Cecil Hills High School (abbreviated as CHHS) is a government-funded

co-educational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children and adolescents are given instructions during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compar ...

, located at 50 Spencer Road,

Cecil Hills Cecil Hills is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Cecil Hills is located 38 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Liverpool and is part of the Grea ...

, a south-western suburb of

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. Established in 1996, the school currently caters for approximately 1,450 students from

Year 7 Year 7 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand. It is the seventh full year (or eighth in Australia) of compulsory education and is roughly equivalent to grade 6 in the United ...

Year 12 Year 12 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is sometimes the twelfth year of compulsory education, or alternatively a year of post-compulsory educa ...

, including 85% of students who are from a non-English speaking background. The school has an integrated support unit catering for students with moderate and severe intellectual and/or physical disability, including autism. The school is operated by the

New South Wales Department of Education The New South Wales Department of Education, a department of the Government of New South Wales, is responsible for the delivery and co-ordination of early childhood, primary school, secondary school, vocational education, adult, migrant and hi ...

and the principal is Mark Sutton.

History

Cecil Hills High School was established in 1996. The school has had three principals since its opening, including John McGregor (1996-2004), Sean Bowen (2004-2015) and Mark Sutton (2015-present). In the first year of operation, the school had only Year 7 students, totalling 121. Since then, the school’s population grew substantially, as more cohorts entered the school. The first Year 12 cohort graduated in 2001. There are additionally three teachers in the school that have been teaching since the school opened. The school celebrated its 20th anniversary in December 2016.

Facilities

Sporting

Cecil Hills High School has a large gymnasium, which contains one full-sized

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

court, and is used for basketball, indoor

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, slider hockey, dodgeball, as well as school assemblies. There are additionally 2 outdoor basketball courts, 2

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

courts, 2 netball courts and a softball diamond.

Extra-curricular activities

Cecil Hills High School offers a range of activities outside of the classroom, including

debating Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a Discussion moderator, moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred ...

, public speaking, clubs and House challenges. The school has a Junior and Senior debating team, that regularly compete with local schools, and in 2014, the Year 9 debating team advanced to the regionals, versing a new selection of schools. The school additionally has clubs to unite students with similar interests, including the chess club. Cecil Hills offers a St. John Cadets program, where students can learn skills in leadership, as well as first aid.

Sport

Cecil Hills High School has an outstanding reputation regarding

sport Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

, in both the local area, and on a regional level. The school holds annual

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

and athletics carnivals, where students participate in a range of sports to advance to zone, where they compete against other schools. In addition to these carnivals, the school offers a range of sporting competitions and knockout tournaments for all ages, including basketball,

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...

, soccer and tennis.

House system

Cecil Hills High School has four houses in which students are distributed based on their surname. Students can earn points for their house through 3 fields:

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

, sporting and extracurricular. Each year, 2 year 11 students and 2 year 10 students are nominated as captain and vice-captain of their house, respectively, providing yet another leadership opportunity for students. The house spirit also encourages friendly competition and further participation at swimming and athletics carnivals. The four houses are all named after significant Australian peoples.

20th anniversary celebration

In 2016, Cecil Hills High School celebrated its 20th anniversary. The celebratory week in December involved an aerial photograph that included every staff member and every student. A teachers versus former students soccer match was held, and a time capsule was unveiled for display in the front office. A formal assembly was held, honouring the work of the two previous principals, John McGregor and Sean Bowen. The Performance Space was renamed The McGregor Centre in honour of the school's founding principal. One of the highlights of the celebration was the spring fair, celebrating the anniversary. This was an overwhelming event where approximately five thousand community members came for a Friday night of fun with musical performances, food stalls, rides, a petting zoo, market stalls, exhibitions and a fireworks display. A gala dinner was additionally held, which doubled as a reunion for many past students, parents and teachers.

25th anniversary celebration

In 2021, Cecil Hills High School celebrates its silver jubilee or quadranscentennial anniversary.

Western Sydney International Airport

The suburb of Badgerys Creek is the location of the proposed Western Sydney International Airport and it within the enrolment area for Cecil Hills High School. The feeder primary school of Badgerys Creek Public School closed in 2014 to allow the development of the new airport. A new suburb of Bradfield is expected to be built in and around the airport site and will provide training links for students at Cecil Hills High School.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Public high schools in Sydney School buildings completed in 1996 1996 establishments in Australia Educational institutions established in 1996