunities

The school has always been a stronghold of the rugby codes with many former pupils going on to play at senior levels. In 1965 the school won the NSW state rugby union schools knockout championship the Waratah Shield.[citation needed]

The table tennis team in 2006 were the undefeated champions in the state knockout competition, defeating James Ruse Agricultural High School, 4-0, in the finals. They also went on to represent NSW at the Australian Schools Table Tennis Championships in Melbourne. They were undefeated in the open teams category and finished 2nd in the mixed school category.[citation needed]

[edit] Notable alumni

Some notable alumnus of Homebush Boys High School include:

Administration
Arts
Politics and Law
  • Bohdan Bilinsky - Lawyer and legal academic, Fellow of Senate, University of Sydney[7]
  • Bob Debus - Former NSW politician, state attorney-general and environment minister [8]
  • Roderick Howie - Lawyer and jurist; judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales [8]
  • Jim Lloyd - former Federal minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads (from 2004)[citation needed]
Science and Education
Sport

Philip Hughes: NSW and Australian Cricketer. Selected in the 2007 Cricket World Cup

[edit] Notorious alumni

[edit] Notable former staff

  • Dave Anderson - Australian Olympic oarsman in 1952 and 1956. Rowed King's Cup 1950, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57; Henley 1952; New Zealand 1951; and was in winning coxed-4s crew at Empire Games, 1954
  • Darrel Chapman - Academic, former captain South Sydney DRLFC and member Australian rugby league teams[citation needed]
  • Vincent Durick - Maths teacher; MLA for Lakemba, 1964-84, deceased 1996. [5]
  • Jack "Pug" Mason - Sports master and rugby coach in the 1950 and 1960s - coached Waratah Shield winning side (1965). Father of 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics silver medallist and 1958, 1962 and 1966 Commonwealth Games medallist, high jumper Michelle Brown[citation needed]
  • Peter Philpott - NSW and Australian test cricketer, leg-spin bowler and right-hand batsman[citation needed]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Homebush Boys High School. School Locator. New South Wales Department of Education and Training (2007). Retrieved on 2007-11-08.
  2. ^ Board of Studies 2006 ‘HSC Report – Top schools in each region’, The Board of Studies, 23 December 2006.
  3. ^ Williams L. 2007, ‘Excellence in Boys Education’, Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday, 27 March 2004.
  4. ^ Homebush Boys High School Website ‘Welcome and Prospectus’, http://www.homebushbo-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=41&Itemid=82.
  5. ^ Biogaphical data at University of Western Sydney
  6. ^ Homebush Boys High School Magazine 1961 and [1]
  7. ^ Register, Fellows of the S.U. Senate
  8. ^ a b Swearing in Ceremony of The Honourable Roderick Neil Howie QC. Lawlink Transcript. The Supreme Court of New South Wales. Retrieved on 2008-04-29.
  9. ^ Howard, Amanda (2007-05-30). Wade Frankum. The Rampages. The Crime Web. Retrieved on 2007-09-24.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links