North Sydney Girls High School (NSGHS) is an academically selective
, public high school
for girls, located at Crows Nest
, on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales
, Australia
.
Established in 1914, the school currently caters for approximately 930 students from Years 7 to 12. Admission is based entirely on academic results through the Selective High Schools Test undertaken by students in Year 6.
In 2001, The Sun-Herald
ranked North Sydney Girls High School seventh in Australia's top ten girls' schools, based on the number of its alumni mentioned in the Who's Who in Australia
(a listing of notable Australians).
History
North Sydney Girls High School was officially founded in 1914 with an enrolment of 194 students.The school was originally located on the corner of Hazelbank Road and Pacific Highway
(where Bradfield Senior College
is now situated). By the 1980s, it was felt that the site could no longer meet the needs of the school, and years of intense lobbying for improved facilities followed. When the New South Wales Government
decided to close Crows Nest Boys' High, the facility was transferred to North Sydney Girls. In December 1993, North Sydney Girls High officially moved to its current location, following a $6 million building and renovations project.
Facilities
Current facilities include a newly renovated librarywith five innovations rooms, multi-purpose hall, gymnasium, language laboratory, music studio, five computer laboratories, science laboratories, art rooms, darkroom, workshops, textiles and food technology rooms, drama
and music
rooms and netball
, basketball
and tennis
courts.
Students
North Sydney Girls is an academically selective high school; admission to the school for Year 7 is determined by results in the Selective High Schools test, which is open to all Year 6 students in NSW. A small number of students from other high schools are accepted into years 8 to 11, with applications made directly to the school.Curriculum
North Sydney Girls High School is registered and accredited with the New South Wales Board of Studies, and therefore follows the mandated curriculumfor all years.
In Years 7 and 8, NSGHS students complete studies in Mathematics
(Advanced), English
, Science
, History
, Geography
, Music, Visual Arts
, Technological & Applied Studies (TAS), Languages (French
, German
, Japanese
, Latin
, Mandarin
), and Personal Development/Health/Physical Education
and a subject unique to NSGHS called Innovations. Students in Year 7 complete one language each term, and in Year 8 must select their preferred language to complete throughout the year.
Year 9 and 10 students are prepared for the School Certificate
exam that is undertaken upon the completion of Year 10 studies. At this stage, English, Mathematics (Advanced), Science, History, Geography and Personal Development/Health/Physical Education (PDHPE) are mandatory subjects according to the New South Wales Syllabus. Students must also choose three electives from Music, Dance, Visual Arts, Photographic and Digital Media, Languages (French, German, Japanese, Latin, Mandarin), Drama
, Design and Technology, Food Technology
, Textiles and Design, Information Software and Technology
, Information Processes and Technology
, Commerce
, Philosophy
, Elective History, and Elective Geography.
The focus of Year 11 and 12 studies is the NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC) exam that is undertaken upon the completion of Year 12. The only mandatory subject at this stage is English (Advanced), and students may then choose up to 13 units from a list of elective subjects.
Academic results
The school performs well in public examinations, and in recent years has been placed as the leading girls' school in New South Wales in the Higher School Certificate(HSC) examinations. Annually, at least 30% of Year 12 students achieve places in the top 1% of HSC.
Award System
At North Sydney Girls High School, awards are given based on academic performance in the senior school. In the junior school (Years 7-10), awards are given based on the Holistic Learning System, where students from years 7 to 10 are rewarded for demonstrating perseverance, organisation, resilience and problem solving skills.
The Resilient Learner Award
The Resilient Learner Award is presented to students who have demonstrated all the qualities of a resilient learner to an outstanding level. This involves the aspects of confidence, organisation, taking risks, being independent, believing in oneself, the ability to view situations as opportunities, persistence, getting along with others and emotional resilience.
The Connected Learner Award
The Connected Learning Award is presented to students who have demonstrated all the qualities of a connected learner to an outstanding level. This includes connecting content, the ability to connect different subjects in order to gain a deeper understanding of curriculum content, connecting context, the ability to make connections between the learning environment and real world situations or events, connecting to learning opportunities, the ability to work collaboratively in a variety of settings to solve problems and the ability to connect learning to abstract concepts.
The Innovative Learner Award
The Innovative Learner Award is presented to students who have demonstrated the qualities of an innovative learner to an outstanding level. This includes demonstrating how learning has changed their thinking/personal philosophy with reference to real world content and clearly articulating how their thought processes in relation to learning experiences were highly creative and required them to think outside the square.
The Holistic Learner Award
The Holistic Learner Award (or the 'Hollie') is presented to one student in the year group who has been able to demonstrate all the qualities of a resilient, connected and innovative learner to the highest level.
Co-curriculum
NSGHS offers a diverse range of extracurricular activities.Music and drama:
- Advanced String Ensemble, Stage (Jazz) Band, Jazz Ensemble, Concert Band, Symphony Orchestra, Wind Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Beginner Band, Choir and Camerata (junior string group) - each musical ensemble embarks on at least one tour every year for one week.
