, motto_translation = Let Us Be Judged By Our Actions , city =

Frenchs Forest, New South Wales Frenchs Forest (pron. frenches) is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Frenchs Forest is 13 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Cou ...

, country = Australia , type =

Public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

, secondary,

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 ...

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 ...

, established = January 1961 , principal = Nathan Lawler , enrolment = ~ 860 (7–12) , colours = Green, gold and red , campus = 135 Frenchs Forest Road , homepage = The Forest High School, (abbreviation TFHS) is a government day school located in

Frenchs Forest Frenchs Forest (pron. frenches) is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Frenchs Forest is 13 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Cou ...

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, on Frenchs Forest Road. It is a co-educational secondary school operated by the New South Wales Department of Education with students ranging from grades 7 to 12. The school was established in 1961 as a secondary school for the

Northern Beaches The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the entra ...

area. Students at the school come predominantly from

Oxford Falls Oxford Falls is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 20 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council. Oxford Falls is part of t ...

, Beacon Hill, and

Allambie Heights Allambie Heights is a suburb of Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 17.5 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district in the Local government in Australia, local government area of Northern Beaches C ...

History

The formation of The Forest High School was the result of a campaign by a representative body known as The Forest High School Promotion Committee formed on 1 November 1958. The committee members were anxious to have established a co-educational high school that would cater for the educational needs of the suburbs of Frenchs Forest, Forestville, Beacon Hill and

Terrey Hills Terrey Hills is a suburb of Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 25 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council. It is part of the Forest District and ...

and

Narraweena Narraweena is a suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Narraweena is 18 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council and is part ...

. On 31 January 1961, Stage One of construction was completed and The Forest High School opened with an initial enrolment of 318 students and a staff of 14 teachers under the principalship of Edward George Bell, who had been headmaster of Fairfield Boys' High School. The Latin school motto ''

Spectemur Agendo Spectemur Agendo is a Latin motto meaning ''Let us be judged by our acts''. Sources It comes originally from Book XIII of Ovid's Metamorphoses (poem), Metamorphoses where it is attributed to the hero Ajax the Great, Ajax: ''Denique (quid verbis opu ...

'' - let us be judged by our actions - was chosen by the pioneer students and staff, while the school crest was designed by the art teacher. Originally called "French's Forest High School", on 2 August 1961 the Minister for Education,

Ernest Wetherell Ernest "Ern" Wetherell (26 March 1893 – 31 March 1969) was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1949 until 1965. He was a member of the Labor Party and held numerous ministerial positions betw ...

announced the name had changed to "The Forest High School". By 1963, Stage Three of the building program was completed with the three major buildings and enrolments had increased to 963 students. 1963 also saw the completion of the Assembly Hall in time for the second annual Speech Night on 9 April. The School

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

, "Yarrabee", was first issued in the same year. By 1964 it was considered that the school had reached the level necessary for an official opening. This occurred on Saturday 24 October 1964, attended by the Director-General of Education,

Harold Wyndham Sir Harold Wyndham (27 June 1903 – 22 April 1988) was Department of Education and Training (New South Wales), Director-General of Education in New South Wales between 1952 and 1968. He chaired the committee whose report (referred to as "The Wyn ...

, the state Member for

Wakehurst Wakehurst may refer to: Places: *Electoral district of Wakehurst, electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales *Wakehurst (formerly known as Wakehurst Place), a property owned by the National Trust and m ...

Dick Healey Richard Owen Healey (7 December 192310 December 2000) was a New South Wales politician, ABC sports broadcaster, and minister of the crown in the cabinets of Sir Robert Askin, Tom Lewis and Sir Eric Willis. From 1973 to 1975 he was Minister ...

, and the Minister for Education, Ernest Wetherell, and was officially opened by the

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the ...

, Lieutenant-General Sir Eric Woodward. The 1960s witnessed the beginnings of the musical program with the formation of the school orchestra, band and choir. The Forest high won the 1963 trophies for Inter-Zone junior athletics and swimming. In 1969 D block and the gymnasium were opened to accommodate the growing number of students. The final stage of building was completed in 1976 with the opening of the Library.

