Melbourne High School
Encyclopedia
Melbourne High School is a selective entry
state school for boys in years 9 to 12 located in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra
. Being a selective school, it is known mainly for its strong academic reputation. Melbourne High School had the leading rank based on VCE average
, with its 2009 cohort achieving a median ENTER of 95.85: up to then the highest of any school in recorded history.
The school was founded in 1905 as the first coeducational state secondary school in Victoria. Melbourne High School was originally located in Spring Street in Melbourne
. In 1927, the boys and girls split, with the boys moving to a new school at Forrest Hill in the inner city suburb of South Yarra
which retained the name Melbourne High School. The girls eventually moved to The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School on Kings Way, Melbourne. Throughout this history, enrolment for year 9 has been determined by an entrance examination, held in June each year. This examination consists of an assessment of the applicant's mathematics
and English
skills. In 2007, 308 Year 9s entered the school, out of over 1200 students who attended the examination.
Students have achieved very strong results in the VCE
examinations, and placements at tertiary institutions are at a rate well above Victoria's average. The school has a compulsory involvement program, including involvement within school and within the broader community. Its ethos
encourages investment of effort into academic, sporting, musical, leadership and personal pursuits. It was also the first school in Australia to establish a Student Representative Council, with the assistance of Sir Robert Menzies. In addition, the school owns an outdoor education facility in Millgrove, which lies near the Warburton ranges.
In 2010 The Age
reported that Melbourne High School ranked equal tenth among Australian schools based on the number of alumni who had received a top Order of Australia
honour - an impressive statistic given its establishment in only the previous century.
, the first Director of Education, established Victoria's first state secondary school
, the Melbourne Continuation School
, with 135 girls and 68 boys. Tate's motivation for establishing the school was to allow students from state primary schools to continue their education, which would otherwise have ended if they could not afford to join one of Melbourne's private schools. The school's original campus was that of the Old National Model School in Spring Street. Joseph Hocking, an inspector of schools, was named the first principal, emerging from a large number of varied applications for the job. Hocking followed Tate's vision, and moulded the school into one which produced students of high quality as evidenced by their final year results. By 1919, it had the greatest number of students at Melbourne University (the only university then) from any school.
The school, despite a developing academic reputation, tried its best to form an extracurricular life. In 1910, the first sporting exchange with Adelaide High School
occurred, years later this would be followed by an exchange with North Sydney Boys' High School
. Sport
, music
, cadet
s, the school magazine and social events became important areas of the school. In 1914, with the school just nine years old, the school's ongoing growth and development was disrupted by World War I
, where over 500 students served. The school has since developed a special association with Anzac Cove
, sending cadets and students to partake in ANZAC Day
ceremonies every year. Hocking spoke of the students as:
The school's growth soon resumed, but the building they occupied was beginning to feel dilapidated. In the 1920s, it was announced that the school would split and the boys and girls would move to alternative locations. In October 1927, the boys moved to Forrest Hill in South Yarra and formed the Melbourne Boys' High School. The old campus was renamed the Melbourne Girls' High School. Between 1931 and 1934, the girls of the old Melbourne Continuation School moved from Government House, to the King Street Central School and finally to Albert Park, renaming the school as the Mac.Robertson Girls' High School
. The new campus at Forrest Hill soon developed, and traditions like the house competition began. The Depression
did not prevent Melbourne High School from expanding the Forrest Hill campus and developing sporting facilities. Old traditions in music and debating continued, with the addition of house chorals, which is now an important event in the school calendar. New traditions began, such as a house system, with competition in various sports, debating and with the strong music tradition of the school, house chorals. A Memorial Hall paid for by past students was a feature of the new school.
Just as had occurred in World War I, World War II
disrupted the school's proceedings greatly. The school building itself was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy
. The students of the school moved to either the new Camberwell High School or the Tooronga Road State School. It was only until 1944 that the students returned to Forrest Hill under the new principal Major-General (later Sir) Alan Ramsay. Ramsay was the first 'Old Boy', or former student, to have become principal. Since then, all but one of his successors have been Old Boys. In the 1950s, Brigadier George Langley
set up reviving the school, laying down the plans for a swimming pool
and physical education
centre while also reestablishing the Tecoma camp. This led to an upgrade in the school's facilities. In 1960, the physical education centre and swimming pool opened. In 1965, a new library
was established. In 1968, portable classrooms were built. In 1970, the Junior Science Block was opened.
In the 1980s, the ageing buildings needed refurbishment and new facilities were needed to meet the rapidly changing demands of a modern education
, most notably the need for computer
s. Neville Drohan, the principal from 1987 to 1991, combined government funding with donations from the school community to construct a new four level building: the Nineties building (see facilities below).
In 1992, Raymond Willis became the principal of the school. 1995 was the scene of the full refurbishment of the original building, which was built in 1927, including the addition of a computer suite, dark room, a new general office, improved classroom, a conference room, the heritage room and an upgraded canteen and dining area. The grass hockey field
that had originally existed was replaced with a synthetic one and next to the hockey field two plexipave basketball courts were built. The school oval was the next to be revamped. In 1999, new turf wickets
which would be maintained by a curator
were added along with new drainage and watering as well as an upgrade to the lighting. The new oval was given the name of the Woodfull-Miller Oval in honour of Bill Woodfull
, a former student and principal, and Keith Miller
, another former student, both of whom were highly regarded Australian test cricketers
. Willis continued his plans to upgrade the school's facilities with the construction of a cardio room in the Nineties building, and the addition of four junior science
classrooms. The Army Cadets
and Air Force Cadets
received a new building in 2002, a building which included orderly rooms, meeting rooms, seminar rooms, display areas, kitchen and toilets. In 2002, new changerooms were also constructed in the Old Boys Pavilion, along with the construction of a new Hockey Pavilion overlooking the synthetic hockey field.
The expansion had other ramifications. The school now had extra space, and as a result increased its enrolment to a new high of 1366. However, this meant a lower cutoff in the entrance exam, which led to the school's median ENTER
dropping to second in the state. The median only returned to first place again in 2009 (see Academics).
After making numerous innovative changes and advancements, Ray Willis died in July 2004 as the school's longest serving principal and the school went into a state of mourning. In January 2005, Jeremy Ludowyke was appointed principal. In 2007 a new Arts Centre began construction and after nearly two years was officially opened by major donator and 'old-boy' Lindsay Fox
(who was asked to leave). In 2007, Year Ten students were assigned to produce their own 'Citizenship Statement'. The results were collated to create an official 'MHS Citizenship Statement', that details the expectations of Melbourne High students and now appears in the student planner.
The school admits that it is primarily seen as an academic school but it nonetheless has developed a wide range of co-curricular traditions of music, with massed singing, formal assemblies
and speech nights, the house sporting competition, house choral competition, Army and Air Force cadet
corps, current affairs groups and school uniforms.
in Carlton
. These placements are based on their raw results in the entrance exam. Those who were within 5 marks of the cut-off-score or did not receive a place due to the "5% rule", which prevents more than 5% of another school's cohort entering Melbourne High, are asked to participate in the Principals Discretionary Category.
Usually 180 students are eligible to apply in this category and compete for just 17 allocated places. Students choosing to participate follow a complete application process involving:
A small amount of students are then short-listed and interviewed. 17 of the shortlisted are then chosen to be given offers into the school. Places are also available in year 10 but the competition is much fiercer - in 2007, 28 students were accepted into Year 10 and in 2008 only 29 students were accepted after undergoing a similar process to the Principals Discretionary Category. Fewer places again are available at year 11 and 12, and these places are given based on an interview and application form.
The rules for entry are equal for all students during "examination entry" into the school. Students who live in the nearby area are not treated any differently from those from outer suburbs or regional areas. Although there does seem to be some extra consideration given to students who have had an older sibling(s) who have studied or are studying in the school whilst applying for entry into the school through the Principal Discretionary or higher years entries where there is an application and interview process involved. However, students applying to the school commonly undertake coaching for months beforehand.
(VCE) examinations, and the median ENTER
for Melbourne High School in 2009 was 95.85, the highest ever and the highest median ENTER by any school in Victoria barring its sister school, the MacRobertson Girls' High School. Over 99% of students pursue a tertiary education
, and the school has the largest intake into Monash University
and the University of Melbourne
out of all schools. Melbourne High School has been ranked second out of all state secondary schools in Victoria based on the median ENTER achieved by its students since 2001 (before which it was ranked first, but had a lower enrolment), only coming second to Mac.Robertson Girls' High School
. In 2009, it ended its 7 year drought by achieving higher average VCE results than MacRob. A summary of the school's academic results up until 2009, a year which principal Jeremy Ludowyke termed as "far and away the best VCE result MHS has ever achieved", through the major academic indicators used in Victoria is presented below:
Year 9 students at Melbourne High School study a combination of 'core subjects' which are compulsory, and 'electives' which are only taken by a certain group of students who choose those subjects. The core subjects that are taken for the entire year are English, Mathematics, Science, Physical Education and LOTE (chosen by students out of German, French, Indonesian and Japanese). History is taken for one semester and is replaced by geography for the second semester. Similarly, Art (referring to visual arts) is taken for one semester and is replaced by Music for the second semester. Year 9s select one elective per semester. The electives generally cover educational areas that are not covered by the core, such as commerce or software design. Mid-year and end-of-year examinations are used to evaluate performance in each semester and determine a student's progression.
The Year 10 core subjects operate identically to the year 9 system. However, more electives are available, and several of these electives are more specialized than year 9 electives. Some year 10 electives, such as Business Management, provide an introduction to the VCE Business Management course. Many year 10 students also take the option of selecting a unit of a select few VCE subjects. These students typically advance to take units 3 and 4 of these subjects (the units that are externally examined by VCAA) in year 11. Again, mid-year and end-of-year examinations test material for all subjects.
In addition, years 9 and 10 students devote one period a week to massed singing, an intrinsic part of the school's tradition and ethos
. There is no accelerated program at Melbourne High and all students are taught at the same level. However, students identified by their teachers to have a strong aptitude for mathematics are placed into a Maths Extension program in years 9 and 10. Results in year 9 and 10 examinations also may impact on a student's ability to select a particular Unit 3/4 sequence.
In Year 11 and 12 students work towards completion of the Victorian Certificate of Education
(VCE). The International Baccalaureate is not offered at Melbourne High School. The general pathway taken by students is to undertake Units 3 and 4 of one subject in year 11, and Units 1 and 2 for five other subjects. In Year 12 students complete Units 3 and 4 for the remaining five subjects that are to count towards their VCE. Typically these are the same subjects that they completed Units 1 and 2 for in Year 11, but this is not an enforced rule, and some students attempt a 3 and 4 sequency without completing the corresponding 1 and 2 sequence. Some students make slight alterations to their VCE selections from this general pathway. University Enhacement subjects from Monash University
and the University of Melbourne
are an option that is taken by a small number of students each year. Some students also complete an additional Unit 3/4 sequence outside of school, often in Year 11. Unlike many other schools, Melbourne High School does not allow its students to complete two Unit 3/4 sequences inside school in year 11, and does not allow students to complete Mathematical Methods, a very popular subject in the school, in year 11.
