North Sydney Girls High School

North Sydney Girls' High School
Latin: Ad Altiora
Towards Higher Things
Location
Crows Nest, New South Wales
Australia Australia
Coordinates 33°49′49″S 151°12′12″E / 33.83028°S 151.20333°ECoordinates: 33°49′49″S 151°12′12″E / 33.83028°S 151.20333°E
Information
Type Public, Selective, Single-sex, Secondary, Day school
Established 1914
Principal David Tomlin
Years offered 7-12
Enrolment ~923[1]
Campus Urban
Colour(s) Navy Blue, Green and White
              
Website www.northsydgi-h.schools.nsw.edu.au

North Sydney Girls' High School (NSGHS) is an academically selective, public high school for girls, located in Crows Nest, on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Established in 1914,[2] the school currently caters for approximately 930 students from Years 7 to 12. Admission is based entirely on academic results through the Selective High Schools Test undertaken by students in Year 6.

The school is celebrating its centenary in 2014 with a series of special events which commenced with a centenary assembly on 18 February 2014 at which a memorial plaque was unveiled by New South Wales Governor Her Excellency Marie Bashir. The school has chosen the theme "Nurture, Support, Give" for its centenary to complement its acronym "NSG". A major part of the centenary is a fundraising campaign being run by the students' Charities Council to support the North East Rusalpur School in Bangladesh which an existing relationship with the school. In 2004, during the 90th anniversary, students at North Sydney Girls High School raised money to help build the Bangladeshi school.

Other key events in the centenary are the Old Girls' Union High Tea (5 April 2014), Charities Day (16 May 2014), Centenary Festival Day (17 May 2014), Centenary Gala Music Concert at the Chatswood Concourse (25 June 2014) and Presentation Day at the Sydney Town Hall (15 December 2014).

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

History

North Sydney Girls' High School prior to opening, January 1914

North Sydney Girls' High School was officially founded in 1914 with an enrolment of 194 students. The school was originally located on the corner of Hazelbank Road and Pacific Highway (where Bradfield Senior College is now situated). By the 1980s, it was felt that the site could no longer meet the needs of the school, and years of intense lobbying for improved facilities followed. When the New South Wales Government decided to close Crows Nest Boys' High, the facility was transferred to North Sydney Girls'. In December 1993, North Sydney Girls' High officially moved to its current location, following a $6 million building and renovations project.[4]

Facilities

School gardens.

Current facilities include a newly renovated library with five innovations rooms, multi-purpose hall, gymnasium, language laboratory, music studio, five computer laboratories, science laboratories, art rooms, darkroom, workshops, textiles and food technology rooms, drama and music rooms and netball, basketball and tennis courts.

Many of the plaques from Crows Nest Boys' High can still be seen around the school, particularly in the upper B block.

Academics

Enrolments

North Sydney Girls' is an academically selective high school; admission to the school for Year 7 is determined by results in the Selective High Schools test, which is open to all Year 6 students in NSW. A small number of students from other high schools are accepted into years 8 to 12, with applications made to the school to sit for an entrance exam.

Award system

At North Sydney Girls' High School, awards are given based on academic performance in the senior school.

Academic results

The school performs well in public examinations, and in recent years has been placed as the leading girls' school in New South Wales in the Higher School Certificate (HSC) examinations. Annually, at least 30% of Year 12 students achieve places in the top 1% of HSC.[5]

Curriculum

North Sydney Girls' High School is registered and accredited with the New South Wales Board of Studies, and therefore follows the mandated curriculum for all years.

In Years 7 and 8, NSGHS students complete studies in Mathematics, English, Science, History, Geography, Music, Visual Arts, Technological & Applied Studies (TAS), Languages (French, German, Japanese, Latin, Mandarin), and Personal Development/Health/Physical Education and a subject unique to NSGHS called Innovations. Students in Year 7 complete one language each semester, and in Year 8 must select their preferred language to complete throughout the year.[6]

Year 9 and 10 students undertake English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography and Personal Development/Health/Physical Education (PDHPE), which are mandatory subjects according to the New South Wales Syllabus. Students must also choose three electives from Music, Dance, Visual Arts, Photographic and Digital Media, Languages (French, German, Japanese, Latin, Mandarin), Drama, Design and Technology, Food Technology, Textiles and Design, Information Software and Technology, Information Processes and Technology, Commerce, Philosophy, Elective History, and Elective Geography.[7]

The focus of Year 11 and 12 studies is the NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC) exam that is undertaken upon the completion of Year 12. The only mandatory subject at this stage is English (Advanced), and students may then choose up to 13 units from a list of elective subjects.[8]

Co- and extracurricular activities

NSGHS offers a diverse range of extracurricular activities.