School Relocation

In late 2016, it was revealed that the site of The Forest High School was being considered for rezoning by the Department of Planning and Environment, which would see the school replaced by a new high-density Frenchs Forest town centre next to the

Northern Beaches Hospital The Northern Beaches Hospital is a hospital in Frenchs Forest, located in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. History In May 2013 the State Government announced the Northern Beaches Hospital would be built in F ...

and the school moved to a new site in the suburb at or near the Warringah Aquatic Centre on the other side of Warringah Road. The Forest High School has been set to be relocated to 187 Allambie Road, Allambie Heights, taking over a portion of the Frenchs Forest Cerebral Palsy Alliance Centre.

Principals

Notable alumni

Garry Gary Beers Garry William Beers (born 22 June 1957), known as Garry Gary Beers, is an Australian musician and was the bass guitarist for the new wave rock group INXS. Career Garry William Beers was born to Lola (died 2011) and William Beers. William Bee ...

– Musician, best known as a member of

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. *

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– Actor from Australian Drama 'Blue Heelers'. Attended 1987–1992. *

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– NSW Liberal Party politician, Leader of Opposition 2005-2007 *

Tim Farriss Timothy William Farriss (born 16 August 1957) is an Australian musician, founding member and the lead guitarist of the rock band :INXS. Early life and the formation of INXS Farriss was born in Perth, Western Australia, to Dennis and Jill F ...

– Musician, best known as a member of INXS. *

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– TV and radio presenter *

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– Seven Network Journalist and Financial Commentator *

Bill Leak Desmond Robert "Bill" Leak (9 January 1956 – 10 March 2017) was an Australian editorial cartoonist, caricaturist and portraitist. Raised in Condobolin and Beacon Hill, Sydney, Leak attended Julian Ashton Art School during the 1970s. His cart ...

– editorial cartoonist for ''

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''. * Ian Martin – Rugby Leaguer, 1972, 73, 76, 78 premiership player, played for

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.Alan Whiticker/Glen Hudson: Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players. 1995 (). *

David Musgrave David Musgrave (born 1965) is an Australian poet, novelist, publisher and critic. He is the founder of and publisher at Puncher & Wattmann, an independent press which publishes Australian poetry and literary fiction. He is also Deputy Chair o ...

– prize-winning poet and publisher * Matthew Myers – Judge of the

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and adjunct professor at the Faculty of Law,

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. * Nadine Neumann – Olympic breaststroke swimmer * Nadje Noordhuis – Jazz Trumpeter & Composer *

Shelley Oates-Wilding Shelley Oates-Wilding (born 4 July 1965) is an Australian sprint canoeist and waterman who competed for Australia in Canoeing from 1989 to 2008 (over a decade). Competing in two Summer Olympics, she earned her best finish of eighth in the K-4 ...

– Olympic sprint canoer *

Kirk Pengilly Kirk Pengilly ( ; born 4 July 1958) is an Australian musician and member of the Australian rock group INXS. Kirk plays saxophone, guitar and also performs as a backing vocalist. Early career Pengilly moved to Sydney in 1966, and became best fri ...

– Musician, best known as a member of INXS. * David Ronson – Rugby Leaguer, 1987 premiership player, played for

. *

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- former Australian Wallabies Rugby Union team assistant coach and Queensland assistant coach - premiers 2011, 2021. Coach Brisbane City. * Andrew Speight – Award-winning jazz saxophonist * Anna Wood – schoolgirl who died after taking ecstasy. *

Jane Caro Catherine Jane Caro (born 24 June 1957) is a feminist social commentator, writer and lecturer based in Australia. Early life and education Caro was born in London in 1957 and emigrated to Australia with her parents as a five-year-old in 1963. ...

, social commentator * Amy McCann - Australian Baseball Team 2002–2014, dual All-World Team selection, dual World Cup medallist, 2006 Baseball Australia Player of the Year *

Aaron Gurd Aaron Gurd (born 18 September 2001) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a center back for Sydney FC. Career Gurd was promoted through the Sydney FC academy ranks as a youngster, making his NPL debut in 2019. In 2022 he was ...

- Australian Soccer Player for

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References

External links