The subjects chosen must include at least one English-related subject as per government regulations. For Melbourne High School students, the normal English subject is compulsory but can be replaced by English as a Second Language (ESL) for particular students. Unlike in some other schools, Literature or English Language cannot be used as replacements for English. Additionally, students are only allowed to select two mathematics subjects (out of the three: Further Mathematics, Mathematical Methods and Specialist Math). As in previous years, only German, French, Japanese and Indonesian are available for study in school, although students often take other LOTEs outside of school. Otherwise, the subjects offered include the entire VCE
range as well as some VET courses.
Prior to the announcement of final Year 12 results, the school uses data gained from internal testing throughout the year to determine the recipients of the subject prizes, which exist for every subject.
At the end of each year students undertake a 'transition' program that introduces them into the next year. These programs are also used to help deliver other skills, including seminars on driving, interview and note-taking amongst other things.
are allocated one period a fortnight, whilst Senior school assemblies are allocated one period a week. Year 9 and 10 mass singing sessions are allocated one period a week and year 9-12 weekly sport sessions are allocated two consecutive periods a week. Most formal VCE classes are not held during Wednesdays periods 6 and 7, allowing time for students' personal study and school-assessed coursework examinations to be held. School commences at 8:50am every day, and all formal classes end at 3:20pm. As of 2011, a largely student-fought initiative led to year 12 students not being required at school for any free periods they may have at the start or end of the day.
The Twenties building, which is Heritage listed, consists of three floors. The base level contains the school canteen
, the dining hall, two IT
rooms and four rooms devoted to mathematics
. The ground level serves multiple purposes. The south wing of the ground floor generally functions as geography and mathematics rooms. The north wing of the ground floor is devoted to physics
but also contains an extra lecture room. Between the north and south wings is the school's Memorial Hall, the principal's office and the offices of the assistant principals. The first floor of the Twenties building is also split into two wings. The north wing is assigned to history
, LOTE
and politics
. The south wing is assigned to chemistry
.
The Nineties building, built in the '90s under principal Ray Willis, includes four floors. The ground floor and first floors are used by the South Yarra Sports Centre, an organization that provides its facilities both to the outside public and to students of Melbourne High. This ground floor contains a gym, and the first floor contains a weights room and cardio room. The secoond floor contains rooms used for biology
, commerce
related subjects and music
. The third floor is used for English
and also contains the school's library
.
The science block consists of four science labs split over two levels. These science rooms are generally used only for year 9 and year 10 general science, with other rooms being used for the more specific VCE subjects of chemistry
, physics
and biology
. The Arts Building was completed in the year 2009. It consists of three floors, each containing multiple rooms devoted to the visual and performing arts. These also contain computers and media rooms.
In addition, the school's grounds include a hockey field
, tennis court
s, an oval
(The Woodfull
-Miller
oval) for cricket
and various codes of football
, cricket nets
and basketball court
s for sporting purposes. These are accompanied by the 'hockey pavilion', which overlooks the hockey field, the 'Old Boys Pavilion', which overlooks the oval, and the Cadet HQ
, also near the oval.
, assemblies, and singing lessons. Students in the junior school are not subject to the pressures of VCE and are encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities and broaden their education. For this reason, year 9 students must involve themselves in at least one extracurricular involvement (see below). Year 10 students complete twenty hours of community involvement throughout the year as well as an assignment on civics
and citizenship
to be submitted at the end of the year. In year 9, students select two electives for the year while in year 10, students select four electives.
The senior school comprises students in Year 11 and Year 12. There is only one Senior School Captain
and senior School Vice-Captain. Particular members of the senior school will take up presidential roles of various teams, groups and organizations. At the end of every year, year elevens compete for a variety of coveted leadership positions, including positions in the SRC Leadership team and House leadership team. House captains and SRC presidents are determined by voting from the student body following a period of speech-making.
. The four Houses with their associated colours are:
The names for the houses were derived from the local history of the area. The hill upon which the school is situated was first settled by captain John Forrest, who built his house, Waterloo cottage, in Como estate alongside the Yarra River
. Forrest won the inaugural cockhouse cup in 1928. The house's histories are well documented, with records of victories in major competitions as well as individual school records, being kept. Over the history of the competition all houses except Como have had periods of dominance with five successive victories, with the most recent such period being Waterloo in the 2000s. Yarra has been the house with the largest number of victories, owing to a long winning streak through the 1990s and early 2000s. Waterloo has recently been dominating the Cockhouses, winning every year from 2005 to 2009, but overall they are the least successful house. Forrest ended Waterloo's streak, and its own 15 year drought, in 2010.
The house competition has had its controversial aspects, including the adjudication process in the house choral competition, which was recently improved by adding three adjudicators instead of one. This change was made the year after Waterloo won its first competition in 20 years despite Yarra's standout performance of Nessun dorma
. After the adjudication was expanded to three judges Yarra won with their rendition of Sweeney Todd
, although controversy remained after Forrest came last despite receiving heavy applause from the audience for Anthem
. In the 2011 competition, controversy arose again when Waterloo came last despite a huge applause from the audience for Wavin' Flag
.
The houses compete in four major competitions:
Always the first event of the year, this event features students from each of the four age groups competing in a number of short and long distance swimming events at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre
's Commonwealth games
outdoor swimming pool. Points are accumulated for a house both through relays and individual events. The event runs over one full day, with each individual event containing two students from each house. For the individual events, points are awarded from first place through to fourth, giving houses the opportunity to break ahead if they were to have both competitors in the top four. There are four 50m relays per age group: the A,B,C and D relays. They progressively are less valuable to the house, but are still pivotal in the final calculations for champion. There are also 200 m relays and medleys, which have the same value as an A relay. Extra points are awarded for breaking school records. An age group champion is named from each age group.
The most recent competition (2011) ended with results: 1st: Yarra, 2nd: Waterloo, 3rd: Forrest, 4th: Como
Based on points awarded, swimming is the least valuable of the four majors, with first place scoring 80 point, second 64, third 56 and forth 48. This is justified by the fact that it features the least number of students participating.
The second major event of the year, the athletics competition has for several years been held over two days at Olympic Park Stadium
, however in 2010 it was held on the school oval due to the Melbourne & Olympic Parks precinct redevelopment. The first day largely comprises heats and C, D, E and F relays (as with swimming, the A relay is the most valuable and the F relay the least). The second day contains a large number of finals. The heats are worth very few points, so the second day has the capacity to make or break a house's chances, as was seen as this year in the U15 discus, the final event of the day, where pending results may have affected the outcome of the day. The second day also features A and B relays. Other individual events include the 1500 m walk, the 3000m race and the 3000m steeplechase. These three events are open to all age groups. All other individual events are run within age groups. Both track and field events are competed in. The winner of the Athletics competition is awarded 90 points, second 70, third 60 and forth 50 points towards the Cockhouse Cup.
The most recent competition (2011) ended with results: 1st: Como, 2nd: Waterloo, 3rd: Forrest, 4th: Yarra
The chorals involves the entire school in one day at the Melbourne Town Hall
. It is preceded on that same day by the Instrumentals Competition, which is not a major competition, although it is one of the most important minors. The chorals competition features three pieces sung by each house: a set song, a free choice, and a special choir song. The special choir consists of between 8-20 members of the house while the set song and free choice are sung by the whole house. Rehearsals are held at recess and lunchtimes in the school's memorial hall and are generally coordinated by student leaders in the house.
There is also a special choir event that sings in harmonies and more complex songs. In the 2010 competition, Waterloo House rick Roll'd the whole school.
The most recent competition (2011) ended with results: 1st: Yarra, 2nd: Como, 3rd: Forrest, 4th: Waterloo
The cross country competition closes off the house competition and is generally the decider as the Cockhouse Cup reaches its finale. Most of the school runs 5 km around Albert Park Lake in their year levels. All positions are counted from 1st to 250th in each age group. This generally means that the house with the greatest participation wins. Waterloo has won this competition for the last 8 years as of the end of 2010.
The most recent competition (2011) ended with results: 1st: Como, 2nd: Forrest, 3rd: Waterloo, 4th: Yarra.
They also compete in minor competitions:
program for students in Year 9 and Year 10. Year 9 students also complete a semester of classroom music. The Music Department also offers a number of electives at Year 10 level in Music Craft, Music Technology, Film Music and Music Composition. At VCE
level, the department currently offers VCE Music: Group Performance and VCE Music: Solo Performance. This is complemented with an instrumental tuition program on the school's campus.
There is also an extensive co-curricular ensemble program, which allows students of all abilities to participate in making music. Some of these ensembles include: The MHS Chorale, Symphonic Band, Symphony Orchestra, Tattam Band, MHS Singers (Chamber Choir), Stage Band, Big Band, String Orchestra, Camerata, and Composition Ensemble.
Each term students choose a sport to play during a double period once a week. There are various sports to choose from, including: rowing, sailing, cricket, football, rugby, tennis, golf, squash, cross country running, lacrosse, ten-pin bowling, badminton, lawn bowls, yoga, fencing, soccer, futsal, swimming (for weak swimmers) and Taekwondo
. The school also has a burgeoning rowing program, recently establishing a sculling school. Students select new sports after a six week rotation.
The school has an active participation in 23 different interschool sports through the Victorian Secondary Schools' Sports Association (VSSSA) and other tournaments. The school is engaged in a further 14 weekend sporting competitions, notably in the areas of water polo
, which is supported by the school's indoor swimming pool, and rugby
. Hockey
, lacrosse
and water polo
teams are entered into the Australian All Schools' Competition, in which students travel interstate to compete against teams from around the country. Other competitions specific to particular sports also exist.
The school's performance in sports has been in constant flux. In the past its strengths lay in Australian Rules Football
, Melbourne High won all senior VSSSA Australian football titles between 1988 and 1996, and tennis
, where Melbourne High five titles in the space of seven years between 1989 and 1995, but as the student demographic changed, so much so that currently about two-thirds of students are from East Asian or South Asian background, this strength in football was replaced by greater performance in table tennis
and badminton
. As of the end of 2009, Melbourne High had won the senior VSSSA badminton competition three times in the last four years, had won the senior table tennis competition nine times in the last ten years and had won the intermediate table tennis competitions for the last five years. The school is also emerging in its Cross Country
performance, and has won five out of the six possible VSSSA age group titles it could contend for in the last three years.
The school also has a tradition of hockey performance, and the MHSOBA uses the school's synthetic turf hockey field for its own senior and junior clubs. The school's own team has won the VSSSA crown seven times in the last nine years. A similar tradition involving the MHSOBA exists with the school's cricket teams, which have been consistently competitive, winning six VSSSA titles over the twenty-year history of the competition.
The 1st XI cricket team has in the past played matches against the Victorian Governors XI which included Merv Hughes
. The school's rich cricketing history led to a 2009 visit from avid cricket fan and media personality Sir Michael Parkinson.
