Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School

Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School is a comprehensive public co-educational high day and boarding school, located in Kalgoorlie, a regional centre located in the Eastern Goldfields region of Western Australia.

Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School
Address
99 Boomerang Crescent

Kalgoorlie, Western Australia

Australia
Coordinates30°46′04″S 121°28′45″E
Information
TypePublic co-educational high day and boarding school
MottoRespect, Achieve, Succeed
Established2006 (2006)
Sister schoolEastern Goldfields College
Educational authorityWA Department of Education
PrincipalDouglas Dearle
Years7-10
Enrolment780 (2018)
Schedule
  • Mon-Wed, Fri: 8:45am–2:55pm
  • Thu: 8:45am–2:10pm
Colour(s)Navy blue and gold    
Websitewww.kalgoorlie-boulderchs.wa.edu.au

Along with Eastern Goldfields College the school was formerly known as Eastern Goldfields Senior High School until the campuses were separated.[1]

History

The school was established in 2006 and caters for students from Year 7 to Year 10. Paul Matthews was the inaugural principal and was followed by Terry Martino in 2010. Terry Martino moved to Northam Senior High School in 2013 and was replaced by the deputy principal Vicki Bogensperger. The current principal is Douglas Dearle, since 2020.[2]

Early in 2012 the school received a commendation award from the local chamber of commerce. The deputy principal, Vicki Bogensperger, accepted the award on behalf of Terry Martino and remarked "We are on an improvement journey at Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School and in a sense, the work will never be complete."[3] Later the same year the school was reviewed by Expert Review Group appointed by the Department of Education. The director of the group commented on the "dramatic improvements at the school" in the areas of uniform, behaviour and mobile phone policy. The director, Brett Hunt, also commented "The school’s environment has a long history of being unsettled, but we found the current team has focused on developing a welcoming, structured and predictable environment for everyone."[4]

At the start of the 4th term of 2016, the first stage of KBCHS' $45 million redevelopment program was completed and opened, which includes new English, Mathematics and Humanities building blocks, and previous buildings were demolished to make way for stages 2 and 3.[5] In July 2017, the second stage was completed, which included the new Visual Arts and Eastern Goldfields Education Support Centre buildings.[6] The third stage was completed and opened in late 2017, which involved landscaping and new pathways connecting stages 1 and 2, and fully completed the school's redevelopment.

Enrolment

Enrolments at the school have fluctuated with total enrolments ranging from 510 (2010) to 1,036 (2015).[7] The migration of year 7 students to public high schools were the likely cause in the 301 enrolment number spike from 2014 to 2015.[8]

Enrolments in Semester 2 of each school year[8]
Year200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018 2019
No. of Enrolments 847 775 661 510 541 597 721 705 1,036 985 830 780 765
Change from previous year -72 -114 -151 +31 +56 +124 -16 +301 -51 -155 -50 -15

Incidents

The school had many reported incidents of violence in 2009 between indigenous and Maori students, resulting in cultural advisors being employed to tackle the problem.[9]

The school was in the headlines in 2010 when a teacher set an assignment asking the students how they would launch a chemical or biological terrorist attack on an unsuspecting Australian community to kill as many civilians as possible. The assignment was withdrawn after students complained. The teacher was counselled.[10]

In May of the same year, a male teacher was assaulted by a 13-year-old girl, the girl hit the man several times and was later charged by police for assaulting a public officer.[11] The girl pulled out clumps of his hair and hit him with a bin, she had to be pulled off the teacher by his colleagues who heard his screams.[12]

Another incident occurred in 2010 when a relief teacher was dismissed after students pushed, swore at and assaulted him. The teacher was ordered to leave the premises but later took the WA Department of Education to the industrial relations commission. It was found that the teacher was unfairly dismissed, the students involved having a history of falsely accusing teachers, and the department was ordered to rehire the teacher.[13]

The school ranked second in the state, behind Gilmore College, for school suspensions given to students in 2010.[14]

The school made the front page of The West Australian in early 2013 when it was revealed students from the school had formed 'fight clubs' where they would gather to watch students brawl with one another. Fights were recorded on video and posted to Facebook, as were details of upcoming fights. The police became involved and were planning additional patrols in the area. The principal, Terry Martino, called on the community to take a shared responsibility for the children's behavior.[15]

In 2016 the school year commenced with 49 suspensions handed out to students in the first three weeks.[16] In March of the same year a teacher was assaulted by a student, the teacher escaped serious injury and the student was suspended.[17]

Just a day after the opening of the new English, Maths and HASS buildings, they were vandalised, smashing windows and causing other significant damage to the buildings.[18] This incident forced the school to be closed for a day for repairs so that it was safe for students and staff members to return.

See also

References
  1. "City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder – Education". 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  2. "Kalgoorlie-Boulder high school enlists security guards". WA Today. Fairfax Media. 1 April 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  3. "Opinion - Chamber honours school's work". The West Australian. Yahoo7. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  4. "Opinion - Core values are the key". The West Australian. 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
  5. "Kalgoorlie school 'moving forward' after troubles". ABC News. Australia. 14 October 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  6. "High school boasts new visual arts building". The West Australian. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  7. "Department of Education Schools online". WA Department of Education. 2011. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  8. "Student Numbers Trends Kalgoorlie-Boulder Community High School". WA Department of Education. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
  9. "Maori leaders work to stem school violence". ABC News. Australia. April 2009. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  10. "AFP warns terrorism test was illegal". WA Today. 25 August 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  11. "WA Today - Kalgoorlie school girl attacks teacher". 20 May 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  12. "Schoolgirl charged over teacher assault". The West Australian. Perth, Western Australia: Yahoo. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2012.
  13. "Teacher 'pushed, slapped, sacked'". 13 October 2010. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  14. Dobson, John (10 February 2012). "Principal defends school". Weekend Courier. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  15. Brosnan, Andrew (14 March 2013). "Students post brawls online". The West Australian. Yahoo7. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  16. Tomlin, Sam (26 February 2016). "Kalgoorlie high school suspends 49 students in three weeks". ABC News. Australia. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  17. Shine, Rhiannon Shine; Tomlin, Sam (25 March 2016). "Goldfields student suspended after allegedly assaulting teacher". ABC News. Australia. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  18. "Vandals leave Kalgoorlie school looking like a 'war zone'". ABC News. Australia. 16 October 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
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