- School choirs - Year 7 Junior and Intermediate Choir, Combined (NSGHS & NSBHS) Choir, Senior Vocal, A Capella group
- Combined Annual Musical with North Sydney Boys High SchoolNorth Sydney Boys High SchoolNorth Sydney Boys High School is an academically selective, public high school for boys, located at Crows Nest in Sydney, Australia.- History :...
- Theatre Sports
- Year 10 Drama Night and various clubs
- Junior Drama Ensemble
Sport and outdoor activity:
- Sports including 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...
, SkiingSkiingSkiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
, HockeyHockeyHockey 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:...
, CricketCricketCricket 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...
, BadmintonBadmintonBadminton 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...
, Table TennisTable tennisTable 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...
, TaekwondoTaekwondoTaekwondo 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"...
, RowingRowing (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...
, KayakingKayakingKayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...
, Touch FootballTouch football (rugby league)Touch is a field sport also known as Touch Football, or in some countries as Touch Rugby. Touch is overseen worldwide by the Federation of International Touch . Touch has traditionally been played in Australia and New Zealand but the sport has expanded internationally and features many regional and...
, 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...
, FencingFencingFencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
, NetballNetballNetball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
, TennisTennisTennis 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...
and LacrosseLacrosseLacrosse 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... - Chess
- Dance ensembles
- Duke of Edinburgh Award SchemeThe Duke of Edinburgh's AwardThe Duke of Edinburgh's Award , is a programme of activities that can be undertaken by anyone aged 14 to 24, regardless of personal ability....
- Cadet program at Marist College North ShoreMarist College North ShoreMarist College North Shore , is a systemic Roman Catholic, secondary day school for boys, located in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, a suburb on Sydney's Lower North Shore....
Charity and community:
- Amnesty International Group
- Animal Welfare Group
- Generation Earth - the school environment club
- Charities Council - made up of students from years 7 to 11, oversees all charity-related activities and runs various fundraisers (most notably 'Charities Day' at the end of Term 2).
- Shout!, a student run group, working with organisations that aim to raise awareness of and alleviate poverty
- ISCF (Inter-School Christian Fellowship) with North Sydney Boys High School
Leadership and public speaking:
- Mock Trial
- State and National Constitutional Convention
- Debating
- Peer Mediation and the NSW Law Society Peer Mediation SCRAM Competition
- SRC (Student Representative Council)
- Model United Nations
- Peer Support Program between Year 11 and Year 7 students
- 4C Program - A leadership and networking program with an aim to raise awareness on specific global issues
North Sydney Girls High School also holds annual Junior and Senior dances with North Sydney Boys High School.
Notable alumnae
Academic- Dame Valerie Beral AC FRS, Professor of Epidemiology at Oxford collage, leader of the survey of 1.3 million women that established hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as a major cause of increased breast cancer rates in western nations
- Yvonne Cossart - Professor of Infectious Diseases at Sydney
- Anna Katherine DonaldAnna DonaldAnastasia Katherine "Anna" Donald was an Australian pioneer in the field of evidence-based medicine.-Education:...
- Rhodes Scholar (1989) - Daphne Anne Kok, Deputy Chancellor of Sydney University
- Jessica Milner Davis, Deputy Chancellor of the University of New South Wales.
- Phyllis Mary Nicol - Lecturer and demonstrator in physics
- Judith Ryan nee O'Neil - Professor of German at Harvard
- Jeni Whalan - Rhodes Scholar (2005)
- Josephine Rees - Japanese AstronautAstronautAn astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
- Nicole KuepperNicole KuepperNicole Kuepper is a PhD student and lecturer in the School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering at the University of New South Wales....
- Winner of two Australian Museum Eureka Prizes in 2008 and among Sydney Morning Herald's list of 100 top young Australians
Entertainment, media and the arts
- Jill HellyerJill HellyerJill Hellyer is an Australian poet and writer, and one of the founding members of the Australian Society of Authors. She is the recipient of an Order of Australia Medal for services to Australian poetry.-Biography:...
- Poet and Author. Recipient of Order of Australia Medal 2006 for services to Australian poetry - Cassandra Pybus - academic and writer; Winner of Colin Roderick Award for Best Australian Book for "Gross Moral Turpitude: The Orr Case Reconsidered", 1994.
- Benita CollingsBenita CollingsBenita Collings is an Australian actress and television personality. Collings is best known for her long running stint as a presenter for Play School on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...
- Play SchoolPlay School (Australian TV series)Play School is an Australian educational television show for children produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It is the longest-running children's show in Australia, and the second longest running childrens show in the world. An estimated 80% of pre-school children under six watch the...
presenter - Amelia Lester, in 2009, at age 26 and following Harvard graduation, appointed Managing Editor of The New Yorker.
- Ruth CracknellRuth CracknellRuth Cracknell AM was an Australian theatre and television character actress who appeared in many comedy roles. She was known variously as "Crackers", "Dame Crackers" and "Dame Ruth" throughout a career spanning 56 years....
- Actress - Thea Gumbert - Actress
- Nathalie KelleyNathalie KelleyNathalie Kelley is a Peruvian-born Australian actress, most notable for playing Neela in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift in 2006, along with her appearance in the music video of Bruno Mars's 2010 single "Just the Way You Are"....