In addition to these roles, there are other more senior leadership opportunities in the school. The school has four Junior School Captain
s (all in year 10), a School Captain and a School Vice Captain. Several year twelves also comprise the SRC Cabinet, which includes the roles of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer. The SRC organizes student initiated events such as socials, formals
and inter-form competitions in games such as dodgeball
or soccer.
Many involvements, including such as the Political Interest Group, Food Interest Group and Students Alive (see below) have presidents or captains. Most sporting teams also have captains. Within the Cadet Units
, there are a series of leadership positions offered to students who completed particular promotion courses over the holidays. There are also leaders in the form of the Year 11 Mentoring Program and the Millgrove Outdoor Education Center leaders.
Student leaders are often distinguishable from the rest of the students. Most leaders (apart from form captains and SRC representatives, who wear coloured badges) are distinguished through writing sewed onto their blazer pocket. The School Captain and SRC President is further distinguished through the sewing of a golden wreath
around the Unicorn of their blazer pocket, whilst the School Vice-Captain and SRC Vice-President have a green wreath around the Unicorn of their blazer pocket. The house captains have a small coloured trim representing their house sewn onto the pocket, Other leadership positions can also be distinguished through badges specific to those positions (Though some badges are simply given to participants of certain student initiated involvement groups).
The annual Ray Willis Leadership Scheme invites all of the students involved in the school's leadership programme to a forum discussing a major issue, such as climate change, the Australian identity or multiculturalism. The students then form groups and conduct research on that issue for the remainder of the year, at the end of which they submit a report on their findings. Each group must contain at least one student from each year level and the report must be completed solely in the students' own time.
, Air Force Cadets
, Chorale
, Debating, Instrumental Ensemble
and Rowing
. Other clubs and societies that exist include educationally themed ones such as the renowned Political Interest Group (PIG), Astronomy
club, IT Programming club, BizE (Business
Interest Group), Global issues education (GIE) and Heritage Society as well as recreational ones such as the Bush-walking club, The Sentinel (student magazine
) and FIG (Food Interest Group), otherwise known as the "Fun With Food" group. Students pursuing similar interests may gather together and form a new group of their own, subject to the approval of the school's administration. The administration's flexibility in this regard has seen the recent emergence of the Strategy Club (Warhammer
figurine games, and TCG card games), Jewish Student Network, Students Alive (Christian
Religious Group), Baka Anime
, Victory Club (supporting the Melbourne Victory), The Barbershop
Club, the Nintendo Club, SOFA and the Latin
Club.
Former MHS principal once quoted,"There is a joke here that if you reside in Canberra's halls of power but you haven't been invited to Melbourne High by the PIG, you haven't really made it." The Political Interest Group has had speakers ranging from Federal Treasurer Peter Costello, to Former Prime Minister and current Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, Current Prime Minister Julia Gillard (at the time, Shadow Health Minister), Current Federal Minister Stephen Conroy and annually has Andrew Bolt
speak at the school. Recently PIG has had journalists such as Catherine Deveny, Derryn Hinch, Barrie Cassidy and numerous State and Federal Politicians.
The chess club
, and competition writing group are involvements that participate in interschool competitions, as do the chorale, instrumental ensemble and debating teams. Melbourne High School has been successful in each, with achievements in debating including state championships, Swannie awards and students making the national debating team. In 2008, the school also began involvement with the UNYA
's Thant Trophy - a model United Nations Security Council
competition - two teams reached the state finals in that year. The school has won the State Final in chess for four years running as of 2009.
In Year 9, students are introduced to the compulsory involvement program. In year 10, students complete community
inovlvement, which includes a day raising funds in the city for the Red Cross. In Year 11, students undertake cultural involvement, in which they experience different cultures around Melbourne.
In addition to the tie, Full Colours recipients as well as holders of some leadership positions can have their blazer emblazoned with their award or position. Position titles are emblazoned above the school emblem on the blazer pocket whilst award titles are emblazoned below. A system of badges is also employed at Melbourne High School (for house captains, SRC executives, class SRC representatives, high academic achievers, form captains and for various clubs).
The Melbourne High School Speech Night features the awarding of various prize
s to particular students for performance in academic subjects, cocurricular achievements or sporting feats. The academic prizes are determined by using data delivered through internal testing of VCE students. There is one academic prize for every subject, as well as a prize for Pure Science and scientific enquiry. The sporting prizes are chosen by the heads of a particular sport to reward the individual deemed to have made the greatest contribution to that sport during their time at Melbourne High. The cocurricular prizes are similarly chosen. In addition, there are prizes for 'Best All-rounder' and 'Sports Champion'.
. Each year the schools join together for the Winter Concert performed at the Melbourne Recital Centre, as well as a musical and a drama production performed in the school's memorial hall. Recently a fairly light-hearted Melbourne High vs MacRob Cup has begun to take place and includes events such as debating, soccer and theatre sports.
), Indonesia (SMAN 4 Denpasar) and France (Lycée Branly Amiens, Pertuis
). Annual exchanges occur with each of the sister schools, giving students the opportunity to experience both the culture and education system of another country. Each year Melbourne High either sends a group of students overseas to these schools, or hosts students from these schools. There are also opportunities for individual students to go on a longer term exchange overseas.
and Adelaide High School
during which boys from the visiting school are billeted with host families. Annual exchanges with Sydney Boys High School
are held for rowing. Melbourne High competes against North Sydney Boys High School in cricket, athletics, basketball, chess, fencing, debating, futsal
, gold, lawn bowls, music and table tennis for the Crawford Shield, which in 2009 celebrated its 50th anniversary. The first exchange in 1959 only involved cricket, but since then the competition expanded to include a peak of fifteen sports in the early 2000s including swimming
, water polo
, squash
and tennis
. North Sydney won the shield in 2010, the previous year, but Melbourne High School currently holds the Crawford shield winning all sports in 2011 bar debating and chess.
In August Melbourne High competes against Adelaide High in football, hockey, rowing, badminton, basketball, cross country, debating, soccer, table tennis, tennis, theatre sports
and volleyball for the Prefects' Cup. The Prefects' Cup has been held since 1910. As Adelaide High School is coeducational, the MacRobertson Girls' High School also competes, although their performance against the girls of Adelaide High has no bearing on the Prefects' Cup. Melbourne High School currently holds the Prefects' Cup.
, the third verse is also sung.
The school's official philosophy statement is:
, which consists of a black college blazer, green pullover or vest (maroon for year 12), school tie, white business shirt, grey college trousers and/or grey college shorts, grey or black socks, black polished shoes, and the MHS maroon backpack. The blazer is woollen and is black in colour. It features a maroon and green trim which extends to the collar-region. The school logo (the unicorn) is emblazoned on the left-chest-pocket, which is also where the student leadership positions are stitched. The school blazer must be worn when travelling to and from school. In school grounds, the jumper may be worn as the outer garment. The tie features maroon and green stripes, however, students can also receive half colours and full colours, which are differently coloured ties awarded for various school achievements. Some students also received the black centenary tie in 2005, featuring both the crests of Melbourne High School and the MacRobertson Girls' High School.
Students also have access to various sports uniforms which cater for the many different sports and events students undertake. However, there is a particular set of sports uniform which is required by all students. In years 9 and 10, this sports uniform must be worn to compulsory Physical Education, and in all years, the sports uniform must be worn to most weekly sport sessions, depending upon the sport which the students choose to participate in. The compulsory sports uniform consists of a white shirt, with the unicorn featured, or a house singlet, in the colour of the students house, bottle green sports shorts, MHS sports socks (white in colour), and the appropriate runners. Extras include the white school cap, maroon school spray jacket and maroon school rugby top, which was replaced in 2011 by a cream and maroon varsity jacket for year 12 students only. Other sports and involvement items are bought separately, such as cricket whites
or other guernseys.
§ - denotes a former student (Old Boy) of the school
and Bill Woodfull
as well as a number of champion AFL
footballers that includes, at least, three members of the AFL Hall of Fame, three Brownlow
medalists, seven team-of-the-century members, eight captains, fourteen All-Australian selectees, and twenty-one best and fairest award recipients such as David Parkin
, Garry Lyon
and Cameron Bruce
. The Old Boys' organize reunions which occur every 5 years, maintaining contact between Melbourne High alumni.
As a school that prides itself on academic success, Melbourne High School has produced individuals who have played a major role in research, government, economics and finance including Nobel laureate
for medicine Sir John Eccles, who was awarded his prize for his research on the synapse
. Melbourne High School students have also contributed to arts and culture. The male members of the Australian band The Seekers
- Athol Guy
, Keith Potger
and Bruce Woodley
- the creators of the now folk song I Am Australian
, also attended Melbourne High School, as did two finalists in the popular reality television show Australian Idol
in Thanh Bui and Dean Geyer
. A large number of famous Old Boys are featured around the school's corridors in the Distinguished Old Boys gallery.
on Wednesday, 27 May 2009, where the name of the school was replaced with Kevington Grammar but footage was taken of the school building and school students.
Steven Spielberg's World War Two miniseries The Pacific
, the follow-up to Band of Brothers, featured some footage of Melbourne High School, shot in December 2007.
On 13 August 2010, the Year 12 students had their formal crashed by singer Katy Perry
and fashion designer Ruby Rose.
Lili Wilkinson
's YA novel Pink is set in "The Billy Hughes School for Academic Excellence", a thinly veiled amalgamation of Melbourne High School and MacRobertson Girls High School based on the author's own experience of school theatre at the schools.
Selective school
A selective school is a school that admits students on the basis of some sort of selection criteria, usually academic. The term may have different connotations in different systems....
state school for boys in years 9 to 12 located in the Melbourne suburb of South Yarra
South Yarra, Victoria
South Yarra is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Stonnington and Melbourne...
. Being a selective school, it is known mainly for its strong academic reputation. Melbourne High School had the leading rank based on VCE average
Victorian Certificate of Education
The Victorian Certificate of Education or VCE is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete high school level studies in the state of Victoria, Australia. Study for the VCE is usually completed over two years, but it can be spread over a longer period in some cases...
, with its 2009 cohort achieving a median ENTER of 95.85: up to then the highest of any school in recorded history.
The school was founded in 1905 as the first coeducational state secondary school in Victoria. Melbourne High School was originally located in Spring Street in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. In 1927, the boys and girls split, with the boys moving to a new school at Forrest Hill in the inner city suburb of South Yarra
South Yarra, Victoria
South Yarra is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area are the Cities of Stonnington and Melbourne...
which retained the name Melbourne High School. The girls eventually moved to The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School on Kings Way, Melbourne. Throughout this history, enrolment for year 9 has been determined by an entrance examination, held in June each year. This examination consists of an assessment of the applicant's mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
skills. In 2007, 308 Year 9s entered the school, out of over 1200 students who attended the examination.
