Adelaide High School is a coeducational state high school situated on the corner of

West Terrace West Terrace is a populated place in the parish of Saint James, Barbados. The National Cultural Foundation of Barbados is located in West Terrace. See also * List of cities, towns and villages in Barbados This is a list of cities, towns and ...

and Glover Avenue in the Adelaide Parklands. Following the Advanced School for Girls, it was the second government high school in South Australia and the first coeducational public high school in that state. It currently has an enrolment of approximately 1,500 students.

History

In 1879, John Anderson Hartley, Director of Education, established the Advanced School for Girls in Grote Street, Adelaide. It was the first public high school in Australia, those in New South Wales following in the 1880s. Adelaide High was first named the Continuation School, but in April 1908 was renamed Adelaide High School. This was the same year the South Australian state high school system was launched. The new school combined previous institutions: the Advanced School and the Pupil Teachers School. It also collected bursary holders, and continuation students from the

Grote Street Model School Grote Street is a major street running east to west in the western half of Adelaide city centre, in Adelaide, South Australia. It is on the northern border of Chinatown and the Adelaide Central Market, and is a lively centre for shopping and re ...

. Adelaide High School was officially opened on 24 September 1908 by the premier of South Australia,

Thomas Price Thomas Price may refer to: *Thomas Price (South Australian politician) (1852–1909), Premier of South Australia *Thomas Price (bishop) (1599–1685), Church of Ireland archbishop of Cashel *Thomas Price (Carnhuanawc) (1787–1848), Welsh literary ...

. It was the first public secondary school in the Commonwealth of Australia. In 1927, it had an enrolment of 1,067 students, making it the largest school of its kind in the Commonwealth. By 1929, due to increasing enrolments, the school occupied two sites; one site was at Grote Street and the other was at Currie Street (now part of the

Remand Centre Remand, also known as pre-trial detention, preventive detention, or provisional detention, is the process of detaining a person until their trial after they have been arrested and charged with an offence. A person who is on remand is held i ...

). Due to the increasing enrolments, it was decided that a new building was required for Adelaide High School. The current site of the school on West Terrace was originally set aside for an army barracks in 1849, but in 1859 an observatory was built instead, which then became the Bureau of Meteorology in 1939. Based on an award-winning 1940 design, a new building was erected on the site from 1947 to 1951. This became Adelaide Boys High School while Adelaide Girls High School remained in the buildings in Grote Street. An application was made to have the building listed as a Historic Building on the Australian

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heritag ...

. The nomination was on the basis of the building's "Art Modern" style and significance in Adelaide education. It had not led to the building's listing on the register as of 2007. The original Grote Street school buildings were listed on the register as a ''Historic'' site in 1980. As of 2007, the buildings were used as a centre for the

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...

. The buildings were considered to be among the Nationally Significant 20th-Century Buildings in South Australia. In 1977, due to decreasing enrolments at both the Boys and the Girls schools, amalgamation began with Adelaide High School operating on two campuses – one on Grote Street and one on West Terrace. This arrangement ended in 1979, when all students were on the West Terrace site. In 1979, Adelaide High School became South Australia's Special Interest Language School, with students able to study up to seven languages: French, German, Latin, Modern Greek, Chinese, Spanish and Italian. Latin ceased to be offered in 2004 and was replaced by Japanese. Auslan was added as the eighth language in 2018. In 2008, Adelaide High School celebrated its centenary 100th birthday. Adelaide is part of the longest-running sporting exchanges with Melbourne High School and Mac.Robertson Girls' High School, both in Melbourne.

