Kanahooka High School 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 ...

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 compa ...

, located in Kanahooka, southwest of the city 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 wa ...

, 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

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 1974, the school enrolled for approximately 600 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 ...

to Year 12, of whom 16 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 eight percent were from a language background other than English. The school is 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 principal is Christine Toohey. Students are drawn from a

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

that covers the southwestern part of the

City of Wollongong The City of Wollongong is a local government area in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The area is situated adjacent to the Tasman Sea, the Princes Motorway and the Illawarra railway line. Located south of Sydney central bu ...

History

The school was named for a point at the western shore of

Lake Illawarra Lake Illawarra ( Aboriginal Tharawal language: various adaptions of ''Elouera'', ''Eloura'', or ''Allowrie''; ''Illa'', ''Wurra'', or ''Warra'' meaning pleasant place near the sea, or, high place near the sea, or, white clay mountain), is an ope ...

, said to mean "burial place of Hooka". Hooka was an Aboriginal chief living in the

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

area around the time of European settlement. The school first opened on 29 January 1974 under principal R.C.H. (Bob) Everitt, with 400 students in years 7 and 8. Due to bad weather and material shortages, demountables at

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 ...

were used until the school was completed. On 18 October 1974 they moved to the new site at Robert and Joan Streets. The school first offered NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC) subjects in 1978. The school's population peaked at 1,164 students in 1983. With changes to demographics and other schools opening in the area, the school population fell to a relatively stable 650 in the late 1990s.

Academic achievements

In 2017 Kanahooka High School ranked number 573 in the HSC with 212 exams sat by 39 students, a success rate of 0.47 percent and one high score.

References

External links

* Public high schools in New South Wales 1974 establishments in Australia Educational institutions established in 1974 Schools in Wollongong {{NewSouthWales-school-stub

History

Academic achievements

See also

References

External links