Students have achieved very strong results in the VCE
Victorian Certificate of Education
The Victorian Certificate of Education or VCE is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete high school level studies in the state of Victoria, Australia. Study for the VCE is usually completed over two years, but it can be spread over a longer period in some cases...
examinations, and placements at tertiary institutions are at a rate well above Victoria's average. The school has a compulsory involvement program, including involvement within school and within the broader community. Its ethos
Ethos
Ethos is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology. The Greeks also used this word to refer to the power of music to influence its hearer's emotions, behaviors, and even morals. Early Greek stories of...
encourages investment of effort into academic, sporting, musical, leadership and personal pursuits. It was also the first school in Australia to establish a Student Representative Council, with the assistance of Sir Robert Menzies. In addition, the school owns an outdoor education facility in Millgrove, which lies near the Warburton ranges.
In 2010 The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
reported that Melbourne High School ranked equal tenth among Australian schools based on the number of alumni who had received a top Order of Australia
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
honour - an impressive statistic given its establishment in only the previous century.
History
Under controversial circumstances arising from the opposition of private schools, on February 15, 1905, Frank TateFrank Tate (educator)
Frank Tate CMG was an Australian educationist who is best remembered for his efforts in expanding secondary education in Victoria, Australia.-Early life:...
, the first Director of Education, established Victoria's first state secondary school
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
, the Melbourne Continuation School
Melbourne Continuation School
The Melbourne Continuation School was Victoria's first state secondary school, which was established in 1905 from the initiative of Director of Education, Frank Tate. The school was founded on the old National Model School in Spring Street, with principal Joseph Hocking. The opening of the school...
, with 135 girls and 68 boys. Tate's motivation for establishing the school was to allow students from state primary schools to continue their education, which would otherwise have ended if they could not afford to join one of Melbourne's private schools. The school's original campus was that of the Old National Model School in Spring Street. Joseph Hocking, an inspector of schools, was named the first principal, emerging from a large number of varied applications for the job. Hocking followed Tate's vision, and moulded the school into one which produced students of high quality as evidenced by their final year results. By 1919, it had the greatest number of students at Melbourne University (the only university then) from any school.
The school, despite a developing academic reputation, tried its best to form an extracurricular life. In 1910, the first sporting exchange with Adelaide High School
Adelaide High School
Adelaide High School is a coeducational state high school situated on the corner of West Terrace and Glover Avenue in the Adelaide Parklands. It is the first government high school in South Australia...
occurred, years later this would be followed by an exchange with North Sydney Boys' High School
North Sydney Boys High School
North Sydney Boys High School is an academically selective, public high school for boys, located at Crows Nest in Sydney, Australia.- History :...
. Sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, cadet
Cadet
A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...
s, the school magazine and social events became important areas of the school. In 1914, with the school just nine years old, the school's ongoing growth and development was disrupted by World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, where over 500 students served. The school has since developed a special association with Anzac Cove
Anzac Cove
Anzac Cove is a small cove on the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey. It became famous as the site of World War I landing of the ANZAC on April 25, 1915. The cove is a mere long, bounded by the headlands of Ari Burnu to the north and Little Ari Burnu, known as Hell Spit, to the south...
, sending cadets and students to partake in ANZAC Day
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
ceremonies every year. Hocking spoke of the students as:
Mac.Robertson Girls' High School
The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School is an academically selective, public high school for girls, located in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
. The new campus at Forrest Hill soon developed, and traditions like the house competition began. The Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
did not prevent Melbourne High School from expanding the Forrest Hill campus and developing sporting facilities. Old traditions in music and debating continued, with the addition of house chorals, which is now an important event in the school calendar. New traditions began, such as a house system, with competition in various sports, debating and with the strong music tradition of the school, house chorals. A Memorial Hall paid for by past students was a feature of the new school.
Just as had occurred in World War I, World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
disrupted the school's proceedings greatly. The school building itself was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
. The students of the school moved to either the new Camberwell High School or the Tooronga Road State School. It was only until 1944 that the students returned to Forrest Hill under the new principal Major-General (later Sir) Alan Ramsay. Ramsay was the first 'Old Boy', or former student, to have become principal. Since then, all but one of his successors have been Old Boys. In the 1950s, Brigadier George Langley
George Furner Langley
Brigadier George Furner Langley DSO was an Australian soldier and teacher.Langley was born on 1 May 1891 in Port Melbourne. He gained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Melbourne and teaching qualifications from Melbourne Teachers' College and taught at Williamstown High School,...
set up reviving the school, laying down the plans for a swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
and physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
centre while also reestablishing the Tecoma camp. This led to an upgrade in the school's facilities. In 1960, the physical education centre and swimming pool opened. In 1965, a new library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
was established. In 1968, portable classrooms were built. In 1970, the Junior Science Block was opened.
In the 1980s, the ageing buildings needed refurbishment and new facilities were needed to meet the rapidly changing demands of a modern education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, most notably the need for computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
s. Neville Drohan, the principal from 1987 to 1991, combined government funding with donations from the school community to construct a new four level building: the Nineties building (see facilities below).
In 1992, Raymond Willis became the principal of the school. 1995 was the scene of the full refurbishment of the original building, which was built in 1927, including the addition of a computer suite, dark room, a new general office, improved classroom, a conference room, the heritage room and an upgraded canteen and dining area. The grass hockey field
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
that had originally existed was replaced with a synthetic one and next to the hockey field two plexipave basketball courts were built. The school oval was the next to be revamped. In 1999, new turf wickets
Cricket pitch
In the game of cricket, the cricket pitch consists of the central strip of the cricket field between the wickets - 1 chain or 22 yards long and 10 feet wide. The surface is very flat and normally covered with extremely short grass though this grass is soon removed by wear at the ends of the...
which would be maintained by a curator
Cricket pitch
In the game of cricket, the cricket pitch consists of the central strip of the cricket field between the wickets - 1 chain or 22 yards long and 10 feet wide. The surface is very flat and normally covered with extremely short grass though this grass is soon removed by wear at the ends of the...
were added along with new drainage and watering as well as an upgrade to the lighting. The new oval was given the name of the Woodfull-Miller Oval in honour of Bill Woodfull
Bill Woodfull
William Maldon "Bill" Woodfull OBE was an Australian cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s. He captained both Victoria and Australia, and was best known for his dignified and moral conduct during the tumultuous bodyline series in 1932–33 that almost saw the end of Anglo-Australian cricketing ties...
, a former student and principal, and Keith Miller
Keith Miller
Keith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite...
, another former student, both of whom were highly regarded Australian test cricketers
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
. Willis continued his plans to upgrade the school's facilities with the construction of a cardio room in the Nineties building, and the addition of four junior science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
classrooms. The Army Cadets
Australian Army Cadets
The Australian Army Cadets is a youth organisation that is involved with progressive training of youths in military and adventurous activities. The programme has more than 19,000 Army Cadets between the ages of 12½ and 19 based in 236 units around Australia...
and Air Force Cadets
Cadet
A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...
received a new building in 2002, a building which included orderly rooms, meeting rooms, seminar rooms, display areas, kitchen and toilets. In 2002, new changerooms were also constructed in the Old Boys Pavilion, along with the construction of a new Hockey Pavilion overlooking the synthetic hockey field.
The expansion had other ramifications. The school now had extra space, and as a result increased its enrolment to a new high of 1366. However, this meant a lower cutoff in the entrance exam, which led to the school's median ENTER
Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank
The Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank was the national Australian tertiary entrance rank, administered by Universities Australia...
dropping to second in the state. The median only returned to first place again in 2009 (see Academics).
After making numerous innovative changes and advancements, Ray Willis died in July 2004 as the school's longest serving principal and the school went into a state of mourning. In January 2005, Jeremy Ludowyke was appointed principal. In 2007 a new Arts Centre began construction and after nearly two years was officially opened by major donator and 'old-boy' Lindsay Fox
Lindsay Fox
Lindsay Edward Fox AC is an Australian businessman. As of 2009, he was the 10th richest person in Australia, with a net worth of around 1.5 billion . He is best known as the founder and chairman of his family-owned trucking and logistics company, Linfox.- Early life :Lindsay Fox was brought up in...
(who was asked to leave). In 2007, Year Ten students were assigned to produce their own 'Citizenship Statement'. The results were collated to create an official 'MHS Citizenship Statement', that details the expectations of Melbourne High students and now appears in the student planner.
The school admits that it is primarily seen as an academic school but it nonetheless has developed a wide range of co-curricular traditions of music, with massed singing, formal assemblies
School assembly
A school assembly is a gathering of all or part of a school in order to communicate information and share learning experiences....
and speech nights, the house sporting competition, house choral competition, Army and Air Force cadet
Cadet
A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...
corps, current affairs groups and school uniforms.
Enrolment
Melbourne High School is the only state school for boys in Victoria which selects students solely on the basis of performance in an entrance examination. Every year, well over 1,400 boys try to obtain a place in Year 9 by undertaking the examination in the Royal Exhibition BuildingRoyal Exhibition Building
The Royal Exhibition Building is a World Heritage Site-listed building in Melbourne, Australia, completed in 1880. It is located at 9 Nicholson Street in the Carlton Gardens, flanked by Victoria, Nicholson, Carlton and Rathdowne Streets, at the north-eastern edge of the central business district...
in Carlton
Carlton, Victoria
Carlton is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne...
. These placements are based on their raw results in the entrance exam. Those who were within 5 marks of the cut-off-score or did not receive a place due to the "5% rule", which prevents more than 5% of another school's cohort entering Melbourne High, are asked to participate in the Principals Discretionary Category.
Usually 180 students are eligible to apply in this category and compete for just 17 allocated places. Students choosing to participate follow a complete application process involving:
- Submission of a portfolio demonstrating academic and co-curricular achievements.
- The student's most recent school report
- A personal statement on why the student wishes to attend Melbourne High School
A small amount of students are then short-listed and interviewed. 17 of the shortlisted are then chosen to be given offers into the school. Places are also available in year 10 but the competition is much fiercer - in 2007, 28 students were accepted into Year 10 and in 2008 only 29 students were accepted after undergoing a similar process to the Principals Discretionary Category. Fewer places again are available at year 11 and 12, and these places are given based on an interview and application form.
The rules for entry are equal for all students during "examination entry" into the school. Students who live in the nearby area are not treated any differently from those from outer suburbs or regional areas. Although there does seem to be some extra consideration given to students who have had an older sibling(s) who have studied or are studying in the school whilst applying for entry into the school through the Principal Discretionary or higher years entries where there is an application and interview process involved. However, students applying to the school commonly undertake coaching for months beforehand.
Academic results
Past students have achieved very strong results in the Victorian Certificate of EducationVictorian Certificate of Education
The Victorian Certificate of Education or VCE is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete high school level studies in the state of Victoria, Australia. Study for the VCE is usually completed over two years, but it can be spread over a longer period in some cases...
(VCE) examinations, and the median ENTER
Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank
The Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank was the national Australian tertiary entrance rank, administered by Universities Australia...
for Melbourne High School in 2009 was 95.85, the highest ever and the highest median ENTER by any school in Victoria barring its sister school, the MacRobertson Girls' High School. Over 99% of students pursue a tertiary education
Tertiary education
Tertiary education, also referred to as third stage, third level, and post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school, university-preparatory school...
