Willetton Senior High School Explained

Motto:Give, Grow, Guide
Country:Australia
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Pushpin Map:Australia Perth
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Principal:Trevor Hunter[1]
Grades Label:Years
Yearbook:Reflections
Sister School:The High School and Junior High School of University of Hyogo

Willetton Senior High School (WSHS) is a public secondary school in Willetton, Western Australia, 121NaN1 south of the Perth central business district and 12.61NaN1 east of the port of Fremantle. The school opened in February 1977 with 77 students. It is one of the largest schools in Western Australia,[2] with enrolled students as of .

The student catchment area for WSHS encompasses the suburb of Willetton and part of the suburb of Bull Creek, which is shared with Leeming Senior High School and Rossmoyne Senior High School.

Campus

WSHS covers an area of approximately 45001NaN1, located adjacent to Burrendah Primary School and Castlereagh School. There are seven main buildings, along with numerous transportable buildings, some many years old. A $5 million upgrade was completed in 2008 that resulted in the construction of a new gymnasium and several new facilities.

WSHS underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation and redevelopment that commenced in 2014. In the second semester of 2014, asbestos contamination was detected after construction workers found pieces of asbestos had fallen off the roof of a school building slated for demolition.[3] The school was closed for a week so the site could be inspected.[4] Teachers were sent to work from North Lake Senior High School where they connected with students via the internet so that classes could continue.[5]

The following phase of the redevelopment, involving the construction of another block of classrooms, commenced in February 2022. Construction was completed in early 2024.[6]

Academic rankings

The Year 12 cohorts at Willetton perform consistently well in the WACE school rankings, and the school ranks well when compared to other schools in Western Australia.

WA school ATAR ranking
Year Rank Median ATAR Eligible students Students with ATAR % students with ATAR Notes
2018 15 87.5 367294 79.84 [7]
2017 1389.15395272 68.86 [8]
2016 14 88.05 389289 74.29 [9]
Year 12 student achievement data
Year Rank % +75 in WACE Rank % +65 in WACE % graduates Notes
2015 1720.05 2145.16 96.37 [10]
2014 1520.42 1646.9497.25 [11]
2013 1715.952040.3996.70 [12]
2012 17 17.21 21 46.03 97.22 [13]
2011 1024.02 12 59.11 99.13 [14]
2010 2016.93 33 51.07 97.60 [15]
2009 2240.29
19 48.55
98.42 [16]

In 2017, Andreea Ioan won the Beazley Medal for the top ranked Vocational Education and Training student in Western Australia.

Special programs

WSHS is one of 20 schools offering the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) with entry through a centrally organised testing program.[17] Entry to the science-focused Talented And Gifted (TAG) program is managed at the school level. The school offers a specialist fine arts course for Years 8 to 10 and a successful senior school art program. A specialist course in computing was the first of its kind in WA and has recently been expanded to include a multimedia stream. A specialist basketball course runs from Years 8 to 11 and offers students a TAFE Certificate II in Sport Coaching and Sport and Recreation. Both male and female teams have won multiple national championships.[18] As of June 2019, WSHS introduced a program called the eSports Club where all students can prepare for a sports competition and practice against other local schools.[19] Some of the team names include WSHS eSports and DLGC.

International relations

WSHS has a sister school relationship with the High School and Junior High School of University of Hyogo located in Kamigōri, Ako District, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Cultural exchanges between the two schools commenced in 1995 and a collaborative international partnership was established in 2005. WSHS maintains relationships that provide opportunities for French and Italian language students to study overseas.

Incidents

On 11 May 2020, a 16-year-old male student was charged with illegal possession of a firearm after taking a gel blaster and a knife into the school.[20] Crime Stoppers received a tipoff regarding the gun before the officers were called to the school at about 2:30pm. In a statement "the Education Department said [...] no other students were impacted and the situation was well managed."[21]

On 5 May 2022, a female student pled guilty to a charge of attempted murder after she stabbed a female teacher at WSHS in November 2021.[22] The girl had a female accomplice, who pled not guilty to the same charge.[23] Although the intent was to wound the teacher fatally, the teacher was not injured seriously, receiving a 1cm (00inches) wound near the left armpit. The attacking girl was 14 years old at the time of the stabbing, and the girl that assisted was 13. In September 2022 the attacker was "sentenced to three years and one month detention, but will be eligible for parole after serving 15 months, a sentence [...] lower than it could have been due to the poor conditions at Banksia Hill";[24] the crime carries "a maximum penalty of life imprisonment."[25] The accomplice was sentenced 12 days earlier "to 11 months in juvenile detention, but she may be released after serving half of that",[26] with this sentence also lower than it could have been because of the poor conditions at Banksia Hill.

Notable alumni

See also

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Executive Team – Willetton SHS . 2022-05-30 . Willetton Senior High School.
  2. Web site: Alphabetical List of Western Australian Schools . . Government of Western Australia . 24 February 2023 . Perth, WA . 29 . 2022.
  3. Web site: Willetton Senior High School closed after asbestos scare. Liam Ducey. 22 July 2014. 23 July 2014. WA Today. Fairfax Media.
  4. Web site: Willetton Senior High School closed after asbestos residue found. Katie Robertson, Yasmine Philips and Kaitlyn Offer. 22 July 2014. 23 July 2014. Perthnow. News Limited.
  5. Web site: Asbestos discovery forces closure of Willetton Senior High School on first day of term. 23 July 2012. 22 July 2013. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  6. Web site: WA Government » Media statements » Cook Labor Government . 2024-06-01 . www.wa.gov.au.
  7. Web site: WA School Ranking – 2018. 2018. 14 January 2019. Better Education.
  8. Web site: WA School Ranking – 2017. 2017. 13 October 2018. Better Education.
  9. Web site: WA School Ranking – 2016. 2016. 13 October 2018. Better Education.
  10. Web site: Year 12 Student Achievement Data. 2015. 31 December 2017. Government of Western Australia.
  11. Web site: Year 12 Student Achievement Data. 2014. 3 February 2015. Government of Western Australia. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150309085033/http://scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/_Documents/Statistics/YEAR%2012%20School%20Performance%20Data%202014_WITH%20STATISTICAL%20DATA.pdf. 9 March 2015. dmy-all.
  12. Web site: Year 12 Student Achievement Data. 2013. 4 April 2014. Government of Western Australia. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150309085051/http://scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/_Documents/Statistics/2013%20Year%2012%20School%20Performance%20Data%20-%20complete.pdf. 9 March 2015. dmy-all.
  13. Web site: Year 12 Student Achievement Data. 2012. 24 July 2013. Government of Western Australia. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140826115635/http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/_Documents/Statistics/Year%2012%20Student%20achievement%20data%20-%202012.pdf.pdf. 26 August 2014. dmy-all.
  14. Web site: Year 12 Student Achievement Data. 2011. 24 July 2013. Government of Western Australia. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140826161651/http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/_Documents/Statistics/Year%2012%20Student%20achievement%20data%202011_communications_web%20version%20RELATE%20TO%202012_900.pdf. 26 August 2014. dmy-all.
  15. Web site: Year 12 Student Achievement Data. 2010. 24 July 2013. Government of Western Australia. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140826161245/http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/_Documents/Statistics/Year%2012%20student%20achievement%20data%20and%20State%20statistics%20-%202010.pdf. 26 August 2014. dmy-all.
  16. Web site: Year 12 Student Achievement Data. 2009. 24 July 2013. Government of Western Australia. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150309085152/http://scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/_Documents/Statistics/Year%2012%20Student%20achievement%20data%20-%202009_web.pdf. 9 March 2015. dmy-all.
  17. Web site: Gifted and Talented . Department of Education . Government of Western Australia . 12 April 2019.
  18. Web site: Basketball Specialist Program . Willetton SHS . 12 April 2019.
  19. Web site: eSports Club . Willetton SHS . 9 March 2020.
  20. Web site: 2020-05-11 . Student ‘took gel gun, knife to school’ . 2023-03-01 . PerthNow . en.
  21. Web site: Rimrod . Fran . 2020-05-11 . Boy charged after bringing gel-blaster gun to top Perth high school . 2024-04-27 . WAtoday .
  22. News: Willetton Senior High School student admits stabbing teacher in failed murder attempt planned in online gaming chat . Joanna . Menagh . 2022-05-05 . ABC News . Australian Broadcasting Corporation . 2022-05-06 .
  23. Web site: McNeill . Heather . 2022-05-05 . Teenager admits trying to murder teacher with 25-centimetre knife . 2022-05-05 . The Sydney Morning Herald .
  24. News: Perth teenager jailed for three years after trying to stab teacher to death . Holly . Thompson . 2022-09-28 . WAtoday . 2024-04-27 .
  25. News: Student who attempted to murder teacher at Willetton high school sentenced to three years in detention . Joanna . Menagh . Rebecca . Turner . 2022-09-28 . ABC News . Australian Broadcasting Corporation . 2024-04-27 .
  26. News: Perth teenager sentenced to 11 months in detention over plot to kill Willetton Senior High School teacher . Joanna . Menagh . David . Weber . 2022-09-16 . ABC News . Australian Broadcasting Corporation . 2024-04-27 .
  27. News: Not since 1910 has WA's parliament seen anything like the James Hayward scandal . Keane . Bourke . 2023-08-28 . ABC News . Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2024-04-27 .
  28. Web site: Newbold . Cameron . 27 August 2019 . NASHS schoolboys best in the West The Albany Advertiser . https://archive.today/20210626061448/https://www.albanyadvertiser.com.au/news/albany-advertiser/nashs-schoolboys-best-in-the-west-ng-b881303126z . 26 June 2021 . 1 March 2023 . The Albany Advertiser.
  29. Web site: Pike. Chris. Vague Living Dream, Repaying 'Cats Faith. NBL.com.au. 9 November 2018. 24 April 2023.