Adelaide High School, originally named the Continuation School, is a state

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

situated on the corner of West Terrace and Glover Avenue in the

Adelaide Park Lands The Adelaide Park Lands comprise the figure-eight configuration of land, spanning both banks of the River Torrens between Hackney and Thebarton, which encloses and separates the City of Adelaide area (including both the Adelaide city centre and ...

. Following the

Advanced School for Girls The Advanced School for Girls was a South Australian State school whose purpose was to prepare girls to qualify for entry to the University of Adelaide. Founded in 1879, the school merged with Adelaide High School in 1907. History From its inc ...

, it was the second government high school in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

and the first coeducational public high school in that state. It was in 1951 split into Adelaide Boys' High School and Adelaide Girls' High School, until it was recombined back into Adelaide High School in 1976.

History

In 1879, John Anderson Hartley, Director of Education, established the

Grote Street Grote Street is a major street running east to west in the western half of Adelaide city centre, South Australia. It is on the northern border of Chinatown and the Adelaide Central Market, and is a lively centre for shopping and restaurants. Th ...

, Adelaide. It was the first public high school in Australia, those in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

following in the 1880s. Adelaide High was first named the Continuation School, but in April 1908 was renamed Adelaide High School, in the same year the South Australian state high school system was launched. The new school combined previous institutions: the Advanced School for Girls and the Pupil Teachers School. It also collected

bursary A bursary is a monetary award made by any educational institution or funding authority to individuals or groups. It is usually awarded to enable a student to attend school, university or college when they might not be able to, otherwise. Some awar ...

-holders, and continuation students from the Grote Street Model School. Adelaide High School was officially opened on 24 September 1908 by the

premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier i ...

Thomas Price Thomas Price may refer to: *Thomas Price (South Australian politician) (1852–1909), Premier of South Australia *Thomas Price (bishop) (1599–1685), Church of Ireland archbishop of Cashel *Thomas Price (Carnhuanawc) (1787–1848), Welsh literary ...

. It was the first public secondary school in the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

of Australia. The headmaster from 1909 until 1919 was W. J. Adey, later Director of Education. In 1927, it had an enrolment of 1,067 students, making it the largest school of its kind in the Commonwealth. By 1929, due to increasing enrolments, the school occupied two sites; one site was at Grote Street and the other was at

Currie Street Currie Street is a main street in the Adelaide city centre, South Australia.Map
of the

Adelaide Remand Centre The Adelaide Remand Centre is a maximum-security prison facility located in Adelaide, South Australia, used to hold prisoners on remand pending trial. It is located in Currie Street in the Adelaide central business district. it has a capacity ...

). Due to the increasing enrolments, it was decided that a new building was required for Adelaide High School. The current site of the school on West Terrace was originally set aside for an army barracks in 1849, but in 1859 an observatory was built instead, which then became the

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Government of Australia, Australian Government that is responsible for providing Weather forecasting, weather forecasts and Meteorology, meteorological services to Australia a ...

in 1939. Based on an award-winning 1940 design, a new building was erected on the site from 1947 to 1951. This became Adelaide Boys High School, while Adelaide Girls' High School remained in the buildings in Grote Street.

Mary Veta Macghey Mary Veta Macghey (January 1897 – 20 December 1970) was an Australian headmistress. She was a leading campaigner for equal pay for women in the South Australian Institute of Teachers. Life Macghey may have been born in Adelaide around the start ...

was identified as the founding headmistress of Adelaide Girls High School. An application was made to have the building listed as a Historic Building on the Australian

Register of the National Estate The Register of the National Estate was a heritage register that listed natural and cultural heritage places in Australia that was closed in 2007. Phasing out began in 2003, when the Australian National Heritage List and the Commonwealth Heri ...

. The nomination was on the basis of the building's Art Modern style and significance in Adelaide education. It had not led to the building's listing on the register as of 2007. The original Grote Street school buildings were listed on the register as a ''Historic'' site in 1980. As of 2007, the buildings were used as a centre for the

performing arts The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which involve the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. P ...

. The buildings were considered to be among the Nationally Significant 20th-Century Buildings in South Australia. In 1976, due to decreasing enrolments at both the Boys' and the Girls' schools, amalgamation began with Adelaide High School operating on two campuses – one on Grote Street and one on West Terrace. This arrangement ended in 1979, when all students were on the West Terrace site. In 1979, Adelaide High School became South Australia's Special Interest Language School, with students able to study up to seven languages: French, German, Latin, Modern Greek, Chinese, Spanish and Italian. Latin ceased to be offered in 2004 and was replaced by Japanese.

Auslan Auslan (; an abbreviation of Australian Sign Language) is the sign language used by the majority of the Australian Deaf community. Auslan is related to British Sign Language (BSL) and New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL); the three have descended f ...

was added as the eighth language in 2018. In 2008, Adelaide High School celebrated its 100th birthday. Adelaide High School is part of the longest-running sporting exchanges with

Melbourne High School Melbourne High School is a Education in Australia#Government schools, government-funded Single-sex education, single-sex Selective school, academically selective secondary school, secondary day school for boys, located in the Melbourne suburb ...

and

Mac.Robertson Girls' High School The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School (also known simply as Mac.Rob or MGHS) is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school, located in Albert Park, Victoria, Australia. Entry for Mac.Rob, which is operated by th ...

