, motto_translation = Striving for the highest
, location =
Penrith,
Western Sydney
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
,
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 Sydney
, pushpin_image =
, pushpin_mapsize = 250
, pushpin_map_alt =
, pushpin_map_caption = Location in
greater metropolitan Sydney
, pushpin_label =
, pushpin_label_position = right
, module =
, 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 ...
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 ...
academically selective 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 =
NSW Department of Education
)
, 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
, e ...
, established =
, principal = Mark Long
, colours = Sky blue, grey, yellow, black, white, and royal blue
, website =
, enrolment = 922
, enrolment_as_of = 2018
, campus_type =
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 ...
Penrith Selective High School (PSHS) is a
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 ...
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 ...
academically selective 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 in
Penrith, in
Western Sydney
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
,
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 1950 and operated by the
NSW Department of Education
)
, 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
, e ...
, the school caters for approximately 925 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 ...
to
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 ...
.
[
Penrith Selective High School has consistently performed among the top schools in the Higher School Certificate (HSC). The classes of 2010, 2017, and 2018 share the school's highest ranking at 27th in New South Wales, based on HSC results. In 2018, over 90 students received an ]Australian Tertiary Admission Rank
The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is the primary criterion for domestic student entry into undergraduate courses in Australian public universities. It was gradually introduced to most states and territories in 2009–10 and has sinc ...
(ATAR) of over 90 and the median
In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...
ATAR was 91.95.
History
Penrith Selective High School was first opened in the 1930s as an intermediate school on the land adjacent to its current location (now Penrith Public School). The school's location was then occupied by a mansion known as ''The Towers''. During the 1940s, the mansion and the land was sold to the Department of Education, who demolished the mansion and built Penrith High School, which was officially established in 1950. The school became academically selective in 1989.
Two of the original foundations of the mansion have been preserved and remain in the school grounds. Additionally, the original plaque commemorating the opening of Penrith Intermediate School has been transferred into the present school grounds, where it currently resides in the school's archives. In commemoration of ''The Towers'' mansion, the annual school magazine goes by the same name.
Enrolment
The students of Penrith Selective High School come from an area extending from the Blue Mountains to North Sydney, from the Hawkesbury Hawkesbury or Hawksbury may refer to:
People
*Baron Hawkesbury, or Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (1727-1808), English statesman
Places
;Geography
*Hawkesbury Island, an island in British Columbia, Canada
* Hawkesbury Island, Queensland ...
District to Luddenham. The school has seen significant intake from the City of Blacktown
Blacktown City Council is a local government area in Western Sydney, situated on the Cumberland Plain, approximately west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1906 as the Blacktow ...
.
Year 7
All Year 7 enrolments are managed by the High Performing Students Unit (formerly, the Selective Schools Unit) of the NSW Department of Education. Each October, application forms for the selective high schools test are available from government primary schools and from the Selective Schools Unit for Year 6 students and are due to be returned that November.
Years 8-12
Applications for entry into Years 8-12 are managed by the school, in line with High Performing Students Unit guidelines. Only a small number of places are available each year since a vacancy only occur when a current student leaves the school. Application packages become available from the school's website or the Selective Schools Unit in Term 2 (June) each year and are returned to the school, along with supporting documentation, by the end of July. The deadline date for application each year is determined by the Selective Schools Unit. The selection committee arranges the applications in order of academic merit based upon the evidence submitted. The committee considers material that provides evidence of high academic achievement and participation in extracurricular activities. Residential status requirements and family placement claims follow the Year 7 entry criteria. Students must be either Australia citizens or permanent residents.
Facilities
The school has a gymnasium, a field with multi-sport goal posts (soccer and rugby, although contact sport is strictly prohibited), a smaller field with portable hockey goal posts, and two basketball courts. It also has five computer labs, an extensive two-storey library, a large space for creative and performing arts, numerous classrooms with equipment and materials dedicated to specific faculties, and a school hall which is part of the original school structure, built in the early 1950s. The hall can accommodate approximately 450 seated guests, usually used for official school functions, performing arts exhibitions, and information evenings. The Penrith Selective High School Parents and Citizens Association (P&C) operates a school canteen, from which all proceeds go towards improving the educational experience of PSHS students.
