Perth Modern School

Perth Modern School was the first government high school in Western Australia. By December 1907, the Western Australian Parliament allocated funds to build the first government high school on a site near the Thomas Street School in Subiaco. However, debate continued for some time, and it was not until 1909 that the west building and main hall contract was tendered.[4]

The school opened in 1911 with 226 students enrolled.[5] The school charged a fee of £6 a year. Students were prepared for entry to the University of Western Australia, which opened in 1913. Demand for places at the school was high - students came from all over Perth and Western Australia, many staying with relatives or boarding as near to the school as possible. In 1912, the school inaugurated a system of scholarships designed to encourage students of ability to attend regardless of the financial situation of their parents. Students studied comprehensive science and modern languages as part of their courses, in addition to classical subjects.[6] Until 1928,[7] students attended Perth Modern for four years. The focus of the first two years was on basic subjects, whereas the final two years focused on a more diverse range of subjects. Students could choose out of five streams: arts, science, education, commerce and agriculture.[5]

Central to the establishment of the school was Cecil Andrews. As a young man, Andrews was Inspector General of Schools in Western Australia and he had the honour of naming the school and directing the school curriculum. The first principal, Ferdinand Grange Brown, helped the school to a start. He was succeeded in 1912 by Joseph Parsons who led the school until 1939.[8] Noel Sampson was the principal from 1940-1963.

When it opened Perth Modern School pioneered two modern and entirely new concepts in Western Australian education:[6]

1. Co-education
2. No corporal punishment, detention, or arbitrary/authoritative punishment
3. The teaching of modern languages (such as French), and rejection of Classical studies as the core of the curriculum

The first concept allowed young women and young men access to the same higher education pathway. When Perth Modern School opened, it was rare to find women participating in the same endeavours on the same playing field as men. Prior to Perth Modern School, the only high schools in Western Australia were eight independent schools. These schools were sectarian, unisex, high fee paying schools, and only three of the eight schools catered for young women. The school educators helped raise the consciousness in generations of students who were ready, willing and able to advocate change for justice and equality based on merit, as they entered the world and pursued their careers. Although Perth Modern has always been a co-educational school, when it initially opened in 1911, boys and girls were still kept apart in different classrooms and entrances.[5]

The second concept charged each student with the knowledge the school would offer no discipline except self-discipline. Worldwide, it was accepted teachers would use arbitrary and often violent punishments to force students to conform to the will of authority. Perth Modern embraced a new motto, Savoir C’est Pouvoir (Knowledge is Power), and the Sphinx—representing knowledge and wisdom—was adopted as the school emblem. By recognising and by raising higher reasoning in each student, the school educators imparted the gift of education as the key to future success, and this was the motivation for each student to work hard and to achieve the highest results possible.

In 1958 Perth Modern School became a comprehensive five year high school with a local-intake area; around this time, more buildings were constructed to the east of the original building. By 1966 the scholarship entry requirements were removed, and in 1968 music became a focus of the school. The first music scholarships were awarded in 1968 to 36 first year and 19 fourth year students; the last intake of students on a music scholarship occurred in 2006. By 1970, the school orchestra was formed and the Joseph Parsons Memorial Library opened. The old Thomas Street Primary School, administered by Perth Modern School, became the home of English as a second language in Western Australia in 1990.[5]

In 2005, the Premier of WA, Geoff Gallop, announced the proposal for the school to once again become one of academic excellence. Funding was allocated to turn Perth Modern School into a selective high school for academic excellence.[8] This was to recognise that gathering students of high ability in one school encourages students to "be themselves" with like-minded peers, which allows opportunity for the development of higher-order thinking skills and meets the social, emotional and educational needs of gifted students.[9][10] The gifted program is based on Francois Gagne's Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent.[11] The first intake of a cohort only on an academic scholarship occurred in 2007, and in 2009, the new buildings at the Western end of the school opened. By 2008, the majority of students attended Perth Modern on an academic scholarship,[5] and since 2011, the centenary year, all students at the school attended based on academic selection.[12] In 2012, Perth Modern became an Independent Public School.[13]

In 2015, the school became a six-year high school when welcomed its first cohort of Year 7 students, who were housed in the Stokes building for their first term.

In 2017, the incoming Labor government made an election promise to move the academic program operating at Perth Modern into a high-rise building in the Perth central business district, while the current buildings would be re-purposed for use as a local intake school.[14] This $45 million plan was expected to relieve pressure on western public schools after a few secondary schools closed in the area. This was met with pushback by students and their teachers who complained the metropolitan environment would damage the mental and physical health of students and would expose the children to inner-city drugs and crime.[15] The dissatisfied alumni, including former governor Malcolm McCusker, banded under the "Save Perth Modern" campaign. The group organised a Facebook page,[16] held protests and presented a 6000 signature petition to parliament.[17] The pushback lead the Labor Party to drop the plans, and instead announced that Bob Hawke College would be build nearby.[18][19]

In 2012, $2.7 million was allocated to fund a new gymnasium to replace the older facility built in 1961. The funding was supplemented by approximately $1 million raised in fundraising for the 'Build the Dream' campaign from 2012 to 2014.[13][20] The new gymnasium was opened in 2015.

