Matraville Sports High School

Matraville Sports High School

Endeavour
Location
Chifley, New South Wales
Australia
Coordinates 33°57′54.32″S 151°14′40.84″E / 33.9650889°S 151.2446778°E / -33.9650889; 151.2446778
Information
Type Public, Secondary, Sports, Day school
Established January 1960 (High School)[1]
December 2001 (Sports High)[1]
Principal Nerida Walker
Years offered 7-12
Enrolment 305[2] (2011)
Campus Anzac Parade
Colour(s) Navy and Sky Blue
         
Website Matraville Sports High School

Matraville Sports High School, (abbreviation MSHS) is a school located in Chifley, New South Wales, Australia, on Anzac Parade. It is a coeducational high school operated by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training with students from years 7 to 12. The school was established in 1960 as a comprehensive High School, becoming a specialist Sports High School in December 2001. Its alumni include one state premier, Bob Carr, and a number of students who have been successful in professional sport, particularly rugby league.

History

In the years consequent upon the Second World War, South Eastern suburbs of Sydney saw increasing population growth and, as a result, increasing demands for infrastructure to assist that growth. At the time, the closest high schools in the area were South Sydney Boys' High School and Maroubra Junction Girls' High School. As a result, the local member and Minister for Education, Bob Heffron, made the decision to establish a new high school in Matraville. The site on the corner of Anzac Parade and Franklin Street in southern Matraville was secured by the Department of Education in 1957. The original school site was covered in virgin Banksia scrub growing on low sand hills bordered by houses on Mitchell Street.[3] (The southern part of Matraville became the suburb of Chifley in 1964.)

At Heffron's instigation, the new school would be co-educational, in a period when the vast majority of NSW secondary schools were sexually segregated. Prior to 1960, Robert E Mobbs, a former Second World War army officer who had also helped establish Fairfield Boys' High and Arthur Phillip High, was appointed as the school's first headmaster. However, a lack of funding restricted the start of construction and it was not until well after the first 200 students had been accepted in 1960 that building began. Therefore, the first students were housed at Daceyville Public School and the 1961 intake of students were sent to Gardeners Road Public School. Construction was finished by early 1962, which allowed the students to finally move in.[3] The school soon generated a reputation for excellence in sports. The Waratah Shield, the state knockout competition for Rugby, was won by Matraville in 1972, 1976, 1977, 1983 and 2007 and the ARL Schoolboy Cup was also won in 2007. In recognition of the school's excellence in this area, in December 2001, Matraville High was re-established as a specialist sports high, thus becoming "Matraville Sports High School".

School details

In May 2010, there were 325 students enrolled in the school from Years 7 through to Year 12. Of these, 110 students were girls and 215 were boys. The school has an enrolment of 30% Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and 30% Pacific Islander students. There were approximately 45 staff at the school.

The senior school curriculum offers a wide range of vocational subject choices, including construction, hospitality, retail and sports coaching.

Notable alumni

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Matraville Sports High". Government Schools of New South Wales from 1848. NSW Education and Communities. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  2. ↑ "Matraville Sports High School". School Locator. NSW Public Schools. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  3. 1 2 "Matraville High School's 50th anniversary". Southern Courier. Retrieved 2011-10-02.
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