Homebush Boys High School
Encyclopedia
Homebush Boys High School, founded in 1936, is a comprehensive public high school
for boys. It is located in Homebush
, in Sydney, New South Wales
, Australia
.
Formerly a selective high school until the 1970s, Homebush Boys is regarded as one of the academically best-performing comprehensive schools, and has, in the past, been ranked above selective schools
on the Higher School Certificate results.
The school has an enrolment of approximately 1208 students, fluctuating from year to year. The students and staff come from diverse backgrounds and many of them live outside the area.
, Mathematics
, Science
, Social Science, History
, Music
, Languages, Art
, Technical and Applied Studies, and PDHPE
Homebush Boys is a consistent achiever in the Higher School Certificate (HSC) outcome, averaging 5–10 students achieving the Premier's Award every year. In 2004, a student became the first Homebush Boy to score 100 Universities Admission Index
(UAI).
Entrepreneurial
Science and education
Entertainment and the arts
Politics and law
Sport
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
for boys. It is located in Homebush
Homebush, New South Wales
Homebush is an inner western suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Homebush is located 15 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Strathfield. Homebush West and Homebush Bay are separate suburbs...
, in Sydney, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Formerly a selective high school until the 1970s, Homebush Boys is regarded as one of the academically best-performing comprehensive schools, and has, in the past, been ranked above selective schools
Selective school (New South Wales)
Selective schools in New South Wales, Australia are government high schools operated by the New South Wales Department of Education and Training, that have accepted their students based upon their academic merit...
on the Higher School Certificate results.
The school has an enrolment of approximately 1208 students, fluctuating from year to year. The students and staff come from diverse backgrounds and many of them live outside the area.
Curriculum
The school has nine faculties, being EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, Social Science, History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, Languages, Art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, Technical and Applied Studies, and PDHPE
PDHPE
PDHPE is a subject in the New South Wales school curriculum. It is a compulsory subject in the K-10 curriculum, and available as an elective in years 11 and 12...
Homebush Boys is a consistent achiever in the Higher School Certificate (HSC) outcome, averaging 5–10 students achieving the Premier's Award every year. In 2004, a student became the first Homebush Boy to score 100 Universities Admission Index
Universities Admission Index
The Universities Admission Index was used in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, Australia, as the primary criterion for entry into most undergraduate-entry university programs...
(UAI).
Extra-curricular activities
- Drum Corps – The drum corps participates in the annual BurwoodBurwood, New South WalesBurwood is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Burwood is located 12 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of Burwood Council....
march, the ANZAC march through the streets of Sydney City, the Sandakan service at Burwood and reserve forces day. - ChessChessChess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
Team – The school offers senior, intermediate and junior chess teams which compete every Friday afternoon against other schools in the area. - DebateDebateDebate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
Team - Mock UN
- Public Speaking – Examples include the Toastmasters challenge that the school participates in annually.
- Tournament of the Minds.
- Student Representative Council
Notable alumni
Architecture- Clive LucasClive LucasClive Leslie Lucas is an Australian restoration architect and is principal, and founding partner, of the firm Clive Lucas, Stapleton & Partners - Architects and Heritage Consultants...
OBE – Award-winning restorationBuilding restorationBuilding restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...
architectArchitectAn architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Entrepreneurial
- John SymondJohn SymondJohn Symond is an Australian businessman. He is best known as the founder of Aussie Home Loans. -Early life:John Symond was born on 17 August 1947 in Crookwell, New South Wales and raised in Sydney, Australia. Growing up he spent most of his time between Brisbane, where his mother's family lived,...
AM – Businessman; chief executive "Aussie Home Loans",
Science and education
- Richard Collins – EmeritusEmeritusEmeritus is a post-positive adjective that is used to designate a retired professor, bishop, or other professional or as a title. The female equivalent emerita is also sometimes used.-History:...
professorProfessorA professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of PhysicsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, University of SydneyUniversity of SydneyThe University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania... - Ian Dance – Emeritus professor of Inorganic ChemistryInorganic chemistryInorganic chemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with the properties and behavior of inorganic compounds. This field covers all chemical compounds except the myriad organic compounds , which are the subjects of organic chemistry...
