Parramatta High School
Parramatta High School | |
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Location | |
Parramatta, New South Wales Australia | |
Coordinates | 33°49′03″S 150°59′51″E / 33.81750°S 150.99750°ECoordinates: 33°49′03″S 150°59′51″E / 33.81750°S 150.99750°E |
Information | |
Type | Public, Secondary, Partially Selective, Co-educational, Day school |
Motto |
Latin: Fax Mentis Incendium Gloriae ("The torch of the mind lights the path to glory") |
Established | 1913 |
Principal | Dominique Splatt |
Enrolment | 850+ (7-12) |
Campus | Urban |
Colour(s) |
Royal Blue, Sky Blue, Grey, White |
Website | Parramatta High School |
Parramatta High School (PHS) is a public, partially selective, co-educational high school located in Parramatta CBD, a western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Established in 1913, the school was the first co-educational school in the Sydney metropolitan area and was previously a fully selective high school. Since 2013, it has been partially selective in the Parramatta region with a multicultural student base. The school is operated by the New South Wales Department of Education and has over 850 students in Years 7 to 12. The school has ranked 96th (2016) overall in the state for the Higher School Certificate (HSC).
House system
At the beginning of Year 7, all Parramatta High students are placed in one of the following four houses:
House | Colour | Origin |
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Batman | John Batman:
Adventurer who explored the Port Phillip Bay district of Victoria in 1835, discovering the Yarra River stating “This will be a place for a village”. This village was to become Melbourne. | |
Brisbane | Sir Thomas Brisbane:
Fair minded Governor of NSW from 1821 to 1825 – most famous for allowing the first newspaper in the colony “The Sydney Gazette” to be free from government censorship. | |
Fitzroy | Charles Augustus Fitzroy:
Governor of NSW from 1846, responsible for encouraging the rapid expansion of settlement until the gold era. | |
Marsden | Reverend Samuel Marsden:
The first chaplain of NSW – an astute businessman who contributed greatly to the colony’s economic expansion. |
Every year two sporting carnivals {athletics and swimming} (and two advanced carnivals; zone and/or regional) are held in which students compete to earn their house points. A winner of each carnival and of the overall house championship is announced each year.
Centenary
In 2013 Parramatta High School celebrated its centenary, marking 100 years since its establishment on 28 January 1913. Class of 2018, the 100th cohort to enrol at Parramatta High School, acknowledged this by implementing the Phoenix on the back of their year 12 jerseys. The Phoenix is a well-known symbol of Parramatta High, which derived from the 1940s Phoenix Magazine, and is celebrated through the annual PHS Phoenix Week.
Notable alumni
- John Benaud, cricketer
- Richie Benaud, cricketer
- Harry Hopman, tennis player
- Chips Rafferty, actor
- W. E. H. Stanner, anthropologist
- Ted Noffs, theologian
- Rod Taylor, actor
- Philip K. Chapman, first Australian-born American Apollo astronaut
- Bede Morris, immunologist
- Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy, high-ranking Vatican official
- George Weir, politician