Gosford High School
Encyclopedia
Gosford High School is a public, co-educational, academically selective high school
located in Gosford
, New South Wales
, Australia
with 1080 students from years 7 to 12.
Gosford High School, operated by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training
, was established in 1928 and was made a selective high school in 1989. Students at the school mainly come from the Central Coast
area but students from the Sydney
and Newcastle
regions are not uncommon. Currently, Gosford High is the only selective school on the Central Coast.
Subjects offered for Higher School Certificate are Agriculture, Ancient History, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Design and Technology, Drama, Earth and Environmental Science, Economics, Engineering Studies, English – Standard, Advanced, Extension, Food Technology, French – Continuers and Beginners, Geography, German – Continuers and Beginners, Japanese – Continuers and Beginners, Legal Studies, Mathematics – General, Extension 1, Extension 2, Modern History, Music – 1, 2 and Extension, PD/Health/PE, Physics, Society and Culture, Software Design and Development, Textiles and Design and Visual Arts.
, which is conventionally translated into English as "Judge me by what I do." Other translations include Let us be judged by our acts and By our deeds may we be known (this translation is preferred by Camberwell Grammar School
in Melbourne, who shares the same motto).
Notable among the current staff is Dr Mark Butler, recipient of the Prime Minister's Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools in 2004, who has been elected to the National Curriculum Board.
is the school's forefront music ensemble. The current bandmaster is Darren Jones, who took over from the previous bandmaster Warwick Alder in 2011. The band regularly plays at many prestigious events such as the Manly and Newcastle Jazz Festivals as well as many local events. The most recent band tour was to Hong Kong
in 2008 where the
band played at the Hong Kong International Jazz Festival. The school also has a Chamber ensemble that consists of woodwind and string instruments as well as two vocal ensembles.
The school holds annual swimming, athletics and cross country carnivals at local venues, the highest placing students at these events will go on to compete in higher level competitions. Within the school there are four sporting houses; Kingsbury, Rowe, Wheeler and O.S.U., named after prominent members of the local community and the Old Students Union. At the school level, students represent their own houses at the carnivals.
have one of the oldest school
exchange systems in NSW with
annual interschool visits since 1968. Each year
sporting teams are selected from both Orange and Gosford High Schools
to compete against each other for the Malynley Shield (the name
Malynley being an acronym of Dews family members who donated the
shield).
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 in Gosford
Gosford, New South Wales
Gosford is a city located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, approximately 76 km north of the Sydney central business district...
, 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...
with 1080 students from years 7 to 12.
Gosford 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...
, was established in 1928 and was made a selective high school in 1989. Students at the school mainly come from the Central Coast
Central Coast
-California:* Central Coast Region of California, in California, United States*Monterey County, California*San Luis Obispo County, California*Santa Barbara County, California*Big Sur*Hearst Castle-Canada:...
area but students from the 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...
and Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
regions are not uncommon. Currently, Gosford High is the only selective school on the Central Coast.
Curriculum
The school has faculties for:- EnglishEnglish languageEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
- MathematicsMathematicsMathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
- PhysicsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
- ChemistryChemistryChemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
- BiologyBiologyBiology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
- Information TechnologyInformation technologyInformation technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
- Social Sciences (Geography, History, Commerce etc.)
- Creative and Performing ArtsThe artsThe arts are a vast subdivision of culture, composed of many creative endeavors and disciplines. It is a broader term than "art", which as a description of a field usually means only the visual arts. The arts encompass visual arts, literary arts and the performing arts – music, theatre, dance and...
- (Visual Art, Photography & Digital Media, Visual Design and Drama) - MusicMusicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
- Languages (Latin, French, German and Japanese)
- AgricultureAgricultureAgriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
- PDHPEPhysical educationPhysical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
- Foodtech
Subjects offered for Higher School Certificate are Agriculture, Ancient History, Biology, Business Studies, Chemistry, Design and Technology, Drama, Earth and Environmental Science, Economics, Engineering Studies, English – Standard, Advanced, Extension, Food Technology, French – Continuers and Beginners, Geography, German – Continuers and Beginners, Japanese – Continuers and Beginners, Legal Studies, Mathematics – General, Extension 1, Extension 2, Modern History, Music – 1, 2 and Extension, PD/Health/PE, Physics, Society and Culture, Software Design and Development, Textiles and Design and Visual Arts.
Motto
The school's Latin motto is spectemur agendoSpectemur agendo
-Source:It comes originally from Book XIII of Ovid's Metamorphoses where it is attributed to the hero Ajax:Denique spectemur agendo! which most literal translations render as...
, which is conventionally translated into English as "Judge me by what I do." Other translations include Let us be judged by our acts and By our deeds may we be known (this translation is preferred by Camberwell Grammar School
Camberwell Grammar School
Camberwell Grammar School is an independent, Anglican, day school for boys, located in Canterbury, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
in Melbourne, who shares the same motto).
Staff
The current principal of Gosford High School is Lynne Searle who took over from previous principal Peter Hall in 2006. She is the school's first female principal.Notable among the current staff is Dr Mark Butler, recipient of the Prime Minister's Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools in 2004, who has been elected to the National Curriculum Board.
Music
Apart from the mandatory Music course in years 7 and 8, the school has several music groups and programmes. The Gosford High Jazz bandJazz band
A jazz band is a musical ensemble that plays jazz music. Jazz bands usually consist of a rhythm section and a horn section, in the early days often trumpet, trombone, and clarinet with rhythm section of piano, banjo, bass or tuba, and drums.-Eras:SwingDuring the swing era in the mid-twentieth...
is the school's forefront music ensemble. The current bandmaster is Darren Jones, who took over from the previous bandmaster Warwick Alder in 2011. The band regularly plays at many prestigious events such as the Manly and Newcastle Jazz Festivals as well as many local events. The most recent band tour was to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in 2008 where the
band played at the Hong Kong International Jazz Festival. The school also has a Chamber ensemble that consists of woodwind and string instruments as well as two vocal ensembles.
Sport
Wednesday afternoon sport is organised by the school and is mandatory for students in years 8-10. Wednesday sports commonly offered include school sport (various sports played at school), tennis, touch football, rugby, cricket, indoor sports as well as more leisure based activities such as ice skating, surfing, archery, yoga and beach walking. The school also offers extra voluntary sports that usually involve competing with outer school teams.The school holds annual swimming, athletics and cross country carnivals at local venues, the highest placing students at these events will go on to compete in higher level competitions. Within the school there are four sporting houses; Kingsbury, Rowe, Wheeler and O.S.U., named after prominent members of the local community and the Old Students Union. At the school level, students represent their own houses at the carnivals.
Ag Gats
Gosford High Schools agricultural department also runs a group of like minded students who travel over the state representing the school in various agricultural and cattle shows, most notable, the Sydney Royal Easter Show.Malynley Shield
Gosford and Orange High SchoolOrange High School (New South Wales)
Orange High School is a co-educational, secondary, public, day school located in Orange, a provincial city of New South Wales, Australia, 260 kilometres west of Sydney....
have one of the oldest school
exchange systems in NSW with
annual interschool visits since 1968. Each year
sporting teams are selected from both Orange and Gosford High Schools
to compete against each other for the Malynley Shield (the name
Malynley being an acronym of Dews family members who donated the
shield).