, and the school has the largest intake into Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
and the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
out of all schools. Melbourne High School has been ranked second out of all state secondary schools in Victoria based on the median ENTER achieved by its students since 2001 (before which it was ranked first, but had a lower enrolment), only coming second to Mac.Robertson Girls' High School
Mac.Robertson Girls' High School
The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School is an academically selective, public high school for girls, located in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
. In 2009, it ended its 7 year drought by achieving higher average VCE results than MacRob. A summary of the school's academic results up until 2009, a year which principal Jeremy Ludowyke termed as "far and away the best VCE result MHS has ever achieved", through the major academic indicators used in Victoria is presented below:
| Academic indicator | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median ENTER Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank The Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank was the national Australian tertiary entrance rank, administered by Universities Australia... |
95.15 | 95.85 | 94.65 | 95.35 | 95.35 | 94.70 | 94.40 | 93.85 | 94.60 | 95.00 | 94.10 | 94.30 | 94.20 |
| % ENTER Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank The Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank was the national Australian tertiary entrance rank, administered by Universities Australia... of 90 or more |
69.5% | 75.0% | 67.7% | 73.0% | 74.1% | 69.3% | 69.8% | 65.7% | 69.3% | 74.0% | 66.7% | 65.7% | 65.2% |
| % ENTER Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank The Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank was the national Australian tertiary entrance rank, administered by Universities Australia... of 99 or more |
15.4% | 19.0% | 14.7% | 19.4% | 17.0% | 12.6% | 13.5% | 14.0% | 14.9% | 14.9% | 13.0% | 12.1% | 13.0% |
| Perfect ENTER Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank The Equivalent National Tertiary Entrance Rank was the national Australian tertiary entrance rank, administered by Universities Australia... scores of 99.95 |
0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |||
| Perfect subject study scores of 50 | - | 40 | 32 | 47 | 38 | 25 | 41 | 34 | 32 | 42 | 30 | 31 | 36 |
Students' academic progression
Being an academically high achieving school, Melbourne High School offers a large variety of subjects to choose from relative to other public schools. The range increases as the student moves to higher year levels.Year 9 students at Melbourne High School study a combination of 'core subjects' which are compulsory, and 'electives' which are only taken by a certain group of students who choose those subjects. The core subjects that are taken for the entire year are English, Mathematics, Science, Physical Education and LOTE (chosen by students out of German, French, Indonesian and Japanese). History is taken for one semester and is replaced by geography for the second semester. Similarly, Art (referring to visual arts) is taken for one semester and is replaced by Music for the second semester. Year 9s select one elective per semester. The electives generally cover educational areas that are not covered by the core, such as commerce or software design. Mid-year and end-of-year examinations are used to evaluate performance in each semester and determine a student's progression.
The Year 10 core subjects operate identically to the year 9 system. However, more electives are available, and several of these electives are more specialized than year 9 electives. Some year 10 electives, such as Business Management, provide an introduction to the VCE Business Management course. Many year 10 students also take the option of selecting a unit of a select few VCE subjects. These students typically advance to take units 3 and 4 of these subjects (the units that are externally examined by VCAA) in year 11. Again, mid-year and end-of-year examinations test material for all subjects.
In addition, years 9 and 10 students devote one period a week to massed singing, an intrinsic part of the school's tradition and ethos
Ethos
Ethos is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology. The Greeks also used this word to refer to the power of music to influence its hearer's emotions, behaviors, and even morals. Early Greek stories of...
. There is no accelerated program at Melbourne High and all students are taught at the same level. However, students identified by their teachers to have a strong aptitude for mathematics are placed into a Maths Extension program in years 9 and 10. Results in year 9 and 10 examinations also may impact on a student's ability to select a particular Unit 3/4 sequence.
In Year 11 and 12 students work towards completion of the Victorian Certificate of Education
Victorian Certificate of Education
The Victorian Certificate of Education or VCE is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete high school level studies in the state of Victoria, Australia. Study for the VCE is usually completed over two years, but it can be spread over a longer period in some cases...
(VCE). The International Baccalaureate is not offered at Melbourne High School. The general pathway taken by students is to undertake Units 3 and 4 of one subject in year 11, and Units 1 and 2 for five other subjects. In Year 12 students complete Units 3 and 4 for the remaining five subjects that are to count towards their VCE. Typically these are the same subjects that they completed Units 1 and 2 for in Year 11, but this is not an enforced rule, and some students attempt a 3 and 4 sequency without completing the corresponding 1 and 2 sequence. Some students make slight alterations to their VCE selections from this general pathway. University Enhacement subjects from Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
and the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
are an option that is taken by a small number of students each year. Some students also complete an additional Unit 3/4 sequence outside of school, often in Year 11. Unlike many other schools, Melbourne High School does not allow its students to complete two Unit 3/4 sequences inside school in year 11, and does not allow students to complete Mathematical Methods, a very popular subject in the school, in year 11.
The subjects chosen must include at least one English-related subject as per government regulations. For Melbourne High School students, the normal English subject is compulsory but can be replaced by English as a Second Language (ESL) for particular students. Unlike in some other schools, Literature or English Language cannot be used as replacements for English. Additionally, students are only allowed to select two mathematics subjects (out of the three: Further Mathematics, Mathematical Methods and Specialist Math). As in previous years, only German, French, Japanese and Indonesian are available for study in school, although students often take other LOTEs outside of school. Otherwise, the subjects offered include the entire VCE
Victorian Certificate of Education
The Victorian Certificate of Education or VCE is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete high school level studies in the state of Victoria, Australia. Study for the VCE is usually completed over two years, but it can be spread over a longer period in some cases...
range as well as some VET courses.
Prior to the announcement of final Year 12 results, the school uses data gained from internal testing throughout the year to determine the recipients of the subject prizes, which exist for every subject.
At the end of each year students undertake a 'transition' program that introduces them into the next year. These programs are also used to help deliver other skills, including seminars on driving, interview and note-taking amongst other things.
Daily Program
Every school day comprises seven periods, a recess break, homeroom assembly and a lunch break. The school operates on a fortnightly timetable. Junior school assembliesSchool assembly
A school assembly is a gathering of all or part of a school in order to communicate information and share learning experiences....
are allocated one period a fortnight, whilst Senior school assemblies are allocated one period a week. Year 9 and 10 mass singing sessions are allocated one period a week and year 9-12 weekly sport sessions are allocated two consecutive periods a week. Most formal VCE classes are not held during Wednesdays periods 6 and 7, allowing time for students' personal study and school-assessed coursework examinations to be held. School commences at 8:50am every day, and all formal classes end at 3:20pm. As of 2011, a largely student-fought initiative led to year 12 students not being required at school for any free periods they may have at the start or end of the day.
| Daily Program | |
|---|---|
| 8:50am | Homeroom Assembly |
| 9:00am | Period 1 |
| 9:43am | Period 2 |
| 10:26am | Period 3 |
| 11:09am | Recess |
| 11:29am | Locker Bell |
| 11:33am | Period 4 |
| 12:16pm | Period 5 |
| 12:59pm | Lunch |
| 1:49pm | Locker Bell |
| 1:54pm | Period 6 |
| 2:37pm | Period 7 |
| 3:20pm | End of formal classes |
Grounds, buildings and facilities
Melbourne High School has one campus, in South Yarra. This campus is split into five building blocks. These are: the Twenties building (built in 1927, refurbished in 1995), the Nineties building (built in 1992), the Round building, the Junior Science Block (built in 2000) and the Art Building (built in 2008).The Twenties building, which is Heritage listed, consists of three floors. The base level contains the school canteen
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
, the dining hall, two IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
rooms and four rooms devoted to mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
. The ground level serves multiple purposes. The south wing of the ground floor generally functions as geography and mathematics rooms. The north wing of the ground floor is devoted to physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
but also contains an extra lecture room. Between the north and south wings is the school's Memorial Hall, the principal's office and the offices of the assistant principals. The first floor of the Twenties building is also split into two wings. The north wing is assigned to history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, LOTE
Lote
Lote is a village in the municipality of Eid in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The population of Lote was 132. The village is located about southeast of Nordfjordeid and about northwest of Sandane in Gloppen municipality...
and politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
. The south wing is assigned to chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
.
The Nineties building, built in the '90s under principal Ray Willis, includes four floors. The ground floor and first floors are used by the South Yarra Sports Centre, an organization that provides its facilities both to the outside public and to students of Melbourne High. This ground floor contains a gym, and the first floor contains a weights room and cardio room. The secoond floor contains rooms used for biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, commerce
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
related subjects and music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
. The third floor is used for English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and also contains the school's library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
.
The science block consists of four science labs split over two levels. These science rooms are generally used only for year 9 and year 10 general science, with other rooms being used for the more specific VCE subjects of chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
. The Arts Building was completed in the year 2009. It consists of three floors, each containing multiple rooms devoted to the visual and performing arts. These also contain computers and media rooms.
In addition, the school's grounds include a hockey field
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
, tennis court
Tennis court
A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...
s, an oval
Oval
An oval is any curve resembling an egg or an ellipse, such as a Cassini oval. The term does not have a precise mathematical definition except in one area oval , but it may also refer to:* A sporting arena of oval shape** a cricket field...
(The Woodfull
Bill Woodfull
William Maldon "Bill" Woodfull OBE was an Australian cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s. He captained both Victoria and Australia, and was best known for his dignified and moral conduct during the tumultuous bodyline series in 1932–33 that almost saw the end of Anglo-Australian cricketing ties...
-Miller
Keith Miller
Keith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite...
oval) for cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and various codes of football
Football
Football may refer to one of a number of team sports which all involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer"...
, cricket nets
Cricket nets
Cricket nets are practice nets used by batsmen and bowlers to warm up and/or improve their cricketing techniques. Cricket nets consist of a cricket pitch which is enclosed by cricket nets on either side, to the rear and optionally the roof. The bowling end of the net is left open...
and basketball court
Basketball court
In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor with tiles at either end. In professional or organized basketball, especially when played indoors, it is usually made out of a wood, often maple, and highly polished...
s for sporting purposes. These are accompanied by the 'hockey pavilion', which overlooks the hockey field, the 'Old Boys Pavilion', which overlooks the oval, and the Cadet HQ
Cadet
A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...
, also near the oval.
Ethos, culture and student life
The junior school comprises students in year 9 and 10. They have their own four junior school captainsSchool Captain
School Captain is a student appointed or elected to represent the school.This student, usually in the senior year, in their final year of attending that school...
