Arthur Phillip High School

Infobox Secondary school
name = Arthur Phillip High School

city =
state =
country =
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grades = 7–12
established = 1875
type = Coeducational public high school
affiliations =
enrollment = 1,490
motto =
principal = Lynne Goodwin
yearbook =
newspaper =
website = [http://aphs.nsw.edu.au/ http://aphs.nsw.edu.au/]
address = Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia
campus =

Arthur Phillip High School (APHS) is a coeducational public high school in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia. The school was established in 1875 and is the oldest public school in its district.

In July 2007 it had approximately a student population of 1,490 in years 7–12 and 100 teaching staff. The school took its present name in 1960, after Arthur Phillip, the first governor of the state of New South Wales and the founder of the city of Sydney.

It is rare in Australia in that it is a high school located in an urban business district of high-rise buildings. It extends across two sides of Macquarie Street, the street on which it is situated. The front of the school faces Smith Street as does its 'main entrance', though it is rarely used and is an artifact of a different structure which has now changed due to the school's numerous appendages, with this 'front' also being one of them (the old school house is the original building from which all others were attached to and stemmed on the school's main side). The vast bulk of high schools in Australia are suburban, with large grounds, while Arthur Phillip High School has only a central courtyard around which the classroom buildings are arranged, and additional sports grounds which have been decreasing in size due to an onslaught of demountable classrooms.

There is a playing field across the road from the main school building, but it is largely covered with portable classrooms (17 as of July 2007). In 2002 the playing field was not covered with any classrooms at all, but slowly as time has progressed and the studential influx increased, the necessity has arisen for new classrooms. It is expected that in the future there will be even more classrooms to cover the playing field. The school also has a large multi-purpose hall with a stage, and three basketball (or netball) courts.

It is often referred to as a technology high school and is well-supplied with resources in this area. The school especially employs products produced by Apple Inc., with the vast majority of the school's computers being Macs. The vast majority of classrooms contain a projector, which may be used by teachers at their discretion as a tool. The entire school has wireless Internet connectivity, and makes extensive use of Apple laptop computers (a plentiful supply of which is owned), in effect turning any classroom into a computer 'lab' instantaneously.

APHS is a multicultural school with a sizeable proportion of students born in countries other than Australia and also coming from non-English speaking backgrounds.

History

APHS has a long history, dating back to the beginnings of the city of Sydney. At the front of the main side of its split campus the Old School House building, now a museum, is situated and contains photos and items pertaining to education in Australia's early colonial era and beyond.

Very early on APHS was a boys' school, but eventually became coeducational.

Various disputes have occurred between APHS and the NSW Department of Education and Training (DET). They are outlined below. Being an urban school located on land that is now of very high-value (the entire campus estimated at AU$80 million in July 2007) and limited size, with ever-increasing student numbers, it faces many challenges now and for the future.

Lynne Goodwin has been principal of the school since 1996.

APHS vs DET 2005 dispute

In 2005, following media attention being drawn to the issue, the DET decided to finally repair the structural problems of a wing of APHS's campus and conduct a full renovation. The building was sinking into the ground and had a large repair bill, reportedly of over AU$1 million, which involved the pumping of material under the building in order to solidify the structure. The work was completed in time for the commencement of classes in 2006 following the summer break.

The classrooms in the structure, which at the time could at best be described as crumbling, were actively used for a prolonged period in an unsafe state. Bricks had even on rare occasion detached and fallen from the tops of door frames.

APHS vs DET 2007 dispute

In late July and early August 2007 there was a dispute between APHS and the NSW Department of Education and Training (DET) regarding a proposition to restructure the school to be senior-student only (years 11 and 12) and to merge the senior student population from the Macquarie Boys High School (MBHS) in North Parramatta with it. Correspondingly the junior student population would be transferred to the MBHS campus, which would be turned into a coeducational junior-only school.

The plan was supposedly pushed exclusively by a small group of parents from MBHS, which was on the verge of closure due to dwindling student numbers, and opposed by all other parties involved (including the staff at MBHS). More likely it was an internal DET reaction motivated by the high value of APHS's campus land.

The DET's Regional Director was sent with very short notice to APHS to hold a conference on Monday 30 July 2007 with parents and staff to discuss the plans, and the proposition subsequently fell through probably in part due to large public outcry, but most likely due to the workings of the DET's internal politics.

There was even a response by students through such media as the blog, mainly by younger students from year 10 and such, advertising the issue.

Academic record

Academically, in regards to marks on the Higher School Certificate (HSC), Arthur Phillip High School has had a fluctuating history. There have been years where its performance has been quite outstanding, whereas there have been others where it has been comparatively quite average.

State rankings of students sitting the HSC examinations have occurred on several occasions, with a state ranking being achieved for the Category B (VET) subject of Business Services in at least two separate HSC years, as well as a state ranking being achieved for the Mathematics Extension 1 (3-unit) examination in 2005. While every student sitting the HSC examinations has a rank for each examination they sat, only a very limited number of students are notified of their ranks - these being the few which achieve the top few ranks. When a state ranking is being spoken of, this is what is being referred to (a mark which was at the top few places of the entire state).

2005

In the HSC for the year of 2005, 9 students achieved a UAI over 90, with the top student achieving a UAI of 99.00 and receiving a Premier's Award (which is awarded for receiving top bands for any 10 units of study, not necessarily including the compulsory minimum of 2 units of English). This same student receiving a Premier's Award achieved a state ranking of 10^th in the Mathematics Extension 1 (3-unit) HSC examination. For that same year, approximately 70 out of 214 (33%) year 12 students gained admission to a university course.

2006

In the HSC for the year of 2006, 10 students received a UAI greater than 90. The highest achieved UAI for this year was 99.65. No state rankings were achieved. No Premier's awards were achieved. Similarly to the previous year, approximately 70 students out of the year 12 grade gained admission to a university.

Sydney newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported on 10 October 2007, on the basis of figures obtained under freedom of information laws, that APHS ranked 3rd in Australia for the amount of unpaid leave taken by teachers in 2006. [Cite web|url=http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22667224-5001021,00.html|title=Teachers chalk up 400,000 days off|publisher=The Daily Telegraph|date=2007-10-10|accessdate=2007-12-21] They curiously recorded 1,298 days-off in this limited type of leave measure alone, which was a significant feat for any school let alone one of as typical student and teacher numbers as APHS.

2007

In the HSC for the year of 2007, 16 students received a UAI greater than 90, with the top student receiving 98.55 and a Premier's award. Two state rankings were achieved independently of each other (and neither by highest UAI achiever): 17th for Business Studies, and 5th for Retail Operations. One Premier's award, as stated, was achieved. By considerable margins, the school students' HSC performance in 2007 was the best in at least the last 10 years, with a comparatively very high university acceptance rate, median UAI, and top-heaviness of UAIs. Approximately 40% of year 12 students gained admission to a university.

Alumni

Australian actress Kym Valentine, best known for her role as Libby Kennedy in the long running Australian soap opera Neighbours, attended the school before moving to Melbourne in order to pursue her acting career by taking the role of Libby.

References

External links

* [http://aphs.nsw.edu.au/ Official website]
* [http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/schoolfind/locator/summaryschool.php?selectOption=8892 NSW Department of Education and Training (DET): Arthur Phillip High School]