 School Emblem |
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| Motto | Omnia Vincit Diligentia "Diligence conquers all" |
| Principal | Terry Wylie |
| Deputy Principals | David Chapple and Lynne Graham |
| School type | Selective Co-Educational Public |
| Established | 10th August 1961 |
| Location | Caringbah, Sydney, NSW |
| Enrollment | c.902 students, 7-12 |
| School Colours | Orange, Green & Grey |
| Website | Caringbah High School's Website |
Caringbah High School (sometimes referred to as Caringbah Selective High School) is located on Willarong Road North in the suburb of Caringbah, in the Sutherland Shire, Sydney. It is one of ten academically selective, public and co-educational high schools in New South Wales. Caringbah High School students achieve consistently high marks in both the School Certificate (SC) and the Higher School Certificate (HSC), as such it is considered to be the best school in the district. Caringbah High School also performs well in many other academic activities, such as public speaking, debating, tournament of the minds and HSC distinction courses. The school was opened in 1960 as a co-educational high school and was nominated to become selective in 1989, over the neighbouring Port Hacking High (rumoured to be due to a member of the selection committee being an alumnus of Caringbah High). Currently there are around 900 students enrolled.
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School site
The school site is split between two campuses, the main (top school) and annexe (bottom school), these are linked by a narrow covered walkway and park. The main school is the original site which contains the primary administrative offices, school hall and canteen. The annexe school was built to house an increased student population and now houses secondary administration, sport, the new library(opened in 1999, with a cost of $AU1.154 million[1]) and some departments including English and Science. Currently Caringbah High School is undergoing heavy construction in both sites, as the school prepares to be moved to the annexe site. This has been due to the main school's being built over a filled-in clay pit, which has now caused the building to gradually sink, increasingly larger cracks appearing throughout the building. During heavy rain, the building has been known to leak, and this structural fault, combined with financial constraints, has led the school to be consolidated to the annexe site. Construction work to achieve this started in 2006 and is expected to take over six years to complete, with one of the buildings being finished as of late January 2007, although the idea of consolidating the sites is not new. There are also plans for constructing a larger hall, one which will be able to accommodate the entire school population. There is also discontent amongst many of the teachers and students, as lessons and studies are disrupted by the movement of classes. At the same time, the school has been trialing a new timetable system, as well as "assessment weeks".
Faculties
LOTE
At Caringbah High, language is compulsory in years 7 and 8 and it is taught as an elective for years 9-12. Languages taught include French, Japanese, and German. Every year a group of 15-20 Year 10 students travel to France with Heathcote High School and Kirrawee High School with either of the French teachers for two weeks during the September holidays. Some students from Year 10 also visit Germany for those same two weeks. Every second year, Year 9 and 10 Students go to Japan for two weeks in the July holidays with either of the Japanese teachers.
English
Advanced English is the lowest English course offered at the Selective School, with the assumption that the vast majority will choose that or higher, including English Extension 1 and Extension 2, with the latter being offered in Year 12.
Music
Caringbah has a wide ranging music program which includes over twenty three musical ensembles, including:
- Rock Band A & B
- Concert Band 1 & 2
- Stage Band A & B
- Flute Ensemble
- String Ensemble
- Clarinet Ensemble
- Saxophone Ensemble (recently added to music program as of 2007)
- Choir
- Chamber Choir
- Jazz Combo
- Percussion Ensemble
- Piccolo Quartet
During the school year there are various Musical Nights where the students perform in front of parents and other students. Musicals used to be run frequently, but in recent years there has only been one which was a production of 42nd Street in 2002. In 2004, the school's music ensemble program was recognised in The Australian's "Australia's best schools"; a credit to the hard work and dedication of the two music teachers.
Sporting teams
Caringbah has many successful sporting teams in the following sports:
Technology
The school currently offers students going into Year 9 the option to do TCP as an elective. TCP stands for Talented Computing Program and entry is granted by completing a test. The syllabus for the elective IST (Information and Software Technology) is used in this test. The students who gain an outstanding mark have shown that they are knowledgeable with technology and complete the IST course within a term. After this the students are then tested again on each of the four core areas. Once satisfactory results have been achieved they are then accelerated. The students have two options for this acceleration. These are the HSC courses of Information Processes and Technology; and Software Design and Development. The students undergo the HSC examination for these subjects whilst they are in Year 11.
Tournament of Minds
Caringbah High School has competed in the Tournament of Minds for over 7 years. The schools many teams are run by the Careers teacher at the school, Mrs Lynne Grahame. The school regularly enters two Language Literature Teams, three Social Science Teams and a Maths/Engineering Team. In 2006, the Maths Engineering team, two Social Science teams and a Language Literature team received honours at a regional level. One Language Literature team went on to compete and receive honours at the State level.