, assemblies, and singing lessons. Students in the junior school are not subject to the pressures of VCE and are encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities and broaden their education. For this reason, year 9 students must involve themselves in at least one extracurricular involvement (see below). Year 10 students complete twenty hours of community involvement throughout the year as well as an assignment on civics
Civics
Civics is the study of rights and duties of citizenship. In other words, it is the study of government with attention to the role of citizens ― as opposed to external factors ― in the operation and oversight of government....
and citizenship
Citizenship
Citizenship is the state of being a citizen of a particular social, political, national, or human resource community. Citizenship status, under social contract theory, carries with it both rights and responsibilities...
to be submitted at the end of the year. In year 9, students select two electives for the year while in year 10, students select four electives.
The senior school comprises students in Year 11 and Year 12. There is only one Senior School Captain
School Captain
School Captain is a student appointed or elected to represent the school.This student, usually in the senior year, in their final year of attending that school...
and senior School Vice-Captain. Particular members of the senior school will take up presidential roles of various teams, groups and organizations. At the end of every year, year elevens compete for a variety of coveted leadership positions, including positions in the SRC Leadership team and House leadership team. House captains and SRC presidents are determined by voting from the student body following a period of speech-making.
Melbourne High School Diploma
Participation and academic achievement aggregates in a points system which will culminate in the awarding of the 'MHS Diploma' at the time of the student's graduation. The first graduating class to receive the MHS Diploma will be the Class of 2011.House competition
Interhouse competitions remain an integral part of the school's ethosEthos
Ethos is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology. The Greeks also used this word to refer to the power of music to influence its hearer's emotions, behaviors, and even morals. Early Greek stories of...
. The four Houses with their associated colours are:
- Forrest (Blue)
- Waterloo (Green)
- Como (Yellow)
- Yarra (Red)
The names for the houses were derived from the local history of the area. The hill upon which the school is situated was first settled by captain John Forrest, who built his house, Waterloo cottage, in Como estate alongside the Yarra River
Yarra River
The Yarra River, originally Birrarung, is a river in east-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stretches of the river is where the city of Melbourne was established in 1835 and today Greater Melbourne dominates and influences the landscape of its lower reaches...
. Forrest won the inaugural cockhouse cup in 1928. The house's histories are well documented, with records of victories in major competitions as well as individual school records, being kept. Over the history of the competition all houses except Como have had periods of dominance with five successive victories, with the most recent such period being Waterloo in the 2000s. Yarra has been the house with the largest number of victories, owing to a long winning streak through the 1990s and early 2000s. Waterloo has recently been dominating the Cockhouses, winning every year from 2005 to 2009, but overall they are the least successful house. Forrest ended Waterloo's streak, and its own 15 year drought, in 2010.
The house competition has had its controversial aspects, including the adjudication process in the house choral competition, which was recently improved by adding three adjudicators instead of one. This change was made the year after Waterloo won its first competition in 20 years despite Yarra's standout performance of Nessun dorma
Nessun dorma
Nessun dorma is an aria from the final act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot, and is one of the best-known tenor arias in all opera. It is sung by Calaf, il principe ignoto , who falls in love at first sight with the beautiful but cold Princess Turandot...
. After the adjudication was expanded to three judges Yarra won with their rendition of Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
, although controversy remained after Forrest came last despite receiving heavy applause from the audience for Anthem
Chess (musical)
Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...
. In the 2011 competition, controversy arose again when Waterloo came last despite a huge applause from the audience for Wavin' Flag
Wavin' Flag
"Wavin' Flag" is a song by Somali-Canadian artist K'naan from his album Troubadour. The song was a global hit, reaching the top ten in 19 charts around the world and was chosen as Coca-Cola's promotional anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, hosted by South Africa. The English version was released as...
.
The houses compete in four major competitions:
- SwimmingSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
Always the first event of the year, this event features students from each of the four age groups competing in a number of short and long distance swimming events at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre
Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre
The Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre is an international sporting venue located in Albert Park, Victoria, Australia. The centre was opened on the 24th of July 1997 at a construction cost of A$65 million. The cost was funded by the State Government of Victoria and the City of Port Phillip...
's Commonwealth games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
outdoor swimming pool. Points are accumulated for a house both through relays and individual events. The event runs over one full day, with each individual event containing two students from each house. For the individual events, points are awarded from first place through to fourth, giving houses the opportunity to break ahead if they were to have both competitors in the top four. There are four 50m relays per age group: the A,B,C and D relays. They progressively are less valuable to the house, but are still pivotal in the final calculations for champion. There are also 200 m relays and medleys, which have the same value as an A relay. Extra points are awarded for breaking school records. An age group champion is named from each age group.
The most recent competition (2011) ended with results: 1st: Yarra, 2nd: Waterloo, 3rd: Forrest, 4th: Como
Based on points awarded, swimming is the least valuable of the four majors, with first place scoring 80 point, second 64, third 56 and forth 48. This is justified by the fact that it features the least number of students participating.
- AthleticsAthletics (track and field)Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...
The second major event of the year, the athletics competition has for several years been held over two days at Olympic Park Stadium
Olympic Park Stadium
Olympic Park Stadium was a multi-purpose outdoor stadium located on Olympic Boulevard in inner Melbourne. The stadium was built as an athletics training venue for the 1956 Olympics, a short distance from the MCG, which served as the Olympic Stadium...
, however in 2010 it was held on the school oval due to the Melbourne & Olympic Parks precinct redevelopment. The first day largely comprises heats and C, D, E and F relays (as with swimming, the A relay is the most valuable and the F relay the least). The second day contains a large number of finals. The heats are worth very few points, so the second day has the capacity to make or break a house's chances, as was seen as this year in the U15 discus, the final event of the day, where pending results may have affected the outcome of the day. The second day also features A and B relays. Other individual events include the 1500 m walk, the 3000m race and the 3000m steeplechase. These three events are open to all age groups. All other individual events are run within age groups. Both track and field events are competed in. The winner of the Athletics competition is awarded 90 points, second 70, third 60 and forth 50 points towards the Cockhouse Cup.
The most recent competition (2011) ended with results: 1st: Como, 2nd: Waterloo, 3rd: Forrest, 4th: Yarra
- ChoralsChoirA choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
The chorals involves the entire school in one day at the Melbourne Town Hall
Melbourne Town Hall
Melbourne Town Hall is the central municipal building of the City of Melbourne, Australia, in the State of Victoria. It is located on the northeast corner of Swanston and Collins Streets, in the central business district. It is the seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Melbourne...
. It is preceded on that same day by the Instrumentals Competition, which is not a major competition, although it is one of the most important minors. The chorals competition features three pieces sung by each house: a set song, a free choice, and a special choir song. The special choir consists of between 8-20 members of the house while the set song and free choice are sung by the whole house. Rehearsals are held at recess and lunchtimes in the school's memorial hall and are generally coordinated by student leaders in the house.
There is also a special choir event that sings in harmonies and more complex songs. In the 2010 competition, Waterloo House rick Roll'd the whole school.
The most recent competition (2011) ended with results: 1st: Yarra, 2nd: Como, 3rd: Forrest, 4th: Waterloo
- Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
The cross country competition closes off the house competition and is generally the decider as the Cockhouse Cup reaches its finale. Most of the school runs 5 km around Albert Park Lake in their year levels. All positions are counted from 1st to 250th in each age group. This generally means that the house with the greatest participation wins. Waterloo has won this competition for the last 8 years as of the end of 2010.
The most recent competition (2011) ended with results: 1st: Como, 2nd: Forrest, 3rd: Waterloo, 4th: Yarra.
They also compete in minor competitions:
- Australian FootballAustralian rules footballAustralian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
(Junior and Senior, counted as two events) - BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
(Junior and Senior, counted as two events) - DebatingDebateDebate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
(Junior and Senior, Australasian/DAV style counted as one event) - HockeyField hockeyField Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
- Football (soccer)Football (soccer)Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
(Junior and Senior, counted as one event) - Theatre SportsActingActing is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
(Junior and Senior, counted as one event) - VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
- Water PoloWater poloWater polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
- InstrumentalInstrumentalAn instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
s - one of the most hotly contested minors, the entire school watches the instrumental competition, which features around 150 students across the year levels. The competition is structured so that each house presents two soloists and one ensemble performance, each of which are judged by the same three adjudicators that judged the Chorals, and the points are tallied to find the winner. The most recent competition (2010) had results: 1st: Waterloo, 2nd: Forrest, 3rd: Como, 4th: Yarra.
- Year 9 Cockhouse Round Robin - in which the new Year 9s can pick to play a particular sport out of a wide array of sports for their house and participate in round-robin against the other houses. The main focus of the competition is to make the new Year 9s involved with their houses. The most recent competition (2011) had results: 1st: Waterloo, 2nd: Como, Tied 3rd: Forrest and Yarra.
Music programme
Melbourne High School offers a music programme. The school has a compulsory massed singingSinging
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
program for students in Year 9 and Year 10. Year 9 students also complete a semester of classroom music. The Music Department also offers a number of electives at Year 10 level in Music Craft, Music Technology, Film Music and Music Composition. At VCE
Victorian Certificate of Education
The Victorian Certificate of Education or VCE is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete high school level studies in the state of Victoria, Australia. Study for the VCE is usually completed over two years, but it can be spread over a longer period in some cases...
level, the department currently offers VCE Music: Group Performance and VCE Music: Solo Performance. This is complemented with an instrumental tuition program on the school's campus.
There is also an extensive co-curricular ensemble program, which allows students of all abilities to participate in making music. Some of these ensembles include: The MHS Chorale, Symphonic Band, Symphony Orchestra, Tattam Band, MHS Singers (Chamber Choir), Stage Band, Big Band, String Orchestra, Camerata, and Composition Ensemble.
Sport programme
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...
. The school also has a burgeoning rowing program, recently establishing a sculling school. Students select new sports after a six week rotation.
The school has an active participation in 23 different interschool sports through the Victorian Secondary Schools' Sports Association (VSSSA) and other tournaments. The school is engaged in a further 14 weekend sporting competitions, notably in the areas of water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
, which is supported by the school's indoor swimming pool, and rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
. Hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
, lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
and water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
teams are entered into the Australian All Schools' Competition, in which students travel interstate to compete against teams from around the country. Other competitions specific to particular sports also exist.
The school's performance in sports has been in constant flux. In the past its strengths lay in Australian Rules Football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
, Melbourne High won all senior VSSSA Australian football titles between 1988 and 1996, and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, where Melbourne High five titles in the space of seven years between 1989 and 1995, but as the student demographic changed, so much so that currently about two-thirds of students are from East Asian or South Asian background, this strength in football was replaced by greater performance in table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...
and badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...
. As of the end of 2009, Melbourne High had won the senior VSSSA badminton competition three times in the last four years, had won the senior table tennis competition nine times in the last ten years and had won the intermediate table tennis competitions for the last five years. The school is also emerging in its Cross Country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
performance, and has won five out of the six possible VSSSA age group titles it could contend for in the last three years.
The school also has a tradition of hockey performance, and the MHSOBA uses the school's synthetic turf hockey field for its own senior and junior clubs. The school's own team has won the VSSSA crown seven times in the last nine years. A similar tradition involving the MHSOBA exists with the school's cricket teams, which have been consistently competitive, winning six VSSSA titles over the twenty-year history of the competition.