Curriculum

Languages

Adelaide High School is especially known for being a Special Interest Language School, offering students outside the zone to enrol through one of the three Special Entry Programs (Languages. Cricket and Rowing). It offers its students eight different languages to study: * Modern Greek * Mandarin Chinese * Japanese * Italian * French * Spanish * German * Auslan The school is also a Centre for the Hearing Impaired and an Associate School for Students of High Intellectual Potential. It has a Special Entry Program in its special interest

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and rowing programs. Adelaide High School is South Australia's only Special Interest Language School, and currently has sister schools around the world, including: * Asahi High School in Osaka, Japan * Heriburg Gymnasium in Coesfeld, Nord Rhein Westfalen, Germany * Lycée Saint Sauveur in Redon, Brittany, France * IIS Quintino Sella in Biella, Italy * IES La Sisla in Sonsecas, Spain * Jinan Foreign Language School in Jinan, China * Qingdao No 9 School in Qingdao, China * 7th High School of Corfu, Greece

Facilities

Facilities that students have access to include a library, gymnasium, tennis, basketball and netball courts, cricket nets, four ovals (shared with the

Adelaide City Council The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia and is legally defined as the capital city of Sout ...

), Performing Arts Centre, science labs and lecture theatres. The school also has a boatshed on the bank of the River Torrens which holds the school's many rowing boats and where the school's rowing crews train. It also has a shared rowing facility at West Lakes with Unley High School and Norwood Morialta High School. A new wing, the Charles Todd Wing, was added to the southern side of the school in 2015. Building 4, previously housing the Languages, Art and Library areas, was upgraded and now contains the Languages, Maths and Arts learning areas. In 2019, the school self-funded a Performing Arts Centre Refurbishment and in 2021, also saw a $24 million build in the centre of the school, in order to accommodate for the large intake of Year 7 students into the school.

Sport

Houses and Special Sport Programs

The school has four "houses" which students represent in sporting and other events within the school. The houses took their names from past principals of the school. The house names are: Adey (Red), Macghey (Blue), Morriss (Green), and West (Yellow). Sporting events include the intra-House Swimming Carnival and Athletics Carnival. The houses compete for the SJ Dowdy Cup, named after former Principal Stephen Dowdy. Adelaide High School has a range of girls' and boys' sporting teams and offers Special Interest Sporting Programs including cricket and rowing. The Adelaide High School Cricket Program provides the opportunity for talented cricketers from outside the school zone to enrol at the school, similar to the Adelaide High School Rowing Club, which incorporates a talent identification selection process whereby students from outside the school zone can apply to enrol at the school. Both Special Entry Programs participate in games and regattas throughout the year which lead up to the main events. The 5 Highs Cricket Carnival is held in December against Melbourne High School, Sydney Boys High School,

Brisbane State High School , motto_translation = Knowledge is Power , city = South Brisbane , state = Queensland , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Public, selective, co-educational, secondary, ...

and Kent Street Senior High School. The major rowing event is the Head of the River Regatta held in March or April. This regatta was jointly founded in 1922 by Adelaide High School and St Peter's College. Other sporting trips have the volleyball teams travelling to the Australian Volleyball Schools Cup in Melbourne, in December.

Exchanges

Since 1913, Adelaide High has taken part in a sporting exchange with Mac.Robertson Girls' High School and since 1910, Melbourne High School. This is the longest-running sporting exchange in the state. Both Exchanges compete for the Prefects' Cup. The exchanges are held in early Term 3 and each year the venue swaps. There are competitions in many sports such as: Australian rules football, soccer, tennis, rowing, basketball, netball, softball, chess, debating, theatre sports, volleyball, cross country /athletics, badminton, table tennis and hockey. Sports previously played against Melbourne included lacrosse, baseball and field hockey. Adelaide High School is a member of the Sports Association for Adelaide Schools (SAAS).

Head Master / Principal

Notable staff and students

* Sir Don Anderson (1917–1975) – Director-General of the Department of Civil Aviation * Lynn Arnold (b. 1949) – South Australian Premier * Nick Bolkus (b. 1950) – South Australian Senator and Cabinet Minister * Shaun Burgoyne (b. 1982) – AFL footballer * Ralph Clarke (b. 1951) – South Australian Deputy Opposition Leader * Hugh Cairns (1896–1952) – First Nuffield Professor of Surgery, Oxford University *

John Stuart Dowie John Stuart Dowie Order of Australia, AM (15 January 1915 – 19 March 2008) was an Australian painter, sculptor and teacher. His work includes over 50 public sculpture commissions, including the "Three Rivers" fountain in Victoria Square ...