In 2016, the 'Raise the Roof' fundraising campaign was launched to raise funds to build a 700-seat auditorium.[21] The $10 million plan was criticised by some board members and became the subject of an external audit.[22] In 2019, the fundraising target to build 500 seats was reached. The Education Department subsequently organised a tender for the first stage of construction.[23] Construction ceremonially began in May 2020, with completion scheduled for May or June 2021.[24]

In 2013 the school’s buildings were renamed after several people who had significant contribution to the school.[25] The school campus consists of the following buildings and centres:

Until 2013, the Beasley building was known as the West building. At the time of its construction from 1909 to 1911, the building was Perth Modern's first and only building. The new school was built on land which was formerly part of the northern common in Subiaco, which had been set aside for education purposes. This land was 4 hectares (10 acres) in area and was located between Subiaco and Mueller Roads (later renamed Roberts Road), west of Thomas Street in Subiaco. On 30 July 1909, S B Alexander was awarded the building contract for £11,637. The contract for the west building and main hall specified eight classrooms, art room, library, chemistry and physics laboratories, lecture rooms, as well as cookery and laundry classrooms. These facilities were grouped around the 27.4m by 14.3m (90 ft by 47 ft) central hall. The building was designed by Hillson Beasley, Principal Architect of the Public Works Department, Western Australia. By 1911, the building was completed for the sum of £18,974.[6]

Beasley’s design of the west building and main hall comprised three parallel two storey wings facing north and south with a courtyard to the west. The west building is linked by a covered walkway to the third heritage listed wing. The building was typical of Beasley's mixture of formality and informality, with interesting interiors serving ritualised assemblies and examinations. The building reflected many key characteristics of Federation Arts and Crafts architecture. It was constructed from red brick with a stone base facade. Decorative exterior features included white painted cement rending to all framing, quoins, and copings. The design and construction also featured a central landmark clock tower with a battlemented parapet, a tapering roof lantern, and dormer windows. The roofs were designed and built with steeply pitched parapeted gables covered with tiles, and with prominent eaves and exposed ends to rafters. The main hall was set two storeys high with a jarrah ceiling. Carved, sloped, roof rafters were designed to give the interior of the building an ecclesiastical feel. The gallery was built spanning east and west on the first floor with staircases at each end.[6] Other notable details of fine design and craftsmanship of west building included the stained glass transom windows and fanlights executed in Art Nouveau style at the north side of the building and inside the entrance foyer.[4]

The west building was refurbished during the late 1980s and the work was recognised and received several awards. The west building and main hall were interimly registered by the Heritage Council of Western Australia in 1992 and it entered the State Registry of Historical Places in 2001. The building was included on the basis of aesthetics and by the number of notable alumni who hailed from these doors.[4]

Prior to 2013, the Andrews Building was known as the East building. The East building and older gymnasium were built around 1958, when Perth Modern became a local-intake school. Both buildings have been listed as well sited bearing a functionalist aesthetic. The design and construction have been recognised as fine examples of post-war International style. The new administration building (opened 2009) joins and provides lift access to the east building.[4]

The Old Modernians War Memorial was unveiled in 1922 to commemorate the service of ex-students in WWI. During the war, 186 Modernians enlisted, 29 of whom lost their lives as a result of their service. The names of 24 Modernians are recorded on the monument. Five names are recorded on a plinth added to the monument in 2020. The memorial was designed by William Hardwick, the Principal Architect of Western Australia in 1920, and it is located between the Beasley building and the oval.

Since 1984, a Beazley Medal has been presented to the top ranked academic student in Western Australia each year. As of 2019, five Perth Modern Students have won the award:

• 2018: Pooja Ramesh[34]
• 2016: Caitlin Revell[53]
• 2015: Hui Min Tay[54]
• 2014: Jamin Wu[55]
• 2010: Michael Taran[56]

Perth Modern School hosts the independent Graduate College of Dance, from which a number of acclaimed high-profile dancers have graduated.[57] The Graduate College of Dance is a leading vocational dance school in Australia. The College prepares talented dancers aged 9 to 17 (year 5 to 12) for the dance profession. The college's comprehensive curriculum combines professional dance training with an academic education to tertiary level. The college is a private organisation requiring fees from applicants, enrolled students at Perth Modern School and private students from elsewhere. The Department of Education and Training previously accommodated the Graduate College of Dance at Swanbourne Senior High School. With the amalgamation of Swanbourne into Shenton College in 2000, the department offered the Graduate College of Dance accommodation at the Perth Modern School site due to the availability of appropriate space and suitable dance flooring.[58]

Perth Modern's music programme is available to all enrolled students. Previously, to be accepted into the music program, students were selected after completing an audition.

The programme encompasses the Kodály methodology in its teachings. Most aural and theory concepts are taught with the aid of the philosophies of music by Zoltán Kodály, in which hand signs are used as a way of representing musical notes by holding the hand in a certain position for each note. The music programme places an emphasis on singing. It is a requirement that all students in the programme are in at least one vocal ensemble.

The school has five wind orchestras, three standard orchestras (two string and one symphony) and two classical guitar ensembles as well as various other instrumental groups, chamber choirs and jazz ensembles. The Perth Modern School Symphony Orchestra has the longest tradition of any school ensemble in Western Australia, having been first formed in 1915.

The Perth Modern school song is Moderna Scola.[59] The original Latin poem was composed by John Colman, who was a student from 1930 - 1931. The tune was written by Stephen Dornan OAM, during his time as a student from 1929 - 1933. Dornan later revised the tune in 1998.[60]