Music and drama
Sport and outdoor activity
Charity and community
Leadership and public speaking

North Sydney Girls High School also holds annual Junior and Senior dances with North Sydney Boys High School.

Notable alumnae

Academic

Entertainment, media and the arts

Politics, public service and the law

Business

Sport

Principals

The school principals have been:[29]

Years Principal
1914–1923 Janette Grossman
1924–1937 Ida Slack
1938–1941 Lilian Geer
1942–1949 Vera Howard
1950–1955 Elizabeth Booth
1956–1958 Edith Kane
1959–1962 Jessie Simons
1963–1968 Dorothy Dey
1969–1976 Joan Morris
1976–1982 Shirley Hokin
1982–1986 Joan Whittaker
1987–1990 Betty Anderson
1990–1996 Isobel Seivl
1997–2005 Louise Robert-Smith
2006–2012 Meredith Ash
2012–present David Tomlin

Notes

  1. PLC Melbourne
  2. SCEGGS Darlinghurst
  3. MLC Melbourne
  4. PLC Sydney
  5. Abbotsleigh School for Girls
  6. Mac.Robertson Girls' High School
  7. North Sydney Girls' High School
  8. Sydney Girls High School
  9. MLC Sydney
  10. University High School, Melbourne

See also

References

  1. ↑ "North Sydney Girls High School". School Locator. NSW Public Schools. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
  2. ↑ As the school historian pointed out in History of NSGHS, the correct year of commencement was in fact 1912 when classes were temporarily formed at North Sydney Superior Public School in Miller Street
  3. ↑ Walker, Frank (2001-07-22). "The ties that bind". Sunday Life (The Sun-Herald). p. 16. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
  4. ↑ "History of NSGHS". North Sydney Girls High School. Retrieved 2008-08-28.
  5. ↑ "Academic Excellence". North Sydney Girls High School. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  6. ↑ "Years 7 & 8". North Sydney Girls' High School. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  7. ↑ "Years 9 & 10". North Sydney Girls' High School. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  8. ↑ "Years 11 & 12 HSC". North Sydney Girls' High School. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  9. ↑ "Cossart, Yvonne". University of Sydney Medical School. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "NSW Rhodes Scholars"—University of Sydney list, (retrieved 16 April 2007)
  11. ↑ p. 1179 Who's Who in Australia 2011
  12. ↑ "Daphne Anne Kok". University of Sydney. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  13. ↑ Annable, Rosemary (2000). "Nicol, Phyllis Mary (1903 - 1964)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. p. 478. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  14. ↑ NSGHS LC 1959
  15. ↑ "Joan Bazell". The Daily Telegraph (London). 2009-02-24.
  16. ↑ "Ruth Cracknell". The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  17. ↑ "Biography for Nathalie Kelley". The Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  18. ↑ "Nicole Kidman". Hollywood Pulse. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  19. ↑ "Samantha LANG" (PDF). Cherub Pictures.
  20. ↑ http://www.ceridwendovey.com/
  21. ↑ Who's Who in Australia 2011 page 1050
  22. ↑ http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/lawlink/supreme_court/ll_sc.nsf/vwFiles/McCallum300108.pdf/$file/McCallum300108.pdf
  23. ↑ "Wake, Nancy Grace Augusta (1912-)". Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Australia. National Centre for Australian Studies. 2005. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  24. ↑ Alafaci, Annette (2006). "Hancock, Shelley (1951 - )". Australian Women Biographical Entry. National Foundation for Australian Women. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  25. ↑ Sear, Martha (2002). "Propsting, Marjorie Gertrude Eleanor (1905 - 1972)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Melbourne University Press. pp. 36–37. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  26. ↑ http://www.dyesol.com/index.php?page=Board+Profile
  27. ↑ Elise Norwood
  28. ↑ "Meet the Quad". Australian U23 Women's Quad. Archived from the original on 2007-08-29. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
  29. ↑ This table was copied from a display plaque in the school office.

External links