, both in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Curriculum

Languages

Adelaide High School is known for being a Special Interest Language School, offering students outside the zone to enrol through one of the three Special Entry Programs (Languages, Cricket and Rowing). It offers its students eight different languages to study: * Italian * French * German * Japanese * Mandarin * Modern Greek * Spanish The school is also a Centre for the Hearing Impaired and an Associate School for Students of High Intellectual Potential. It has a Special Entry Program in its special interest

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

and

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically a ...

programs. Adelaide High School is South Australia's only Special Interest Language School, and currently has sister schools around the world, including: * Asahi High School in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Japan * Heriburg Gymnasium in

Coesfeld Coesfeld (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Koosfeld'') is the capital of the Coesfeld (district), district of Coesfeld in the Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. History Coesfeld received its city rights in 1197, but was first ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

, Germany * Lycée Saint Sauveur in

Redon Redon (; ) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Redon borders the Morbihan and Loire-Atlantique departments. It is situated at the junction of ...

, Brittany, France * IIS Quintino Sella in

Biella Biella (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the northern Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the Province of Biella, province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of ...

, Italy * IES La Sisla in Sonsecas, Spain * Jinan Foreign Language School in

Jinan Jinan is the capital of the province of Shandong in East China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is one of the largest cities in Shandong in terms of population. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of ...

, China * Qingdao No 9 School in

Qingdao Qingdao, Mandarin: , (Qingdao Mandarin: t͡ɕʰiŋ˧˩ tɒ˥) is a prefecture-level city in the eastern Shandong Province of China. Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, Qingdao was long an important fortress. In 1897, the city was ceded to G ...

, China * 7th High School of

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

, Greece

Facilities

Student facilities include a library, gymnasium, tennis, basketball and netball courts, cricket nets, four ovals (shared with the

Adelaide City Council The City of Adelaide, also known as the Corporation of the City of Adelaide and Adelaide City Council, is a local government area in the metropolitan area of greater Adelaide, South Australia. It is legally defined as the capital city of Sout ...

), Performing Arts Centre, science labs and lecture theatres. The school also has a boatshed on the bank of the

River Torrens The River Torrens (Karrawirra Parri / Karrawirraparri) is the most significant river of the Adelaide Plains. It was one of the main reasons for the siting of the city of Adelaide, capital of South Australia. It flows from its source in the Ad ...

which holds the school's many rowing boats and where the school's rowing crews train. It also has a shared rowing facility at West Lakes with

Unley High School Unley High School is a public coeducational secondary school, located in the Adelaide suburb of Netherby in South Australia. It is administered by the Department of Education, with an enrolment of 1,562 students and a teaching staff of 114, as ...

and

Norwood Morialta High School Norwood International High School (NIHS) is a single-campus, co-educational, public high school located in the eastern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia. Founded as Norwood District High School in 1910 on Osmond Terrace, Norwood, the schoo ...

. A new wing, the Charles Todd Wing, was added to the southern side of the school in 2015. Building 4, previously housing the Languages, Art and Library areas, was upgraded and now contains the Languages, Maths and Arts learning areas. In 2019, the school self-funded a Performing Arts Centre Refurbishment and in 2021, also saw a $24 million build in the centre of the school, in order to accommodate for the large intake of Year 7 students into the school.

Sport

Houses and special sport programs

The school has four

houses A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

, which students represent in sporting and other events within the school. The houses took their names from past principals of the school. The house names are: Adey (red), Macghey (blue), Morriss (green), and West (yellow). Sporting events include the intra-house swimming carnival and athletics carnival. The houses compete for the SJ Dowdy Cup, named after former Principal Stephen Dowdy. Adelaide High School has a range of girls' and boys' sporting teams and offers special interest sporting programs including cricket and rowing. The Adelaide High School cricket program provides the opportunity for talented cricketers from outside the school zone to enrol at the school, similar to the Adelaide High School rowing club, which incorporates a talent identification selection process whereby students from outside the school zone can apply to enrol at the school. Both special entry programs participate in games and regattas throughout the year which lead up to the main events. The 5 Highs Cricket Carnival is held in December against

Sydney Boys High School Sydney Boys High School ('SBHS'), otherwise known as Sydney High School ('SHS') or simply High, is an Australian government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys, located at Moore Park, New South Wales, a s ...

Brisbane State High School Brisbane State High School (BSHS or commonly State High) is a partially selective, co-educational, state secondary school, located in South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is a member of the Great Public Schools Association of Queensland, ...

and

Kent Street Senior High School Kent Street Senior High School is a Public school (government funded), public Mixed-sex education, co-educational specialist school, specialist Secondary education#Australia, high day school, day and Boarding school, boarding school in the Town ...

. The major rowing event is the Head of the River Regatta held in March or April. This regatta was jointly founded in 1922 by Adelaide High School and St Peter's College. Other sporting trips have the volleyball teams travelling to the Australian Volleyball Schools Cup in Melbourne, in December.

Exchanges

Since 1913, Adelaide High has taken part in a sporting exchange with

and since 1910, Melbourne High School. This is the longest-running sporting exchange in the state. Both exchanges compete for the Prefects' Cup. The exchanges are held in early Term 3 (July-August) and each year the venue swaps. There are competitions in sports such as:

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

, soccer, tennis, rowing, basketball,

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

, chess, debating, theatre sports, volleyball, cross country/athletics, badminton, table tennis and hockey. Sports previously played against Melbourne included

lacrosse Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game w ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

and

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

. Adelaide High School is a member of the

Sports Association for Adelaide Schools The Sports Association for Adelaide Schools (formerly the Independent Schools Sports Association of South Australia or ISSA) is a group of schools in South Australia involved in sporting and cultural activities. Controversy The football compet ...

(SAAS).

Headmasters / principals

Notable staff and students

* