Rossmoyne Senior High School

Rossmoyne Senior High School

Success Nourishes Hope
Location
Bull Creek, W.A
Australia  Australia
Coordinates 32°02′45″S 115°52′11″E / 32.045906°S 115.869777°E
Information
Type Public, co-educational, secondary day school
Established 1967
Principal Mrs. Leila Bothams (acting)
Enrolment 1709[1] (16 February, 2014)
Campus Suburban
Colour(s) Blue and White, Barra of MacNeil tartan
         
Website www.rossmoyne.wa.edu.au
Rossmoyne High School from oval
Main entrance and Administration area

Rossmoyne Senior High School, otherwise known as (RSHS) is a public high school in Western Australia. The school is located on Keith Road, Bull Creek, a southern riverside suburb of Perth, the state capital city.

History

Construction of Rossmoyne SHS commenced in 1967 on land that was owned by the Webb family who originally came from Scotland. It opened for students the following year (1968). The name Rossmoyne has no connection with the area but was thought to be suitable for marketing a subdivision in the area.[2] Over the years the student catchment areas for Rossmoyne SHS were from Lynwood, Willetton, Riverton, Shelley, Bull Creek,[3] Ferndale, southern end of Mount Pleasant, Booragoon and Brentwood. Now Rossmoyne SHS has restricted its intake to students from Rossmoyne, parts of Bull Creek[3] and Willetton, Riverton, Shelley, Brentwood and Bateman, although it also runs a GAT (Gifted And Talented) program for academically gifted students. Students from years eight to year ten in the gifted program are required to study a foreign language, with a choice of Chinese, German, French, and Japanese.[4]

A student tested positive for tuberculosis in 2007, causing the school to offer free screening to the rest of the student population. Information about the disease was also sent home to parents. No further students were reported of having the disease.[5]

A fire at the school caused A$500,000 worth of damage in 2008. The blaze destroyed a double demountable classroom with furniture and computer equipment, the arson squad were investigating the cause.[6]

Campus

The school is made up of several two storey buildings that together make an "H" shape. The administration block is on the northern side. English, Mathematics and Humanities & Social Sciences are on the blocks on the western side. Science, Home Economics, Woodwork, Metalwork and Arts are on the eastern side. Coming in from Keith Road, there is an oval where students have Physical Education classes. There is also the recently constructed Performing Arts Centre. At the southern side of the school there is a tennis court with basketball hoops, gymnasium and swimming pool. Underneath the gymnasium is the relatively new dance studio which has female and male changerooms. In the centre lies the assembly hall, canteen and the library.

The School is also currently undergoing extensive reconstruction with plans to rebuild the school entirely in Four Stages. The Science Building was recently completed to provide more rooms for the core subject of sciences. This block, along with the recently constructed Performing Arts Centre (PAC for short), is part of stage one of the Building Plan.

In 2012, Stage Two of the Building Plan was completed, which involved a new English and Languages block, a tiered Amphitheatre, a new cafeteria known as "Pereira's Cafe" and an extension of the Performing Arts Centre. On the other side of the school an international-sized soccer field was laid out on the land that was formerly occupied by the aging demountable buildings. A Health and Wellbeing Centre was built in 2013 which is considered an extension to the Gymnasium.

Other than these new buildings, Current Visual Arts Classrooms (Room 50 and 53) were converted to normal classrooms and there was landscaping to the new courtyards. A Selection Panel consisting of parents, community and school representatives has selected an artist who has been commissioned to design and install art works for the new building: including an extensive feature screen on the proposed colonnade connecting the new buildings.[7]

As of 2013, construction of Stage Three is now underway, which involves a new building for Year Sevens in anticipation of their move from primary to high school in 2015. It is due for completion in the August - October time period.

Academic

In 2001, the school was named The Australian newspaper's School Of The Year,[8] beating one of the country's most exclusive private schools - Methodist Ladies' College in Melbourne. The newspaper reported:

"The school has the strongest Tertiary Entrance Examination result of any government school in Western Australia. It also boasts an outstanding reputation in music, and has trumped the state championships in athletics for the past 16 years. That high level of overall achievement was why Rossmoyne was selected by a panel of six education experts for inclusion in our series."

The school has produced three Rhodes scholars: Grant Donaldson (1985), Ian Reid (1988) and Craig Wood (1999).[9]

In the 2009 Western Australian Tertiary Entrance Examinations, Rossmoyne SHS had more students with a tertiary entrance rank of 99.95%, the highest possible rank, than any other school in the state.[10]

The school has performed consistently well in the WACE school rankings and is often the best performing amongst all of the public schools in the state.

Year % +75 in WACE[lower-roman 1] State ranking[lower-roman 2] % +65 in WACE[lower-roman 3] State ranking % graduation[lower-roman 4]
2014 19.11 17 46.22 18 99.16[11]
2013 17.63 13 44.85 15 98.88[12]
2012 21.61 13 51.54 13 96.67[13]
2011 22.41 14 55.34 20 98.77[14]
2010 21.18 16 56.91 23 99.05[15]
2009 14 14 90.59[16]
  1. ↑ Based on the number of Stage 3 course enrolments in the school where a WACE course score of 75 or above was achieved
  2. ↑ Ranking of school compared to other schools in the state
  3. ↑ Based on the number of Stage 3 course enrolments in the school where a WACE course score of 65 or above was achieved
  4. ↑ Percentage of Year 12 cohort that graduated with a WACE certificate

Administration

Rossmoyne Senior High School's acting principal is Paul Leech, who was appointed from mid-Term 4, 2013 to the end of 2014. Predecessor Leila Bothams was seconded to a temporary position in the Department of Education. Bothams will resume her role as principal at the end of 2014.

Assisting the principal are three Assistant Principals, for two year groups each. Peter Klifunis is the Assistant Principal for Years 7 and 8, Pat Young for Years 9 and 10, and Ann Patrick for Years 11 and 12.

Below them is the Student Services team, which consists of five year coordinators - one each for Years 8 - 12 - one nurse, two chaplains and one psychologist. There is also an Education Assistance team which is a subset of Student Services, to assist educationally disadvantaged students.

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. ↑ Education Department of Western Australia, Alphabetical List of Western Australian Schools
  2. ↑ Western Australian Land Information Authority. "History of metropolitan suburb names". Retrieved 25 May 2007.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Western Australian Land Information Authority. "History of metropolitan suburb names". Retrieved 8 July 2011.
  4. ↑ Rossmoyne Senior High School 2010 Year 8 Curriculum, available at http://www.rossmoyne.wa.edu.au/Portals/0/docs/Curriculum/Year%208%202010%20Curriculum%20Handbook.pdf
  5. ↑ "Student tests positive to tuberculosis". 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  6. ↑ "Fire causes extensive damage to Perth high school". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 18 December 2008. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  7. ↑ , Building Development - Stage 2.
  8. ↑ "Rossmoyne High School wins prestigious national award". Government Media Office. 4 December 2001. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
  9. ↑ "Western Australian Rhodes Scholars". Retrieved 16 May 2010.
  10. ↑ Hiatt, B. (2010) "Top TEE students put school in a class of its own" Available online at: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/6647566/top-tee-students-put-school-in-a-class-of-its-own/
  11. ↑ "Year 12 Student Achievement Data" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  12. ↑ "Year 12 Student Achievement Data" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
  13. ↑ "Year 12 Student Achievement Data" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  14. ↑ "Year 12 Student Achievement Data" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  15. ↑ "Year 12 Student Achievement Data" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  16. ↑ "Year 12 Student Achievement Data" (PDF). Government of Western Australia. 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2013.

External links