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Fort Street High School

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Fort Street High School
Fort Street Crest
Faber est suae quisque fortunae
(Latin: "Every man is the maker of his own fortune")
Established 1849
School type Public selective
Principal/Headmaster Roslynne Moxham
Location Sydney, NSW, Australia
Campus Urban (Petersham)
Enrollment Approx. 930
School colours Maroon and white
Homepage [www.fortstreet-h.schools.nsw.edu.au]

Fort Street High School is a coeducational, academically selective high school currently located in Petersham, Sydney, Australia. Established in 1849, it is the oldest government school in Australia, and today, it remains a public school operated by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training. For part of its history, it existed as two separate schools: Fort Street Boys' High School and Fort Street Girls' High School. It is renowned for the accomplishments that its graduates have achieved, and as a selective school, it draws students from across metropolitan Sydney and across the multicultural spectrum. The school's motto is "Faber est suae quisque fortunae" (Latin: "Every man is the maker of his own fortune"), which is attributed to the Roman historian Sallust.

Contents

History

The history of public education in Australia began when the Governor of New South Wales, Charles Augustus FitzRoy, established a Board of National Education on 8 January 1848 to implement a national system of education throughout the colony. The board decided to create two model schools, one for boys and one for girls. The site of the school was chosen as the old Military Hospital at Fort Phillip, on Sydney's Observatory Hill. This school was not only intended to educate boys and girls, but also to serve as a model for other schools in the colony. The school's name is derived from the name of a street which ran into the grounds of the hospital and became part of the playground during its reconstruction. The street name is perpetuated in the small street in Petersham that leads to the present school. The school was officially established on 1 September 1849, when the conversion of the building was approved by the government. This original school building is visible today beside the southern approaches to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The establishment of Fort Street School marked the establishment of a non-denominational system of school, where the government undertook the education of its people, separate from religion.

In 1911, the school was split into one primary and two secondary schools: Fort Street Public School, Fort Street Boys' High School and Fort Street Girls' High School. Due to space limitations at Observatory Hill, in 1916, the Boy's school was moved to the school's present site, on Taverner's Hill, Petersham. The Girls' school remained at Observatory Hill until 1975, when the two schools were amalgamated to form the current co-educational school at Petersham. During that time, its grounds continued to be consumed by the growing city; for example, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which opened in 1932, took most of the playground. Fort Street Public School remains at Observatory Hill.

The school celebrated its sesquicentenary in 1999. Its student population is now a diverse one; students come from over 100 suburbs in Sydney, and over 600 of the 930 students have one of forty different languages as their native tongue. Students past and present are called "Fortians", leading to the expression, "Once a Fortian, always a Fortian".

Campus

The Wilkins building of the present Fort Street High School
Enlarge
The Wilkins building of the present Fort Street High School

Fort Street High School is located on Parramatta Road in Petersham, a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney. The school occupies almost the entire street block surrounded by Parramatta Road, Palace Street, and Andreas Street. The Petersham campus centres on the Romanesque style main building, now named the Wilkins Building after William Wilkins, who played an instrumental role in the formation of the eduation system in New South Wales in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Other buildings include the Kilgour building, the Memorial Hall and the newest additions, the Cohen and Rowe buildings completed in 2004.

School facilities include a library, a gymnasium, an oval, two tennis courts, two basketball courts, two cricket practice nets, a cafeteria, and a performing arts block.

The school's original Observatory Hill campus is now used by the National Trust of Australia.

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of Fort Street High School include:

Academic

Rhodes Scholars

Politics and law

Business and industry

Science and education

Arts and media

Sports

See also

References

External links


{| class="toccolours" align=center |- | style="background:lightgrey" align="center" | Selective (Government) High Schools in New South Wales, Australia ([edit]) |- | align="center" style="font-size: 90%;" |

Baulkham Hills High School | Caringbah High School | Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School | Fort Street High School | Gosford High School | Girraween High School | Hornsby Girls' High School | Hunter School of the Performing Arts | Hurlstone Agricultural High School | James Ruse Agricultural High School | Merewether High School | Normanhurst Boys High School | North Sydney Boys High School | North Sydney Girls High School | Northern Beaches Secondary College | Penrith High School | Ryde Secondary College | Sefton High School | St. George Girls' High School | Smith's Hill High School | Sydney Boys High School | Sydney Girls High School | Sydney Secondary College | Sydney Technical High School

 

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