North Sydney Boys High School

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North Sydney Boys High School
Vincit qui se vincit
(Latin:"He conquers who conquers self")
Established 1915
School type Public, Selective, Single-sex, Secondary, Day school
Principal/
Headmaster		 Robyn Hughes
Location Crows Nest, New South Wales, Australia Flag of Australia
Coordinates 33°49′46″S 151°12′27″E / -33.82944, 151.2075Coordinates: 33°49′46″S 151°12′27″E / -33.82944, 151.2075
Campus Suburban
Enrolment ~915 (7–12)[1]
School colours Bismark, Coral & Gold             
Homepage www.nsbhs.nsw.edu.au
North Sydney Boys High School front entrance
North Sydney Boys High School front entrance

North Sydney Boys High School is an academically selective, public high school for boys, located at Crows Nest in Sydney, Australia.

According to the school, North Sydney Boys was established in 1915, however the 'Old Boys' assert the school was actually begun off site in temporary classes in 1912.[citation needed] At the end of 1914, 89 boys transferred to the permanent home on the corner of Falcon Street and Miller Street, Crows Nest. A decision is pending on whether the Centenary will be celebrated in 2012 or 2015.[citation needed]

The school has a long history of academic excellence prompting renowned educationist Sir James Darling, Headmaster of Geelong Grammar School, to write that "North Sydney is the equal of, if not better than, any private school in Australia" (Good Weekend Magazine). [2] He was referring to a 'golden era' in the 1950s and 60s when school's students set numerous records in the published results of the old NSW Leaving Certificate.

North Sydney still performs well in Higher School Certificate results today. In the 2005, 2004 and 2003 NSW Higher School Certificate, North Sydney Boys was one of the top ranked boys school, and in 2004 had the 6th highest number of recipients of the Premier's 'All Rounders' Award in the state.[citation needed]

In 2001, The Sun-Herald ranked North Sydney Boys High School ninth in Australia's top ten boys' schools, based on the number of its alumni mentioned in the Who's Who in Australia (a listing of notable Australians).[3][a]

Contents

[edit] Building works

North Sydney Boys High School - AF Henry Hall interior
North Sydney Boys High School - AF Henry Hall interior

North Sydney Boys High School is undergoing a major capital building program funded by the State and Federal Governments. In DA1, completed in about 2003, the Keele Street Lawn area was acquired and refurbished. In DA2, completed in 2005, new tennis courts and other building works were carried out. A new building that includes music rehearsal spaces, visual art classrooms and design and technology workshops have been finished in term 4 of 2006 and students have moved into the new building, now named 'J Block'. A dedicated music computer lab is also available in the new building.

Development Application 7, or DA7, is also currently under investigation and planning which includes a new library building.

The school community also recently completed a major upgrade of the AF Henry Hall in 2005.

[edit] Curriculum

[edit] Departments

Teaching at North Sydney Boys High is divided amongst 10 departments, each teaching a variety of related Board of Studies endorsed subjects. The departments are:

NSBHS J Block
NSBHS J Block

[edit] Courses

While most courses operate as standard, acceleration is offered for Information Processes and Technology (IPT) and Software Design and Development (SDD), which allow these courses to be completed in Year 10 or 11.

[edit] Year 7

All students in Years 7 do the same subjects, which are English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Design & Technology, Visual Arts, Music, Languages (8 weeks each of: French, Indonesian, German, Japanese and Latin), and PD/H/PE.

[edit] Year 8

In Years 8 the core subjects (English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Design & Technology, PD/H/PE) remain mandatory, with students allowed to choose two elective subjects. They must continue to do DT but can choose one from VA, Music and Drama and then choose a language (Latin, Japanese, German, Indonesian, French, or they can choose to do two languages.

[edit] Years 9 & 10

In Years 9 & 10 the core subjects (English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, PD/H/PE) remain mandatory, with students allowed to choose three elective subjects (from Visual Arts, Music, Drama, Commerce, Classical Greek, Engineering Studies, French, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Latin, Design & Technology, Technics (Wood, Metal), Technical Drawing, PASS (Physical Activity and Social Science)).

[edit] Years 11 & 12

In Year 11 & 12, students are given a full range of subject choices in preparation for the HSC (with the exception of English, which is mandatory). The subjects offered are English (Advanced, Extension I & II), Mathematics (Advanced, Extension I & II), Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Economics, Business Studies, Legal Studies, Ancient History, Modern History, Geography, Classical Greek, French (Continuers), Japanese (Beginners, Continuers, Extension), German (Beginners, Continuers), Indonesian (Beginners, Continuers), Latin (Continuers, Extension), Music 1 & 2, Visual Arts, Drama, Photography, PD/H/PE, IPT and SDD.

