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Penrith Selective High School

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Coordinates: 33°45′23″S 150°42′23″E / 33.75639°S 150.70639°E / -33.75639; 150.70639
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Penrith Selective High School
Location
Map
Penrith, New South Wales

Australia
Coordinates33°45′23″S 150°42′23″E / 33.75639°S 150.70639°E / -33.75639; 150.70639
Information
Former namesPenrith High School (1950–2011)
Penrith Academically Selective High School (2011–2016)
TypeSelective, public, day school
MottoTemplate:Lang-la
(Striving for the highest)
Established1950; 75 years ago (1950)
Educational authorityNew South Wales Department of Education
PrincipalMark Long
Enrolment922 (2018[1])
Campus typeSuburban
Colour(s)Sky blue, grey, yellow, black, white, and royal blue
      
Websitepenrith-h.schools.nsw.gov.au
Map

Penrith Selective High School (PSHS) is a government, co-educational, academically selective, secondary day school in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1950 and operated by the New South Wales Department of Education, the school caters for approximately 925 students from Year 7 to Year 12.[1]

Penrith Selective High School has consistently performed among the top schools in the Higher School Certificate (HSC).[2] The classes of 2010, 2017, and 2018 share the school's highest ranking at 27th in New South Wales, based on Higher School Certificate results.[3] In 2018, over 90 students received an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of over 90 and the median ATAR was 91.95.[4]

History

Penrith Selective High School was first opened in the 1930s as an intermediate school on the land adjacent to its current location (now Penrith Public School). During that time, Penrith Selective High School current location was occupied by a mansion known as The Towers. During the 1940s, the mansion and the land was sold to the Department of Education, who demolished the mansion and built Penrith High School, which was officially established in 1950.[5] The school became academically selective in 1989.[6]

Two of the original foundations of the mansion have been preserved and remain in the school grounds. Additionally, the original plaque commemorating the opening of Penrith Intermediate School has been transferred into the present school grounds, where it currently resides in the school's archives. In commemoration of The Towers mansion, the in-school debating and public speaking competitions go by the same name.[7]

Enrolment

The students of Penrith Selective High School come from an area extending from the Blue Mountains to North Sydney, from the Hawkesbury District to Luddenham. The school has seen significant intake from the City of Blacktown.

Year 7

All Year 7 enrolments are managed by the High Performing Students Unit (formerly, the Selective Schools Unit) of the NSW Department of Education. In October each year, application forms for the selective high schools test are available from government primary schools and from the Selective Schools Unit for Year 6 students and are due to be returned in November of that year.[8]

Years 8-12

Applications for entry into Years 8-12 are managed by the school, in line with High Performing Students Unit guidelines. Only a small number of places are available each year since vacancies only occur when a current student leaves the school. Application packages become available from the school's website or the Selective Schools Unit in Term 2 (June) each year and are returned to the school, along with supporting documentation, by the end of July. The deadline date for application each year is determined by the Selective Schools Unit. The selection committee arranges the applications in order of academic merit based upon the evidence submitted. The committee considers material that provides evidence of high academic achievement and participation in extracurricular activities. Residential status requirements and family placement claims follow the Year 7 entry criteria. Students must be either Australia citizens or permanent residents.[9]

Facilities

The school has a gymnasium, a field with multi-sport goal posts (soccer and rugby, although contact sport is strictly prohibited), a smaller field with portable hockey goal posts, and two basketball courts. In addition, the school has five computer labs, a large space for performing arts, and a school hall which is part of the original structure of Penrith Selective High School, built in the early 1950s. The hall can accommodate approximately 450 seated guests, usually used for official school functions, performing arts exhibitions, and information evenings. The Penrith Selective High School Parents and Citizens Association (P&C) operates a school canteen, from which all proceeds go towards improving the educational experience of PSHS students.[10]

Curriculum

The courses available for study at Penrith Selective High School depends on the year level of the student in question:

Years 7 and 8

All subjects in Year 7 and 8 are mandatory, however in Year 8 students are given the option of whether to study Italian or Japanese for the Languages Other Than English (LOTE) course. As of 2018, Year 7 students no longer study LOTE, but still select a language in Year 8:

  • English
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • History (one semester)
  • Geography (one semester)
  • Technology and Applied Studies (TAS) (students alternate between Woodwork, Metalwork, Textiles, and Food Technology each term in Year 7 and between Engineering, Coding, Textiles, and Food Technology in Year 8)
  • Music
  • Visual Arts
  • Personal Development, Health and Physical Education
  • LOTE (Italian or Japanese in Year 8)

Years 9 and 10

Before beginning Year 9, students are given the opportunity to choose three 200-hour elective courses which they will study over Year 9 and 10.