The 1st XI cricket team has in the past played matches against the Victorian Governors XI which included Merv Hughes
Merv Hughes
Mervyn Gregory Hughes is a former Australian cricketer. A right-arm fast bowler, he represented Australia between 1985 and 1994 in 53 Test matches, taking 212 wickets. He played 33 One Day Internationals, taking 38 wickets. He took a hat trick in a Test against the West Indies at the WACA in...
. The school's rich cricketing history led to a 2009 visit from avid cricket fan and media personality Sir Michael Parkinson.
Leadership program
Melbourne High School has a number of leadership opportunities integrated into its leadership programme. The opportunities begin as early as year 9, as every form must elect one student as its Form Captain, who serves administerial duties, and another to be its SRC representative, who represents the form in Student Representative Council meetings. In addition, two students from the year level are elected to be the year level's SRC Executives. The pre-election period for this role generally involves active campaigning by students.In addition to these roles, there are other more senior leadership opportunities in the school. The school has four Junior School Captain
School Captain
School Captain is a student appointed or elected to represent the school.This student, usually in the senior year, in their final year of attending that school...
s (all in year 10), a School Captain and a School Vice Captain. Several year twelves also comprise the SRC Cabinet, which includes the roles of the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer. The SRC organizes student initiated events such as socials, formals
School Formal
A school formal is an event held during the school year for students in Australian and New Zealand high schools. Formals are generally organised and run by a student committee, the members of which volunteer to do so...
and inter-form competitions in games such as dodgeball
Dodgeball
Dodgeball is any of a variety of games in which players try to hit other players on the opposing team with balls while avoiding being hit themselves. This article is about a well-known form of team sport with modified rules that is often played in physical education classes and has been featured...
or soccer.
Many involvements, including such as the Political Interest Group, Food Interest Group and Students Alive (see below) have presidents or captains. Most sporting teams also have captains. Within the Cadet Units
Cadet
A cadet is a trainee to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. The term comes from the term "cadet" for younger sons of a noble family.- Military context :...
, there are a series of leadership positions offered to students who completed particular promotion courses over the holidays. There are also leaders in the form of the Year 11 Mentoring Program and the Millgrove Outdoor Education Center leaders.
Student leaders are often distinguishable from the rest of the students. Most leaders (apart from form captains and SRC representatives, who wear coloured badges) are distinguished through writing sewed onto their blazer pocket. The School Captain and SRC President is further distinguished through the sewing of a golden wreath
Wreath
A wreath is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs and/or various materials that is constructed to resemble a ring. They are used typically as Christmas decorations to symbolize the coming of Christ, also known as the Advent season in Christianity. They are also used as festive headdresses...
around the Unicorn of their blazer pocket, whilst the School Vice-Captain and SRC Vice-President have a green wreath around the Unicorn of their blazer pocket. The house captains have a small coloured trim representing their house sewn onto the pocket, Other leadership positions can also be distinguished through badges specific to those positions (Though some badges are simply given to participants of certain student initiated involvement groups).
The annual Ray Willis Leadership Scheme invites all of the students involved in the school's leadership programme to a forum discussing a major issue, such as climate change, the Australian identity or multiculturalism. The students then form groups and conduct research on that issue for the remainder of the year, at the end of which they submit a report on their findings. Each group must contain at least one student from each year level and the report must be completed solely in the students' own time.
Involvement programme
The school has an extensive program of student-run clubs, societies and special interest groups. It is compulsory for new Year 9 students to be involved in some of these groups. The school has 54 recognized involvements, groups and societies Some of the major involvements that have been integral in Melbourne High's history are Army CadetsAustralian Army Cadets
The Australian Army Cadets is a youth organisation that is involved with progressive training of youths in military and adventurous activities. The programme has more than 19,000 Army Cadets between the ages of 12½ and 19 based in 236 units around Australia...
, Air Force Cadets
Australian Air Force Cadets
The Australian Air Force Cadets , known as the Air Training Corps until 2001, is a Federal Government funded youth organisation. The parent force of the AAFC is the Royal Australian Air Force...
, Chorale
Chorale
A chorale was originally a hymn sung by a Christian congregation. In certain modern usage, this term may also include classical settings of such hymns and works of a similar character....
, Debating, Instrumental Ensemble
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
and Rowing
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
. Other clubs and societies that exist include educationally themed ones such as the renowned Political Interest Group (PIG), Astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
club, IT Programming club, BizE (Business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
Interest Group), Global issues education (GIE) and Heritage Society as well as recreational ones such as the Bush-walking club, The Sentinel (student magazine
Student newspaper
A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....
) and FIG (Food Interest Group), otherwise known as the "Fun With Food" group. Students pursuing similar interests may gather together and form a new group of their own, subject to the approval of the school's administration. The administration's flexibility in this regard has seen the recent emergence of the Strategy Club (Warhammer
Warhammer 40,000
Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a dystopian science fantasy universe. Warhammer 40,000 was created by Rick Priestley in 1987 as the futuristic companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, sharing many game mechanics...
figurine games, and TCG card games), Jewish Student Network, Students Alive (Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Religious Group), Baka Anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
, Victory Club (supporting the Melbourne Victory), The Barbershop
Barbershop music
Barbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era , is a style of a cappella, or unaccompanied vocal music characterized by consonant four-part chords for every melody note in a predominantly homophonic texture...
Club, the Nintendo Club, SOFA and the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
Club.
Former MHS principal once quoted,"There is a joke here that if you reside in Canberra's halls of power but you haven't been invited to Melbourne High by the PIG, you haven't really made it." The Political Interest Group has had speakers ranging from Federal Treasurer Peter Costello, to Former Prime Minister and current Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, Current Prime Minister Julia Gillard (at the time, Shadow Health Minister), Current Federal Minister Stephen Conroy and annually has Andrew Bolt
Andrew Bolt
Andrew Bolt is an Australian newspaper columnist, radio commentator, blogger and television host. Bolt is a columnist and associate editor of the Melbourne-based Herald Sun. He has appeared on the Nine Network, Melbourne Talk Radio, ABC Television, Network Ten and local radio...
speak at the school. Recently PIG has had journalists such as Catherine Deveny, Derryn Hinch, Barrie Cassidy and numerous State and Federal Politicians.
The chess club
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
, and competition writing group are involvements that participate in interschool competitions, as do the chorale, instrumental ensemble and debating teams. Melbourne High School has been successful in each, with achievements in debating including state championships, Swannie awards and students making the national debating team. In 2008, the school also began involvement with the UNYA
UNYA
United Nations Youth Associations are youth-led NGOs entirely consisting of young volunteers. These associations are supporting the goals and pronciples of the United Nations Charter and it is their aim to promote these principles and the work of the United Nations among their national civil...
's Thant Trophy - a model United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
competition - two teams reached the state finals in that year. The school has won the State Final in chess for four years running as of 2009.
In Year 9, students are introduced to the compulsory involvement program. In year 10, students complete community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
inovlvement, which includes a day raising funds in the city for the Red Cross. In Year 11, students undertake cultural involvement, in which they experience different cultures around Melbourne.
Awards, badges and prizes
There are School Colours for both Service and Sport. Both are in the form of ties, with a design consisting of the standard MHS tie's stripes and a unicorn at the bottom for Half Colours; and the tie stripe alternating with unicorns for Full Colours. The Unicorns on Sport Colours ties are coloured gold; the ones on Service Colours are silver.In addition to the tie, Full Colours recipients as well as holders of some leadership positions can have their blazer emblazoned with their award or position. Position titles are emblazoned above the school emblem on the blazer pocket whilst award titles are emblazoned below. A system of badges is also employed at Melbourne High School (for house captains, SRC executives, class SRC representatives, high academic achievers, form captains and for various clubs).
The Melbourne High School Speech Night features the awarding of various prize
Prize
A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people to recognise and reward actions or achievements. Official prizes often involve monetary rewards as well as the fame that comes with them...
s to particular students for performance in academic subjects, cocurricular achievements or sporting feats. The academic prizes are determined by using data delivered through internal testing of VCE students. There is one academic prize for every subject, as well as a prize for Pure Science and scientific enquiry. The sporting prizes are chosen by the heads of a particular sport to reward the individual deemed to have made the greatest contribution to that sport during their time at Melbourne High. The cocurricular prizes are similarly chosen. In addition, there are prizes for 'Best All-rounder' and 'Sports Champion'.
Brother and sister schools
Melbourne High maintains close ties with its counterpart the Mac.Robertson Girls' High SchoolMac.Robertson Girls' High School
The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School is an academically selective, public high school for girls, located in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
. Each year the schools join together for the Winter Concert performed at the Melbourne Recital Centre, as well as a musical and a drama production performed in the school's memorial hall. Recently a fairly light-hearted Melbourne High vs MacRob Cup has begun to take place and includes events such as debating, soccer and theatre sports.
Exchanges
Sister school relationships have been established internationally with high schools in Japan (Kasukabe High School), Germany (Albert-Schweitzer-Gymnasium GundelfingenAlbert-Schweitzer-Gymnasium Gundelfingen
Albert-Schweitzer-Gymnasium Gundelfingen is a school in Gundelfingen, Germany established in 1974.It is currently a brother school to Melbourne High School, taking part in exchange programs every second year. Its Australian partner school for the exchange program for female participants is the...
), Indonesia (SMAN 4 Denpasar) and France (Lycée Branly Amiens, Pertuis
Pertuis
Pertuis is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.Located south of the Luberon, this town is also near Aix-en-Provence, a famous town. Pertuis has existed since at least 981, while a castle was first built in the 12th century...
). Annual exchanges occur with each of the sister schools, giving students the opportunity to experience both the culture and education system of another country. Each year Melbourne High either sends a group of students overseas to these schools, or hosts students from these schools. There are also opportunities for individual students to go on a longer term exchange overseas.
Crawford Shield & Prefects Cup
Melbourne High has annual sporting contests against North Sydney Boys High SchoolNorth Sydney Boys High School
North Sydney Boys High School is an academically selective, public high school for boys, located at Crows Nest in Sydney, Australia.- History :...
and Adelaide High School
Adelaide High School
Adelaide High School is a coeducational state high school situated on the corner of West Terrace and Glover Avenue in the Adelaide Parklands. It is the first government high school in South Australia...
during which boys from the visiting school are billeted with host families. Annual exchanges with Sydney Boys High School
Sydney Boys High School
Sydney Boys High School is an academically selective public secondary school for boys, located in the City of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, with 1,180 students, from years 7 to 12...
are held for rowing. Melbourne High competes against North Sydney Boys High School in cricket, athletics, basketball, chess, fencing, debating, futsal
Futsal
Futsal is a variant of association football that is played on a smaller pitch and mainly played indoors. Its name is a portmanteau of the Portuguese futebol de salão and the Spanish fútbol de salón , which can be translated as "hall football" or "indoor football"...