[edit] Extracurricular activities

[edit] Sport

North Sydney Boys High School participates in sport against other schools in the Sydney North West Metropolitan Zone. The most popular sport is cricket.

Other extracurricular sporting activities include:

  • Falcon Sport (program of weekend sport)
  • Crawford Shield, an annual sporting and cultural exchange with Melbourne High School
  • Sports Carnivals (Cross Country, Swimming and Athletics Carnivals)

[edit] Outdoor education

An outdoor education program involving annual school camps is promoted as encouraging a 'Challenge by Choice' mentality. This program includes camps to:

  • Year 7 - Cataract Scout Park, with Year 11 Peer Support Leaders
  • Year 8 - Mount Seaview Farm and Agricultural Studies
  • Year 9 - Hawkesbury River Pack and Paddle
  • Year 10 - Barrington Tops Whitewater Kayaking, Kurrajong Road Trip, Kangaroo Valley Canoe Camp or Brisbane Waters Sailing Trip
  • Year 11 - Jindabyne Snow Camp, which is usually in conjunction with Burwood Girls High School

North Sydney Boys High School also encourages students to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.

[edit] Music and drama

North Sydney Boys High School is also home to a comprehensive and highly regarded jazz music education program. Performance groups from this program have toured internationally, and are regularly requested to play at a variety of public and private functions. The Big Band 1 was the equal first Australian school jazz band to be invited to perform at the annual International Association of Jazz Education conference in 2004. The jazz bands perform annually at the Merimbula Jazz Festival, on the New South Wales south coast.

Other music and drama related extracurricular activities include:

[edit] Leadership

  • Prefecture
  • Students Representative Council
  • Charities Committee
  • Peer Mediation dispute settlement Program, and the NSW Law Society Peer Mediation SCRAM Competition
  • Peer Support Program with Year 7 and 11

[edit] Enrichment

  • Debating in which North Sydney Boys High School has a strong tradition having won the Intermediate (Years 9 and 10) NSW Premier's Debating Challenge (in 2004 and 2005) and the Karl Kramp Debating Competition (in 2006)
  • Chess
  • Public Speaking Club with North Sydney Girls High School
  • Dance Group
  • Mock Trial

[edit] Student exchange

[edit] Other

Other extracurricular activities include:

  • The Dodo Magazine - A satirical student publication. It is edited by students and overseen by staff to censor unsuitable material. Originally founded by Micheal Koziol, Edward Robson and Richard Murphy.
  • Annual Yearbook Production named "The Falcon" magazine. This magazine is designed mainly by a group of students under the supervision of a teacher
  • Walk-a-Thon
  • Junior and Senior disco/dances with North Sydney Girls High School
  • Model Solar Car Challenge - Sunsprint
  • Chess Clubs
  • Inter-School Christian Fellowship with North Sydney Girls High School

[edit] Notable alumni

For a list of notable Old Falconians, see List of Old Falconians.

Former students of North Sydney Boys High School are known as 'Old Boys' or 'Old Falconians', and may elect to join the schools' alumni association, known as the 'Old Falconians’ Union' (OFU). The Union was founded over seventy-five years ago as a way to "promote goodwill fellowship amongst former students of and to provide financial and other support to the School".[4] The most famous of these is Allan Border who is currently the 3rd highest Test Run Scorer and the highest Australian Test Run Scorer.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

  1. ^ North Sydney Boys High School. School Locator. NSW Public Schools. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
  2. ^ Title of Good Weekend Magazine article is The Man Who Taught The Tycoons by Janet Hawley, senior feature writer at The Sydney Morning Herald. Exact quotation reads: "The school needs to have a soul of its own and that can only be preserved by Old Boy associations, father-to-son associations, and a few Mr Chips and assistant masters who are prepared to make the school their life. There is no earthly reason why the State school system cannot do all that, if it wanted to. Sadly, only the selective high schools had enough clout to do it - Melbourne High, North Sydney High, are just as good or better than any private school."
  3. ^ Walker, Frank. "The ties that bind", Sunday Life, The Sun-Herald, 2001-07-22, p. 16. Retrieved on 2007-09-18. 
  4. ^ The Old Falconians’ Union (PHP). Communities. North Sydney Boys High School (2006). Retrieved on 2007-09-25.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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Selective Schools of New South Wales, Australia
Fully Selective
Partially Selective
Selective Agricultural