Mandatory courses

  • English
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • History
  • Geography
  • Careers (Year 10 only)
  • Personal Development, Health and Physical Education

Elective courses

Students choose any three of the following courses:

  • Information and Software Technology
  • Engineering
  • Food Technology
  • Graphics Technology
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Drama
  • Music
  • Visual Arts
  • Physical Activity and Sport Studies (PASS)
  • Elective History
  • Commerce
  • International Studies

Years 11 and 12

Course selection for the senior years is much more complex than in Years 9 and 10. The only mandatory course to be studied in the senior years is English (Advanced).

Students in Year 11 are required to study at least 12 units while Year 12 are required to study at least 10 units. Since English (Advanced) comprises two units and is mandatory for all students, Year 12 students are required to study at least eight units worth of courses.

Student extracurricular involvement

Penrith Selective High School students have the opportunity to participate in a range of extracurricular activities in a number of interest areas including:[11]

  • Amnesty International
  • Art Club
  • Band
  • Breakfast Club (operated by Penrith Selective High School students at Penrith Public School)
  • Chess Club
  • Choir
  • Coding Club (various)
  • Competitive Sport
  • Debating
  • Duke of Edinburgh's Award
  • Hakusan Student Exchange
  • Junior Representative Council (JRC)
  • Mathematics Enrichment (AMT - Euler, Guass, Noether)
  • Mock Trial
  • Model United Nations (MUN)
  • Peer Tutoring (for Mathematics and Italian)
  • Penrith in Performance (MADD - Music/Art/Drama/Dance in 2018)
  • Philosophy Club
  • Photography Club
  • Politics Club
  • Public Speaking
  • Rowing (from 2019)
  • Social Justice Club
  • String Ensemble
  • Student Leadership (Captaincy, Prefects and House Captaincy)
  • Student Representative Council (SRC)
  • Titration Club
  • Variety Night

Student leadership

The main leadership positions offered to students in Penrith Selective High School are those of School Captains, School Vice-Captains, and Student Representative Council (SRC) President. Student leaders begin their term of office in Term 3 of any given year, finishing a year later at the end of Term 2. Additional leadership positions available to students at Penrith Selective High School include: School Prefects (13 boys, 13 girls) (reconstituted in 2017 after being on hiatus since 1983), House Captains (1 boy, 1 girl for each of the four houses from Year 11), House Vice-Captains (1 boy, 1 girl for each of the four houses from Year 10), SRC Representatives (2 boys, 2 girls from each year group and an executive of 4 is selected by this group), JRC Representatives (2 boys, 2 girls from each class in Year 7), Faculty Student Leaders, Club Leaders, Peer Support Leaders[12]

House system

At the beginning of Year 7, all Penrith Selective High School students are placed in one of the following four houses, sorted by last name:

House Colour
Blaxland (Bees)  
Lawson (Lions)  
Mitchell (Magic)  
Wentworth (Wolves)  

Every year three sporting carnivals (Swimming, Athletics, and Cross Country) where students compete to earn house points. The winner of each carnival and of the overall house championship is announced each year.

Staff

As of 2018, the current staff at Penrith High School include the following:[13]

Senior Executive

  • Principal - Mr. Mark Long
  • Deputy Principal - Mr. Brian Ferguson
  • Deputy Principal - Ms. Jaclyn Cush (relieving for Mrs. Tracey Cunningham)

Rebranding

When John Elton became principal of the school in 2011, he began to make changes to improve the school's image as a selective high school. These changes included changing the school's name to "Penrith Academically Selective High School". The name was used widely throughout the staff body in an attempt to boost the reputation of the school. The use of "Academically Selective" gained a notable critical reception from the student body as being highly pretentious. The new name called for attempts to change the school emblem. The school name was shortened to Penrith Selective High School in 2016.

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Penrith High School". My School. ACARA. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  2. ^ McGowan, Michael; Evershed, Nick. "'Warped and elitist': are Australia's selective schools failing the fairness test?". The Guardian. Australia. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  3. ^ "2018 High School Rankings Top 150 Schools in NSW". Matrix Education. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Principal's Message - Penrith High School". Web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
  5. ^ Hall and Co. "The Towers - Building from 1880s - Demolished 1940". State Library of New South Wales. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  6. ^ "Tower Alumni - Edition One - Term 1 2018". Penrith Selective High School. 2018.
  7. ^ Penrith High School. "The Towers". National Library of Australia. Libraries Australia. Retrieved 31 March 2019.
  8. ^ "Year 7 Enrolment - Penrith High School". Web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au. 13 March 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  9. ^ "Year 8-12 Enrolment - Penrith High School". Web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  10. ^ "Facilities - Penrith High School". Web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  11. ^ "Band - Penrith High School". Web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  12. ^ "Student Leadership - Penrith High School". Web3.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  13. ^ "Staff - Penrith High School". www.penrith-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/our-school/staff. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
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