, gold, lawn bowls, music and table tennis for the Crawford Shield, which in 2009 celebrated its 50th anniversary. The first exchange in 1959 only involved cricket, but since then the competition expanded to include a peak of fifteen sports in the early 2000s including swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
, squash
Squash (sport)
Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...
and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
. North Sydney won the shield in 2010, the previous year, but Melbourne High School currently holds the Crawford shield winning all sports in 2011 bar debating and chess.
In August Melbourne High competes against Adelaide High in football, hockey, rowing, badminton, basketball, cross country, debating, soccer, table tennis, tennis, theatre sports
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and volleyball for the Prefects' Cup. The Prefects' Cup has been held since 1910. As Adelaide High School is coeducational, the MacRobertson Girls' High School also competes, although their performance against the girls of Adelaide High has no bearing on the Prefects' Cup. Melbourne High School currently holds the Prefects' Cup.
School tradition
The school motto is "Honour the work". The School motto was derived spontaneously from an eloquent address given to the assembled school by the late Mr Frank Tate ISO, MA, a former Director of Education. In the course of his speech, he quoted the words of Edward Thrik. The song is sung at the start of all school assemblies and other school gatherings such as speech nights. On normal occasions only the first two verses are sung, however on special occasions, such as ANZAC DayANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
, the third verse is also sung.
Mission and philosophy
The school's official mission statement is:The school's official philosophy statement is:
School uniform
Students are required to wear school uniformSchool uniform
A school uniform is an outfit—a set of standardized clothes—worn primarily for an educational institution. They are common in primary and secondary schools in various countries . When used, they form the basis of a school's dress code.Traditionally school uniforms have been largely subdued and...
, which consists of a black college blazer, green pullover or vest (maroon for year 12), school tie, white business shirt, grey college trousers and/or grey college shorts, grey or black socks, black polished shoes, and the MHS maroon backpack. The blazer is woollen and is black in colour. It features a maroon and green trim which extends to the collar-region. The school logo (the unicorn) is emblazoned on the left-chest-pocket, which is also where the student leadership positions are stitched. The school blazer must be worn when travelling to and from school. In school grounds, the jumper may be worn as the outer garment. The tie features maroon and green stripes, however, students can also receive half colours and full colours, which are differently coloured ties awarded for various school achievements. Some students also received the black centenary tie in 2005, featuring both the crests of Melbourne High School and the MacRobertson Girls' High School.
Students also have access to various sports uniforms which cater for the many different sports and events students undertake. However, there is a particular set of sports uniform which is required by all students. In years 9 and 10, this sports uniform must be worn to compulsory Physical Education, and in all years, the sports uniform must be worn to most weekly sport sessions, depending upon the sport which the students choose to participate in. The compulsory sports uniform consists of a white shirt, with the unicorn featured, or a house singlet, in the colour of the students house, bottle green sports shorts, MHS sports socks (white in colour), and the appropriate runners. Extras include the white school cap, maroon school spray jacket and maroon school rugby top, which was replaced in 2011 by a cream and maroon varsity jacket for year 12 students only. Other sports and involvement items are bought separately, such as cricket whites
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
or other guernseys.
Principals
| Period | Details |
|---|---|
| 1912–1923 | Mr Joseph Hocking |
| 1923–1934 | Mr Claude Searby |
| 1934–1943 | Mr James Hill |
| 1943–1949 | Major-General Alan Ramsay CBE DSO Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September... CB Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath... MSM Meritorious Service Medal (United Kingdom) The Meritorious Service Medal is a silver medal for distinguished service, or for gallantry, principally by non-commissioned officers of all of the British armed forces and of Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service.-Summary:... ED Efficiency Decoration The Efficiency Decoration is a defunct medal of Britain and the Commonwealth awarded for long service in the Territorial Army of the UK, the Indian Volunteer Forces and Colonial Auxiliary Forces.... § |
| 1949–1956 | Brigadier Brigadier Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general.... George Langley DSO Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September... OStJ Venerable Order of Saint John The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem , is a royal order of chivalry established in 1831 and found today throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Hong Kong, Ireland and the United States of America, with the world-wide mission "to prevent and relieve sickness and... SOWE § |
| 1956–1962 | Mr William "Bill" Woodfull Bill Woodfull William Maldon "Bill" Woodfull OBE was an Australian cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s. He captained both Victoria and Australia, and was best known for his dignified and moral conduct during the tumultuous bodyline series in 1932–33 that almost saw the end of Anglo-Australian cricketing ties... OBE Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions... § |
| 1963 | Mr Frederic Wells § |
| 1964–1969 | Mr Edward Thompson § |
| 1970–1975 | Mr Laurence Collins |
| 1975–1986 | Mr Lou Barberis § |
| 1987–1991 | Mr Neville Drohan § |
| 1992–2004 | Mr Raymond Winston George Willis § |
| 2005–Present | Mr Jeremy Ludowyke § |
Notable Melbourne High School Old Boys
Those who have left the school are known as 'Old Boys' and many join the Melbourne High School Old Boys Association. The Old Boys Association was founded in 1907, and has been in continuous operation since then. The Association provides considerable support to leaving students in their tertiary studies in the form of scholarships. The Association organises sport participation after Year 12, and the MHSOB cricket and football clubs have been historic entities. The MHSOB also has hockey and waterpolo clubs. These institutions have played their part in the production of notable Australian sportspeople, including cricketers Keith MillerKeith Miller
Keith Ross Miller MBE was an Australian Test cricketer and a Royal Australian Air Force pilot during World War II. Miller is widely regarded as Australia's greatest ever all-rounder. Because of his ability, irreverent manner and good looks he was a crowd favourite...
and Bill Woodfull
Bill Woodfull
William Maldon "Bill" Woodfull OBE was an Australian cricketer of the 1920s and 1930s. He captained both Victoria and Australia, and was best known for his dignified and moral conduct during the tumultuous bodyline series in 1932–33 that almost saw the end of Anglo-Australian cricketing ties...
as well as a number of champion AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
footballers that includes, at least, three members of the AFL Hall of Fame, three Brownlow
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
medalists, seven team-of-the-century members, eight captains, fourteen All-Australian selectees, and twenty-one best and fairest award recipients such as David Parkin
David Parkin
David Parkin is a former Australian rules footballer and four-time premiership coach.- Pre-football career :He attended Melbourne High School and during his time there, was the school vice-captain and captain of football....
, Garry Lyon
Garry Lyon
Garry Peter Lyon is a former professional Australian rules football player and was captain of the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League. Since his retirement from football, he has been mainly an Australian rules football media personality, featuring on television, radio and in...
and Cameron Bruce
Cameron Bruce
Cameron Bruce is a professional Australian rules football player, who plays for the Hawthorn Football Club after being selected by the Hawks in the Pre-season Draft, as was widely speculated to occur after he quit playing for the Melbourne Football Club, with whom he had played for 11 seasons, and...
. The Old Boys' organize reunions which occur every 5 years, maintaining contact between Melbourne High alumni.
As a school that prides itself on academic success, Melbourne High School has produced individuals who have played a major role in research, government, economics and finance including Nobel laureate
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
for medicine Sir John Eccles, who was awarded his prize for his research on the synapse
Synapse
In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another cell...
. Melbourne High School students have also contributed to arts and culture. The male members of the Australian band The Seekers
The Seekers
The Seekers are an Australian folk-influenced pop music group which were originally formed in 1962. They were the first Australian popular music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the United States...
- Athol Guy
Athol Guy
Athol Guy , is a member of the Australian pop music-folk music group The Seekers. Guy played the double bass. He was characterised by his wearing of black horn-rimmed glasses...
, Keith Potger
Keith Potger
Keith Potger is one of the founding members of the Australian pop-folk group The Seekers. He was born in Ceylon and is of Burgher descent. In the Seekers, he played twelve string guitar and banjo, and sang...
and Bruce Woodley
Bruce Woodley
Bruce William Woodley , is an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. He was a founding member of the successful pop-folk group The Seekers, and co-composer of the anthemic song "I Am Australian"...
- the creators of the now folk song I Am Australian
I Am Australian
I am Australian is a popular Australian poem written in 1987 by Bruce Woodley of The Seekers and Dobe Newton of The Bushwackers. Its lyrics are filled with many historic and cultural references, such as to the 'digger', Albert Namatjira and Ned Kelly, among others...
, also attended Melbourne High School, as did two finalists in the popular reality television show Australian Idol
Australian Idol
Australian Idol is a Logie Award-winning Australian singing competition, which began its first season on July 2003 and ended its run in November 2009. As part of the Idol franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program Pop Idol, which was created by British entertainment executive...
in Thanh Bui and Dean Geyer
Dean Geyer
Dean Stanley Geyer is an Australian Singer-Songwriter and Actor who came third in the 2006 season of the talent show television series, Australian Idol.-Early life:...
. A large number of famous Old Boys are featured around the school's corridors in the Distinguished Old Boys gallery.
Melbourne High in popular culture
Melbourne High School has become an iconic landmark in the city of Melbourne. It featured on Thank God You're HereThank God You're Here
Thank God You're Here is an Australian television improvised comedy program created by Working Dog Productions, which premiered on Network Ten on 5 April 2006, and aired for the first three seasons with Seven for the fourth season...
on Wednesday, 27 May 2009, where the name of the school was replaced with Kevington Grammar but footage was taken of the school building and school students.
Steven Spielberg's World War Two miniseries The Pacific
The Pacific (miniseries)
The Pacific is a 2010 television series produced by HBO, Seven Network Australia, Sky Movies, Playtone and DreamWorks that premiered in the United States on March 14, 2010....
, the follow-up to Band of Brothers, featured some footage of Melbourne High School, shot in December 2007.
On 13 August 2010, the Year 12 students had their formal crashed by singer Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
and fashion designer Ruby Rose.
Lili Wilkinson
Lili Wilkinson
Lili Wilkinson is an Australian author. She has also written for several publications, including The Age, and managed , a website for teenagers about books, as part of her role at the Centre For Youth Literature at the State Library of Victoria until January 2011.-Early life:Wilkinson was born in...
's YA novel Pink is set in "The Billy Hughes School for Academic Excellence", a thinly veiled amalgamation of Melbourne High School and MacRobertson Girls High School based on the author's own experience of school theatre at the schools.
See also
- List of schools in Victoria
- Victorian Certificate of EducationVictorian Certificate of EducationThe Victorian Certificate of Education or VCE is the credential awarded to secondary school students who successfully complete high school level studies in the state of Victoria, Australia. Study for the VCE is usually completed over two years, but it can be spread over a longer period in some cases...
- Selective schools
- Australian Army CadetsAustralian Army CadetsThe Australian Army Cadets is a youth organisation that is involved with progressive training of youths in military and adventurous activities. The programme has more than 19,000 Army Cadets between the ages of 12½ and 19 based in 236 units around Australia...
- Australian Air Force CadetsAustralian Air Force CadetsThe Australian Air Force Cadets , known as the Air Training Corps until 2001, is a Federal Government funded youth organisation. The parent force of the AAFC is the Royal Australian Air Force...