House system
At the beginning of Year 7, all Penrith Selective High School students are placed in one of the following four houses, sorted by last name:
Every year three sporting carnivals (Swimming, Athletics, and Cross Country) are held, where students compete to earn house points. Students also compete for points throughout the year during numerous inter-house friendly competitions, including dance-offs and halloween performances. The winner of each carnival and of the overall house championship is announced each year.
Staff
As of 2020, the staff at Penrith High School includes the following:
Senior executive
* Principal – Mark Long
* Deputy principal – Brian Ferguson
* Deputy principal – Jaclyn Cush
* Deputy principal - Doris Lee
HSC cheating scandal
In September 2015, Penrith High School drew controversy after it was discovered that some students had obtained the login information of a teacher and potentially tried to have their marks digitally altered for their HSC, with the school captain being among those involved. This was followed by an investigation from the Department of Education, though its conclusions are unknown.
Notable people
*Linda Burney
Linda Jean Burney (born 25 April 1957) is an Australian politician and is an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing Barton since the 2016 federal election. She is Minister for Indigenous Australi ...
– former Member of the New South Wales Parliament
The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Each ...
for Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
, and current Member of the Australian Parliament
The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...
for Barton
*Joyce Fardell
Joyce Fardell (1923–2007) was an Australian teacher librarian and advocate for children's literature. She was instrumental in establishing teacher librarian roles in New South Wales Schools, establishing the principle of teacher-librarians b ...
– former teacher librarian
*Tony Lauer
Anthony Raymond Lauer, (born 19 December 1935) is a former police officer who served as the Commissioner of the New South Wales Police from 1991 until 1996. In February 1996, Lauer's term ended in controversy with his resignation soon after th ...
– former Commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
of the New South Wales Police
The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...
*Ognjen Matic
Ognjen Matic (born 21 August 1989 in Split, Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia) is an Australian team handball player.
Career
Ognjen started his handball career at Cabramatta High School and went on to represent the U18 NSW handball team in 2005. Mat ...
– Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal Au ...
handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
player
*Grigor Taylor
Grigor Weston Taylor also known as Greg Taylor, is an Australian former actor, best known for his parts in several television series including '' Matlock Police'' and ''Glenview High''.
Early life, education and teacher
Taylor was born in P ...
– actor, ''Matlock Police
''Matlock Police'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network (now known as the 10 Network) between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town o ...
'', '' Silent Number'' and ''Glenview High
''Glenview High'' is an Australian television drama series produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the Seven Network between 1977 and 1978.
Story
English teacher Greg Walker (Grigor Taylor) transfers from the country to Glenview High, a to ...
''
* Ray Watson – judge who reformed family law to create no-fault divorce
*Penelope Wensley
Penelope Anne Wensley, (born 18 October 1946) is a former Australian public servant and diplomat who served as the 25th Governor of Queensland from 2008 to 2014. She was previously High Commissioner to India from 2001 to 2004 and Ambassador to ...
– former Governor of Queensland
The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor Governors of the Australian states, performs c ...
* Richard Wilson – actor, '' The Proposition'' and '' Clubland''
See also
* List of government schools in New South Wales
{{Use Australian English, date=June 2020
The New South Wales Department of Education is a department of the Government of New South Wales. In addition to other responsibilities, it operates primary and secondary school
A secondary school des ...
* List of selective high schools in New South Wales
This is a list of selective and agricultural high schools run by the Department of Education. Entry to these schools is managed centrally by the department's Selective High School and Opportunity Class Placement Unit. Prospective students sit t ...
* Jamison High School
Jamison High School is a Public school (government funded), public Mixed-sex education, co-educational Secondary education#Australia, secondary day school, located in South Penrith in Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school is si ...
References
External links
Penrith Selective High School website
{{Authority control
Public high schools in Sydney
Educational institutions established in 1950
1950 establishments in Australia
Penrith, New South Wales
Selective schools in New South Wales