- Actress - Nicole KidmanNicole KidmanNicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
- Actress - Elizabeth Nielsen (nee Dickens) - Chair Pinchgut Opera
- Katia TiutiunnikKatia TiutiunnikKatia Tiutiunnik is an Australian violist, scholar and composer. She is of Russian, Ukrainian and Irish descent.-Education:...
- Composer - Naomi WattsNaomi WattsNaomi Ellen Watts is a British actress. Watts began her career in Australian television, where she appeared in series such as Hey Dad..! , Brides of Christ , and Home and Away . Her film debut was the 1986 drama For Love Alone...
- Actress - Lucy Maunder - Theatre performer
- Catherine MartinCatherine MartinCatherine Martin is an Australian costume designer, production designer, set designer, and film producer.-Biography:Catherine Martin went to school at North Sydney Girls High School...
- Production designer (wife of film director, Baz LuhrmannBaz LuhrmannMark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy, which includes his films Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!...
, notable for Romeo and JulietWilliam Shakespeare's Romeo + JulietWilliam Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet is a 1996 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's romantic tragedy of the same name. It was directed by Australian Baz Luhrmann and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the leading roles....
and others) - Eve Pownall - Author; Namesake of the Eve Pownall Award for Information Books
- Margaret ThrosbyMargaret ThrosbyMargaret Throsby AM is an Australian radio broadcaster.She has presented ABC Classic FM's Morning Program since 1994. Each morning an hour is devoted to an interview with a notable guest, interspersed with some of their own musical choices. She has interviewed thousands of notable people...
- ABC Classic FMABC Classic FMABC Classic FM is a classical music radio station available in Australia, and internationally online. It is operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation . It was established in 1976 as "ABC-FM", and later for a short time was known as "ABC Fine Music" , before adopting its current name...
presenter - Samantha Lang - Film and theatre director
- Ceridwen DoveyCeridwen DoveyCeridwen Dovey is a South African and Australian social anthropologist and author.-Biography:Dovey was born in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa and grew up between South Africa and Australia. Her parents derived her unusual name from one of the protagonists in Richard Llewellyn's 1939 Welsh novel,...
- Author
Politics, public service and the law
- Verity FirthVerity FirthVerity Helen Firth is the Chief Executive Officer of the Public Education Foundation in Australia and a former politician....
- Current Minister for Education and Training, Member for NSW Legislative AssemblyNew South Wales Legislative AssemblyThe Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
seat of BalmainElectoral district of BalmainBalmain is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly of the Australian state of New South Wales in Sydney's Inner West. It includes the suburbs and localities of Annandale, Balmain, Balmain East, Birchgrove, Forest Lodge, Glebe, Glebe Island, Haberfield, Leichhardt, Lilyfield, Rozelle,... - Margaret Hole AM, President of Law Society of New South Wales 1999-2001;
- Justice Lucy McCallum, Judge of the Supreme Court of NSW;
- Nancy Grace Augusta WakeNancy WakeNancy Grace Augusta Wake, AC, GM , served as a British agent during the later part of World War II. She became a leading figure in the maquis groups of the French Resistance and was one of the Allies' most decorated servicewomen of the war.-Early life:Born in Roseneath, Wellington, New Zealand in...
- Resistance fighter; known to the Germans as 'the White Mouse'; the most decorated woman of World War Two - Shelley HancockShelley HancockShelley Elizabeth Hancock MP , an Australian politician, was elected as the first female Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly at the first sitting of Parliament following the 2011 state election...
- Teacher and Parliamentarian; elected as a member of the NSW Legislative AssemblyNew South Wales Legislative AssemblyThe Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...
for South CoastElectoral district of South CoastSouth Coast is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Shelley Hancock of the Liberal Party of Australia.-Members for South Coast:-Election results:...
(Liberal PartyLiberal Party of AustraliaThe Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
) - Marjorie Gertrude Eleanor Propsting - Former MayorMayorIn many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Lane CoveMunicipality of Lane CoveThe Municipality of Lane Cove is a Local Government Area located about 10km north-west of the central business district of Sydney, Australia, in the south-west corner of the North Shore. The Lane Cove River borders its south, with the eastern part of Hunter's Hill just across that river...
, member of the New South Wales executive of the Liberal Party, and librarian - Nicola Wakefield Evans - Managing Partner International, Mallesons Stephen JaquesMallesons Stephen JaquesMallesons Stephen Jaques is a commercial law firm that operates in the Asia-Pacific region. It is one of the 30 largest law firms in Australia, and is widely regarded as one of the top commercial law firms in Australia.-Offices:...
Business
- Sylvia Tulloch - Director of Dyesol, ASX 200 company and the world's leading Dye Sensitized Solar Company
Sport
- Elise Simone Ashton (née Norwood) - Olympic water polo player
- Renée Kirby - World Championship winning rower
See also
- List of Government schools in New South Wales
- List of selective high schools in New South Wales
- North Sydney Boys High SchoolNorth Sydney Boys High SchoolNorth Sydney Boys High School is an academically selective, public high school for boys, located at Crows Nest in Sydney, Australia.- History :...