Balmain Campus

Infobox Aust school
name = Sydney Secondary College
Balmain Campus

| motto = "Quality, Opportunity, Diversity"
established = 1975
type = Public selective
principal = Lee Wright
city = Sydney
state = NSW
country = Australia
campus = Urban (Balmain)
enrollment = Approx. 580
projected =
colours = Black and white
homepage = [http://www.sydneysecondary.nsw.edu.au/index.asp?Campus=Balmain School site]
Balmain Campus is a coeduactional, academically selective junior high school, located on the eastern side of the Balmain peninsula, Balmain, Sydney. Established in Circa 1975 as "Balmain High School", the school has since taken part in several changes, most notably in a coalition with neighbouring inner-western schools Leichhardt High School and Glebe High School to form the "Sydney Secondary College" in 2002. Throughout the school's history, it has remained a public school operated by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training.

Balmain Campus was also the birthplace of the world famous film festival, Flickerfest. [http://www.flickerfest.com.au/about.asp]

History

Support Unit

"Balmain Campus" is acclaimed among the Sydney Secondary College for its "Support Unit" for physically and mentally disabled students [http://www.sydneysecondary.nsw.edu.au/index.asp?Campus=Balmain&Menu=Faculty&SubMenu=Support] . Balmain campus is the only high school in South-East Sydney to have a Satellite class with ASPECT.Fact|date=June 2007 The school underwent renovations during the 1980s to enable the entire school to be completely facilitated for wheelchair access, and other various needs of the disabled students. One of the major renovations included a central private lift for disabled students which provides access to the four main floors in the school [http://www.sydneysecondary.nsw.edu.au/index.asp?Campus=Balmain&Menu=Home&SubMenu=Info#Modern_Facilities] .

Curriculum

The school offers a range of subjects in its curriculum. The academic staff is organised into several departments: English, mathematics, science, social sciences, languages, design and technology, visual arts, performing arts, and physical education. The school participates in the School Certificate assessment regime, with a wide range of subjects being offered in a variety of difficulty levels [http://www.sydneysecondary.nsw.edu.au/index.asp?Campus=Balmain&Menu=Faculty&SubMenu=] .

Facilities

The Campus is divided sequentially into some six blocks, (each block comprising of classrooms, laboratories, student bathrooms, etcetera):
* A,B and C Block: "Support Unit" classrooms and facilities.
* G Block: "English" on ground floor; "Social Science" on first floor; and "Mathematics" on second floor.
* J Block: "Science" and "Information Technology" on ground and first floor; second floor holds the school office.
* D Block: "Design and Technology" on ground floor, "Visual Arts" first floor; Mathematics and Science staff rooms on second floor; "Physical Education" theoretical classrooms on third floor.
* E Block: "Design and Technology" workshops on ground floor, "Performing Arts" and "Visual arts" on first floor; "Textiles" laboratories and "Hospitality" kitchens on second floor.
* F Block: "Assembly Hall" and "Canteen" on upper floor; "Physical Education" student changerooms/showers, and staff room on lower floor.

Throughout the campus, student bathrooms and bubblers have been installed as well as outdoor furniture (lunch benches, seats, etcetra). The campus also, as previously mentioned, is facilitated with ramps, stairlifts, and a central lift to assist physically disabled student's access to the school grounds.

Other school facilities also include a library, basketball courts, netball courts, two football fields, cricket nets and a gymnasium. The Assembly Hall is no longer used for indoor sports such as Hockey due to one student slipping and cracking their teeth on some nearby stairs thus prompting the Department Of Education to claim the floor is too slippery and dangerous. This may change as the school has renovated the floor with a layer to allow more grip.

A waterfront pontoon for launching light watercraft and other vessels has been scheduled for development in 2008 [ [http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/Development/Documents/CityImprovements/GlebeForeshore/GlebeForeshoreBrochure.pdf Glebe Foreshore Brochure ] ] .

Notable Alumni

* Alex Lloyd (singer-songwriter)
* Hugo Drummond

See also

* Blackwattle Bay Campus
* List of Government schools in New South Wales
* List of selctive high schools in New South Wales

Footnotes