Normanhurst Boys' High School

Normanhurst Boys' High School (colloquially known as Normo)[1] is an academically selective secondary day school for boys, located in the suburb of Normanhurst, on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Consistently ranked as one of the nation's top schools academically, it was 7th in the state based on NSW Higher School Certificate (HSC) results in 2020, and 12th in Australia according to Better Education.[4][5]

Normanhurst Boys High School
Normanhurst Boys' High School, main building
Location
Pacific Highway, Normanhurst, New South Wales

Australia
Coordinates33°43′17″S 151°6′5″E
Information
TypeAcademically selective
Secondary school
Day school
Single-sex school
MottoKnow thyself[1]
Established1958 (1958)[2][3]
Educational authorityNSW Department of Education
PrincipalA. Harman
Staffc. 71
Years7–12
GenderBoys
Age13 to 18
Enrolment~760 (2018)
Campus size6.3 hectares (16 acres)
Campus typeSuburban parkland
Houses4
Colour(s)Red and black   
NicknameNormo
PublicationThe Normanhurst News
YearbookPhoenix Magazine
AffiliationsNorth West Metropolitan Sports Association
AlumniOld Boys
Websitenormanhurstboys.nsw.edu.au

Established in 1958, the school caters for approximately 730 students from Year 7 to Year 12, who are accepted on an academic basis.[3] Based on entry standards, it is one of the top ten schools in New South Wales.[6] The school celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2018.[7]

History

In 1957, five schools made up the Hornsby school site, located on the Pacific Highway: a boys' primary school and a boys' junior technical school on the eastern side, and an infants school, a girls’ primary school, and a girls’ domestic science school on the western side.[8] On 30 November 1957, the three western schools were destroyed by bushfires.[8] Over the 1957-58 Christmas holidays, the three schools were relocated into the facilities of the boys' technical school, and the three year groups of boys were moved to a newly built but unopened school at Normanhurst.[8]

From its opening in 1958 until 1993, Normanhurst Boys' High School operated as a comprehensive school.[8] In 1993, the Government of New South Wales marked Normanhurst as one of several high schools allowed to select students by academic achievement.[8] The first intake of "selective" students was made up of those starting Year Seven in 1994, with a new intake of Year Sevens each year, until the school became fully selective in 1999.[8] Presently, Normanhurst is one of seventeen fully selective schools in New South Wales.[9]

Academics

Like other academically selective schools, Normanhurst is known for its high academic achievement in the Higher School Certificate. The following table shows the school's rankings relative to other schools in the state. The rankings are based on the percentage of exams sat that resulted in a placing on the Distinguished Achievers List (highest band result) as shown by the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards (BOSTES NSW).

Year Rank in state
20207
201911
201816
201713
201611

In 2010, the school was ranked 14th in the state.[10]

Demographics

The school's students are one of the most socio-economically advantaged in NSW, in terms of the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage score, with 82% of boys at the school from families in the top quarter of society.[11][12] As a result, the school has been mentioned as part of an ongoing debate about whether Australian selective schools accept enough students from less well-off families, and if selective schools create social inequality.[13][14][15]

Structure

Normanhurst Boys' High School is not far from its "sister" school, Hornsby Girls' High School, with which joint curriculum and extra-curricular activities are held, such as plays and musicals.

Entry

Normanhurst Boys High School is an academically selective high school and accepts a relatively small intake of 120 students in Year Seven. It is one of the top ten schools in New South Wales, based on entry standards.[6] Offers of admission and matriculation into the school in Year 7 are made on the basis of academic merit, as assessed by the Selective High School Placement Test, sat in Year 6.[16]

A small number of students may be accepted into Years Eight through to Eleven, through direct application to the school and a subsequent internal selection process, consisting of a consideration of character and academic ability.[17]

Houses

The school has four houses, the names of which are based on figures in the Aboriginal Dreamtime. Pupils compete under their respective house in sport and academics. The houses are:

Bukkandi HouseRed

 

Dinewan HouseBlue

 

Warrigal HouseYellow

 

Wayamba HouseGreen

 

Facilities

The school has an area of 6.3 hectares, and is within five minutes walk of Normanhurst railway station.[18] Facilities include a sporting field, four tennis courts and several basketball courts. The campus includes the hall, library, music and drama centre as well as a careers office. There are two gates of entry, one reserved for senior boys and one for junior boys. Each student has a laptop with wireless internet access.