, University of New South WalesUniversity of New South WalesThe University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
http://www.chem.unsw.edu.au/staffprofiles/dance.html - Stephen Leeder – Medical scientist; Former dean of Medicine at the University of Sydney (1996–2002)
- Alan Pettigrew – Scientist; former vice-chancellor of the University of New EnglandUniversity of New England, AustraliaThe University of New England is an Australian public university with approximately 18,000 higher education students. Its original and main campus is located in the city of Armidale in northern New South Wales....
(2006 - 2009), formerly (to 2005) chief executive officer of the National Health and Medical Research CouncilNational Health and Medical Research CouncilThe National Health and Medical Research Council is Australia's peak funding body for medical research, with a budget of roughly 700 million dollars a year... - Danny Stiel AM – Gastro-intestinal oncologist; member of AOCAustralian Olympic CommitteeThe Australian Olympic Committee is the National Olympic Committee in Australia for the Olympic Games movement. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams, and raises funds to send Australian competitors to Olympic events organised by the International Olympic Committee .-Background:The...
Medical Commission and formerly chief medical officer at the 2000 Sydney Olympics - Geoffrey VaughanGeoffrey VaughanGeoffrey Norman Vaughan is a former Australian rugby union player, a national representative prop-forwardof the 1950s.Vaughan was born in Sydney, New South Wales and claimed a total of 6 international rugby caps for Australia. He made the Wallabies' 1957–58 Australia rugby union tour of Britain,...
AO – Emeritus professor of pharmaceutical chemistry and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (1990-92) of Monash UniversityMonash UniversityMonash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
formerly Australian Rugby Union representative player
Entertainment and the arts
- Neil ArmfieldNeil ArmfieldNeil Geoffrey Armfield AO is an Australian director of theatre, film and opera.Born in Sydney, Armfield was the youngest of three boys. The son of a factory worker at the nearby Arnott's biscuit factory he was brought up in the suburb of Concord adjacent to Exile Bay...
– Film and theatre director - Paul FurnissPaul FurnissPaul Furniss is an Australian jazz musician who has been recognised internationally. He is regarded as one of Australia's best jazz musicians. He is a noted clarinetist and saxophonist but can play a number of instruments including clarinet, flute, soprano, alto and tenor saxophones. -Early...
– Jazz musician - Alex HoodAlex Hood (folklorist)Alexander Hood is an Australian writer, actor and folklorist. He is regarded as one of Australia's most prolific writers and entertainers.-Early life:...
– Renowned entertainer, writer, actor and folk singer.
Politics and law
- John CoatesJohn Dowling CoatesJohn Dowling Coates AC is an Australian lawyer, sports administrator and businessman.He is a member of the International Olympic Committee and is the current president of the Australian Olympic Committee and chairman of the Australian Olympic Foundation.- Personal :Born in Sydney, the son of a...
AO – Lawyer and businessman; president of the Australian Olympic CommitteeAustralian Olympic CommitteeThe Australian Olympic Committee is the National Olympic Committee in Australia for the Olympic Games movement. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams, and raises funds to send Australian competitors to Olympic events organised by the International Olympic Committee .-Background:The...
, member of the International Olympic CommitteeInternational Olympic CommitteeThe International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president... - Roger RogersonRoger RogersonRoger Caleb Rogerson is a controversial former detective-sergeant of the New South Wales Police Force. Rogerson was convicted of perverting the course of justice and lying to the 1999 Police Integrity Commission...
– Discredited former detective - Bohdan Bilinsky – Lawyer and legal academic, Fellow of Senate, University of SydneyUniversity of SydneyThe University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
and Honorary Fellow of the University. - Bob DebusBob DebusRobert John "Bob" Debus AM , a former Australian politician, has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives and the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, representing the Australian Labor Party. Debus has been a minister in both the Australian and New South Wales governments...
