Beacon Hill High School (New South Wales)
Encyclopedia
Beacon Hill High School (abbreviation: BHHS) also known for a time as Beacon Hill Technology High School is a former high school
in the northern Sydney
suburb of Beacon Hill
, New South Wales
, Australia
. It was a co-educational high school operated by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training
with students from years 7 to 12. The school was established in January 1964. However, due to declining enrolments the school was closed in December 2002, coinciding with the establishment of the Northern Beaches Secondary College
. The last years were merged into Freshwater Senior Campus
.
The closure of the school was criticised by the Greens New South Wales
Education spokesman, Dr John Kaye, who said in a media release: "The demolition of Beacon Hill High School is a monument to poor planning, developer-driven government decisions and a deceitful and inadequate closure process. The closure and demolition of the school is a textbook case of short term thinking. This will leave the local community struggling for public education options within the next seven years."
The school site was sold by the state government in 2007 for a price in the vicinity of $8,750,000. The site was granted development approval by the Minister for Planning, and the school buildings were demolished in January 2007 to make way for a 26 allotment residential subdivision.
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in the northern Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
suburb of Beacon Hill
Beacon Hill, New South Wales
Beacon Hill is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Beacon Hill is located 17 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Warringah Council and is part of the Northern Beaches region.-History:Beacon Hill was...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It was a co-educational high school operated by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training
New South Wales Department of Education and Training
The New South Wales Department of Education and Communities, a department of the Government of New South Wales, is responsibile for primary schools, secondary schools and Technical and Further Education colleges...
with students from years 7 to 12. The school was established in January 1964. However, due to declining enrolments the school was closed in December 2002, coinciding with the establishment of the Northern Beaches Secondary College
Northern Beaches Secondary College
Northern Beaches Secondary College is a local high school system on the Northern Beaches, Sydney, Australia, which includes five government high school 'campuses'.-Campuses :The five campuses that make up the Northern Beaches Secondary College, are:...
. The last years were merged into Freshwater Senior Campus
Freshwater Senior Campus
Freshwater Senior Campus, or "Freshie" as it is locally known, is a public, co-educational, senior high school and flagship campus for the Northern Beaches Secondary College. Although the campus is located within the suburb of Curl Curl , the school takes the name from the nearby beach of...
.
Closure
In June 2000, the Department of Education and Training announced that the school would close because of falling enrolments. Following the announcement, local residents formed a committee to prevent the closure, and later to prevent a Government sale of the school site and make the site available for the community, known as the Retain Beacon Hill High School Committee.The closure of the school was criticised by the Greens New South Wales
Greens New South Wales
The Greens New South Wales is the state Greens party in New South Wales. It is a member party of the Australian Greens. The Greens NSW have one member in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly , five members in the New South Wales Legislative Council...
Education spokesman, Dr John Kaye, who said in a media release: "The demolition of Beacon Hill High School is a monument to poor planning, developer-driven government decisions and a deceitful and inadequate closure process. The closure and demolition of the school is a textbook case of short term thinking. This will leave the local community struggling for public education options within the next seven years."
The school site was sold by the state government in 2007 for a price in the vicinity of $8,750,000. The site was granted development approval by the Minister for Planning, and the school buildings were demolished in January 2007 to make way for a 26 allotment residential subdivision.