Duncraig Senior High School is an independent public high school

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....

 located 18 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia

Perth, Western Australia

Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

 in the suburb of Duncraig

Duncraig, Western Australia

Duncraig is a large northern suburb of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, Australia, and is located north of Perth's central business district between Marmion Avenue and Mitchell Freeway...

. The current principal is Graeme Smith.

History

The school opened in 1979 with 850 students from various primary schools in the surrounding area. It currently has an average of 1060 students. The opening of Padbury Senior High School

Padbury Senior High School

Padbury Senior High School is a government, co-educational, secondary day school located in Padbury, a suburb north of Perth, Western Australia....

 in 1987 reduced the number of contributing primary schools. At the closure of Craigie Senior High School in 2004 Duncraig took in year nine and ten students belonging to Craigie's Academic Talent Program.

During a freak storm in March 2010 the school was extensively damaged by hail

Hail

Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is referred to as a hail stone. Hail stones on Earth consist mostly of water ice and measure between and in diameter, with the larger stones coming from severe thunderstorms...

and torrential rain. As a result the school was closed for a week for all students. Senior school students then returned but students from Year 8 to 10 were not allowed back until late April following the first term holiday break.

Special programs

Duncraig has a number of special programs running within the school, such as:

• Triathlon Program
• Academic Talent Program (ATP) - The top 2.5% of students are offered placement through year 8-10
• Upper School Academic Talent Program (USATP) - Similar to the lower school ATP, except it is for years 11-12
• School Based Academic Extension (SBAE) - Top 15% of students offered placement through years 8-10
• Music Program
• Student Exchange Program
• Bushranger Cadets
• Special Education