The drama centre was finished in 2017, as part of an extension to the school's main building.

Normanhurst Boys High School

Sport

Normanhurst Boys High School is a member of the North West Metropolitan Sports Association. The sporting year is divided into two seasons, summer and winter, and boys are able to select sports they wish to play throughout the semester.[19] All boys must play sports until Year 11, and are encouraged to play grade sport, representing the school in inter-school competitions.[20] Sports offered include:

The school also holds annual swimming and athletics carnivals,[19] as well as an annual cross-country event.

Co-curricular activities

The school offers numerous clubs and societies to students.[21] These include:

  • Chess club[22]
  • Creator's club
  • Debating and public speaking[23][24]
  • Concert band[25]
  • Environmental society
  • Jazz ensemble
  • Mooting and mock trial
  • Robotics and programming club
  • Social justice society
  • Stage bands (first and second)
  • String ensemble
  • Choir

The school participates in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme,[26] as well as running its own secondary school army cadet unit, 226 Army Cadet Unit. In conjunction with Hornsby Girls High School, a (supposedly annual) musical production is put on, for which boys can audition and participate in. An annual art exhibition is also run by the school.[1]

Normanhurst runs school camps for grades 7-11, notably a camp for Year Seven students to Jenolan Caves and the Central West of New South Wales. The week-long excursion has been running in various forms since 1959.[27] On the camp, boys are accompanied by mentors from senior years. The school also offers overseas cultural trips to London, Paris, Rome and New York.

Normanhurst is also home to a FIRST Robotics Competition team, Team 4739: Ctrl F5, formerly Thunderbolts Robotics, founded in 2010 with their rookie year in 2013, they gained many years experience and was part of the initial 5 Australian teams founded by Team 3132: Thunder Down Under, and the oldest public school team still competing. They have also entered in the FIRST Tech Challenge, gaining first and also won the Duel Down Under in 2019, run by Team 3132.[28]

Motto

The school's motto, Know Thyself, is a Delphic maxim which is attributed to Ancient Greece. The phrase has been expounded by Aeschylus, Socrates and Plato, among others. It is given as nosce te ipsum or temet nosce in Latin.

Principals

The following individuals have served as principals (formerly headmasters) of the school:

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
PrincipalTerm startTerm endTime in officeNotes
T. A. Pearson195819678–9 years
R. E. Murphy196819712–3 years
T. G. Newton197219741–2 years
T. Cook197519771–2 years
A. McLeon197819812–3 years
R. Fenton198119886–7 years
J. Abbery198819923–4 years
N. G. Warren1992200815–16 years
J. Bruce200820145–6 years
M. Anderson201420206–7 years
A. Harman2020-0–1 years

Notable alumni

Alumni of Normanhurst Boys' High School are commonly referred to as Old Boys. Some notable Normanhurst Old Boys include:

Business

Media, entertainment, and the arts

Medicine and science

Politics, public service, and the law

Sport

See also

References
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  2. "Normanhurst Boys High School". School Locator. NSW Public Schools. Archived from the original on 27 October 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
  3. "2008 Annual Report - Normanhurst Boys High School" (pdf). Normanhurst Boys High School. 31 May 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019 – via s3.amazonaws.com.
  4. "HSC 2020: How your school ranked". Sydney Morning Herald. 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  5. "No thanks, I'd rather go public: website data sways student". Sydney Morning Herald. 2010. Archived from the original on 26 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  6. "Minimum Entry Scores of NSW Selective High Schools-2019". Better Education. 2019. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  7. "60th Anniversary Celebrations". Normanhurst Boys High School. 2018. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  8. "History". Normanhurst Boys High School. 2008. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 9 June 2011.
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  17. "Years 8 - 12". Normanhurst Boys High School. 2008. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
  18. "Welcome to Normanhurst Boys High School". Normanhurst Boys High School. 2008. Archived from the original on 5 March 2005. Retrieved 24 January 2008.
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  28. "CNTRL F5 - Team 4739". The Blue Alliance. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
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  30. Anne Marie. "BEE GEES IN CLOSE UP".
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