, motto_translation = To Grow. To have faith. To stand firm , established = , type = 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 ...

, educational_authority =

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 ...

, district = Regional South , principal = Daniel Ovens , location = Figtree,

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 ...

, country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia New South Wales , pushpin_image = Australia New South Wales relief location map.png , pushpin_mapsize = 250 , pushpin_map_alt = , pushpin_map_caption = Location in

, pushpin_label = , pushpin_label_position = top , module = , campus =

Suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

, enrolment = 938 , enrolment_as_of = 2018 , teaching_staff = 74.3 FTE (2018) , grades = 7- 12 , grades_label = Years , colours = Navy blue and white , homepage = Figtree High School is a government-funded

comprehensive

, located on Gibsons Road in Figtree, a suburb of

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...

, in the

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...

region of

, Australia. Established in 1969, the school enrolled approximately 900 students in 2018, 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 ...

, of whom five percent identified as

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

and 26 percent were from a language background other than English. The school is operated by the

History

Figtree High School was established in 1969, with 242 First Form students enrolling as the first students to attend. The first principal of the school was Ken Brokenshire, with Robert Everitt, the Deputy Principal and nine assistant teachers. Because construction of the school was not finished at the time, students and teachers borrowed furniture from

Dapto High School Dapto High School is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school, located in Dapto, a suburb of in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1958, the school enrolled approximately 900 studen ...

and attended classes in seven portable buildings in the grounds of Dapto High School. Construction finally finished in July 1969, being announced "Australia's most modern high school" by the

local newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

, and students re-located back to their new building in Gibsons Road. Of the original 242 students enrolled in 1969, 87 elected to enter the Senior School and completed their Higher School Certificate in 1974. The school was built in close proximity to the famous, historic

fig tree ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending int ...

that the suburb was named after, and this tree was adopted as the school emblem. But in 1987, after a significant storm, the tree was terminally damaged and was removed as a safety precaution. Students referred to the school as "Figstump High" for this time. After much discussion, a new fig tree was planted on the site of the original tree in 1997.

Staff

The current principal of Figtree High School is Daniel Ovens. There are 52 classroom teachers and a total of approximately 100 staff members including behaviour teachers, physical disability teachers and school assistants.

Music, dance and drama

Figtree High School has put on a number of musical productions including the 2008 production of "The Course of True Love", written by a teacher at the school and the 2010 production of "Grease: The Musical".

Notable alumni

Jan Barham Janette Louise Barham (born 8 October 1958) is an Australian politician who was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council between 2011 and 2017. Early life Barham grew up in Wollongong in the southern suburb of Unanderra and was edu ...

politician; former MLC - Greens Member NSW Legislative Council *

Stephen Black Stephen Black (born 5 April 1980) is an Australian former professional basketball player who played 11 seasons in the National Basketball League (NBL). He is the son of Alan Black. Born in Melbourne, Victoria, Black attended the Australian ...

former professional NBL

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 ...

player * David Farmeradministrator; former General Manager Wollongong City Council, now CEO Ipswich City Council *

Brian Hetherington Brian Hetherington (born 14 January 1954) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition. He primarily played in the centres. He ...

former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer, state representative *

Garry Jack Garry Jack (born 14 March 1961) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a representative in the Australian national team and star player with the Balmain Tigers. Jack was a for the Tigers during the late 1980s, and ea ...

former professional rugby league footballer, national representative *

Phil Jaques Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as a root term ...

former Australian

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 ...

er * Wendy Laidlawbasketball player; represented Australia at the 1984 Olympics and the 1983 World Championships * Ashley Paskeformer actor 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 ...

'' now voiceover professional * Steve Roachformer professional rugby league footballer, national representative *

Jason Ryles Jason Ryles (born 17 January 1979 in Wollongong, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australia national representative forward, ...

former professional rugby league footballer, national representative *

Carolyn Watson Carolyn Narelle Watson is an Australian conductor. Education Carolyn Watson attended Figtree High School and studied at the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music before pursuing an undergraduate degree at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. From th ...

conductor

References

External links