North Sydney Girls High School Explained

North Sydney Girls' High School
Motto:Latin: Ad Altiora
Motto Translation:Towards Higher Things
Type:Government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school
Gender:Girls
Oversight:New South Wales Department of Education
Principal:Megan Connors
Location:Crows Nest, Sydney, New South Wales
Country:Australia
Coordinates:-33.8303°N 151.2033°W
Pushpin Map:Australia Sydney
Pushpin Mapsize:240
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in greater metropolitan Sydney
Module:
Stroke-Colour:
  1. C60C30
Stroke-Width:3
Marker:school
Marker-Colour:
  1. 1F2F57
Zoom:13
Campus:Suburban
Grades:712
Grades Label:Years
Enrolment:[1]
Enrolment As Of:2008
Colours:Navy blue, green and white

North Sydney Girls' High School (abbreviated as NSGHS, more commonly known as NSG) is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for girls, located in Crows Nest, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Established in 1914,[2] the school caters for approximately 910 students from Year 7 to Year 12. Admission to the school 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 first in Australia's top ten girls' schools, based on the number of its alumnae mentioned in the Who's Who in Australia.[3] In 2022, North Sydney Girls High School ranked as the fourth high school in the state, based on the percentage of exams sat that achieved a Distinguished Achievers (DA).[4]

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 the Pacific Highway (where Cammeraygal High School (junior campus) 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 School, 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.[5]

Academics

Enrolments

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

Award system

At North Sydney Girls High School, awards are given based on academic performance, sport performance, service to school and other merits across all years.

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 the HSC.[6]

Curriculum

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

Co- and extracurricular activities

NSGHS offers a diverse range of extracurricular activities.

Music and drama

NSGHS has a theatresports troupe, junior drama ensemble, Year 10 drama night, and various clubs available to seniors.

Instrumental ensembles and bands include the advanced string ensemble, stage (jazz) band, jazz ensemble, concert band, symphony orchestra, wind orchestra, wind ensemble, and beginner band. Choirs and vocal ensembles include Year 7 choir, junior choir, intermediate choir, combined (NSGHS & NSBHS) choir, senior vocal, and the a capella group.

Sport and outdoor activity

Co-curricular sports include basketball, skiing, hockey, cricket, badminton, table tennis, taekwondo, rowing, kayaking, touch football, water polo, fencing, netball, tennis, and volleyball. NSGHS also has a chess club, dance ensembles, and a cadet program at Marist Catholic College North Shore, and has had students participate in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.

Notable alumnae

Academic

Entertainment, media and the arts

Politics, public service and the law

Sport

Principals

The school principals have been:[15]

Years Principal
1914–1923 Janette Grossman
1924–1937 Ida Slack
1938–1941 Lilian Geer
1942–1949 Vera Howard
1950–1955 Elizabeth Booth
1956–1958 Edith Kane
1959–1962 Jessie Simons
1963–1968 Dorothy Dey
1969–1976 Joan Morris
1976–1982 Shirley Hokin
1982–1986 Joan Whittaker
1987–1990 Betty Anderson
1990–1996 Isobel Seivl
1997–2005 Louise Robert-Smith
2006–2012 Meredith Ash
2012–2018David Tomlin
2019–presentMegan Connors

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: North Sydney Girls High School . 2008-02-22 . School Locator . NSW Public Schools.
  2. As the school historian pointed out in History of NSGHS, the correct year of commencement was in fact 1912 when classes were temporarily formed at North Sydney Superior Public School in Miller Street
  3. News: Frank. Walker. The ties that bind. Sunday Life. The Sun-Herald. 16. 2001-07-22. 2007-09-12.
  4. Web site: Better Education . HSC School Ranking - 2022 . 2022 . 20 December 2022.
  5. Web site: History of NSGHS . 2008-08-28. North Sydney Girls High School.
  6. Web site: Academic Excellence . 2007-09-13. North Sydney Girls High School.
  7. http://www.usyd.edu.au/registrar/rhodes/previous.shtml "NSW Rhodes Scholars"
  8. Web site: Nicole Kidman. 2007-09-13. Hollywood Pulse.
  9. Web site: Samantha LANG. Cherub Pictures. 10 September 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080720004614/http://www.cherubpictures.com.au/sam_lang/samanthalang.pdf. 20 July 2008. dead.
  10. Web site: New York magazine's Sydney star. Clare Morgan. August 29, 2009. 2023-10-04. Sydney Morning Herald.
  11. Web site: Hancock, Shelley (1951 -). 2007-09-13. Alafaci. Annette. 2006. Australian Women Biographical Entry. National Foundation for Australian Women.
  12. Web site: Swearing-in ceremony of the Honourable Justice Lucy McCallum . Supreme Court of NSW . 2008 . 10 November 2017.
  13. Web site: Wake, Nancy Grace Augusta (1912-). 2007-09-13. 2005. Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Australia. National Centre for Australian Studies.
  14. [Elise Norwood]
  15. This table was copied from a display plaque in the school office.