(1915–2008) – Artist * Sia (b. 1975) – Pop singer and songwriter *

Anne Haddy Anne Haddy (5 October 1930 – 6 June 1999), credited also as Anne Hardy, was an Australian actress, television presenter and voice artist, who worked in various facets of the industry including radio, stage and television. She was married ...

(1930–1999) – Actress (best known for her role as Helen Daniels in

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

) *Barbara Hall (b. circa 1931) – Physicist in 1956. one of two women first to receive a PhD from the University of Adelaide; mother of

Hugh Possingham Hugh Phillip Possingham, FAA (born 21 July 1962), is the former Queensland Chief Scientist and is best known for his work in conservation biology, applied ecology, and basic ecological theory including population ecology. He is also a profes ...

* Bob Hank (1923–2012) – Dual Magarey Medallist *

Margaret Hubbard Margaret Hubbard (16 June 1924 – 28 April 2011) was an Australian-born British classical scholar specialising in philology. Career Hubbard excelled during her school career at Adelaide High School, which she attended on receipt of a Government ...

(b. 1924) – First woman to win the Hentford Scholarship for Latin at Oxford * Tom Koutsantonis (b. 1971) – South Australian Treasurer *

Simon Lewicki Simon Lewicki, also known as Groove Terminator and GT, is an Australian electronic music artist. Originally a hip-hop DJ, he eventually began spinning house music. He was featured in the 2000 Australian edition of Ministry of Sound's Club Nat ...

aka Groove Terminator – Electronic music artist * Brian Ross Martin (b. 1947) – Chief Justice of the Northern Territory * Sir Mark Oliphant (1901–2000) – South Australian Governor *

Neil Page Neil Philip Page (born 17 January 1944) is a former Australian baseball representative. A left-hand starting pitcher, he regularly played for Australia from 1964 until 1977.Greig Pickhaver Greig Pickhaver Order of Australia, AM (born 1948) is an actor, comedian and writer, who forms one half of the Australian satirical sports comedy duo ''Roy and HG'' as the excitable sports announcer H.G Nelson. The Roy and HG#Awards and nominati ...

– aka H.G. Nelson, actor, comedian and writer * Chris Sumner (b. 1943) – South Australian Attorney-General *

David Vigor David Bernard Vigor (26 June 1939 – 9 April 1998) was a member of the Australian Senate, representing the Australian Democrats and the Unite Australia Party. Born in Elbeuf, France to an English mother and French father, the infant Vig ...

(1939–1998) – South Australian Senator * Lou Vincent (b. 1978) – New Zealand Test cricketer *

Brennan Cox Brennan Cox (born 13 August 1998) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Early career Originally from Woodville South in Adelaide, Cox played for Woodvill ...

(b. 1998) – AFL footballer *

Oswald Rishbeth Oswald Henry Theodore Rishbeth (né Rischbieth 1886, in Mount Gambier, South Australia – 1946) was an Australian geographer who was Professor and Chair of Geography at the University of Southampton, England. He is considered a pioneer of academ ...

(1886-1946) - Geographer, taught at Adelaide High in 1910Craig Campbell,
Adelaide High School: Inventing a state high school
, Dehanz, March 6, 2019. *

Riley Thilthorpe Riley Thilthorpe (born 7 July 2002) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by the Adelaide Football Club with the 2nd draft pick in the 2020 AFL draft. ...

(b. 2002) - AFL Footballer

References

External links

*Virtual Tou

{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1908 Public schools in South Australia Special interest high schools in South Australia Secondary schools in Adelaide 1908 establishments in Australia Adelaide Park Lands