– Former NSW attorney-general and environment minister; Former federal home-affairs minister - Roderick Howie – Lawyer and jurist; judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales
- Jim LloydJim LloydJames Eric Lloyd JP , Australian politician, was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian House of Representatives from the March 1996 election until the November 2007 election, representing the Division of Robertson in New South Wales.Born in Sydney, New South Wales, Lloyd was...
former federal government minister
Sport
- Rodney BlakeRodney BlakeRodney Blake is a professional Australian rugby union footballer. He plays prop for the Melbourne Rebels. He previously played for Bayonne in France. He is sometimes referred to as Rodzilla. His father Paul is a former Otago flanker. In June 2006, Blake made his debut for the Wallabies.- Career...
– Rugby unionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player for AustraliaAustralia national rugby union teamThe Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
and Queensland RedsQueensland RedsThe Queensland Reds represent Queensland in the sport of rugby union in the Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996 they were a representative team selected on merit from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland... - Gordon Bray AM – Sports commentator, journalist and writer.
- Tony Ford – Rugby leagueRugby leagueRugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
fullback with Western Suburbs DRLFCWestern Suburbs MagpiesThe Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia... - Arthur SummonsArthur SummonsArthur Summons is a former Australian representative rugby union and rugby league player, a dual-code rugby international fly-half or five-eighth...
– Rugby union and rugby leagueRugby leagueRugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
player; international representative in both codes and former captain Western Suburbs DRLFCWestern Suburbs MagpiesThe Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
and Australian rugby league teams - Phillip Hughes – NSW and Australian cricketer.
- Mitchell StarcMitchell StarcMitchell Aaron Starc is an Australian cricketer who currently plays first-class cricket for the New South Wales Blues. He is a left-arm fast bowler....
– NSW and Australian cricketer - Tim BrasherTim BrasherTim Brasher is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s who played primarily as fullback. He began his career for Balmain Tigers, where he played the majority of his career. He then moved to the South Sydney Rabbitohs for two seasons, before finishing his career with a...
– Former Balmain TigersBalmain TigersThe Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...
NSWRLNew South Wales Rugby LeagueThe New South Wales Rugby League is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and is a member of the Australian Rugby League. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was known as the New South Wales Rugby Football League until 1984 when forward thinking marketing managers decided...
Player - Saxon WhiteSaxon WhiteSaxon William White was a rugby union player who represented Australia. He is a professor of medicine.White, a centre, was born in Sydney, New South Wales and claimed a total of 7 international rugby caps for Australia.-Career:...
, former rugby union international (Wallaby).
Notable former staff
- Dave AndersonDavid Anderson (rower)David Rollo Anderson is an Australian rower who competed in the 1952 Summer Olympics and in the 1956 Summer Olympics.He is the father of Wendy Laidlaw....
– Australian Olympic oarsman in 1952 and 1956. Rowed King's Cup 1950, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57; Henley 1952; New Zealand 1951; and was in winning coxed-4s crew at Empire Games, 1954 - Vincent DurickVince DurickVincent Patrick Durick was an Australian politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1964 to 1984, representing the electorate of Lakemba....
– Maths teacher; MLA for LakembaElectoral district of LakembaLakemba is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales in Sydney's Inner West. It has been held by the Australian Labor Party since its creation in 1927...
, 1964–84, deceased 1996. - John Lawrence Tierney - author of novels and short stories (under the pen-name, Brian James) taught at the school 1944 to 1951
- Andrew Dougald Watson - Antarctic explorer who accompanied Douglas MawsonDouglas MawsonSir Douglas Mawson, OBE, FRS, FAA was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer and Academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Ernest Shackleton, Mawson was a key expedition leader during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.-Early work:He was appointed geologist to an...
's 1911-14 Australasian Antarctic Expedition, as a geologist and photographer was headmaster from 1946 to 1949 - Colin Ryder - Australian National Baseball Team member.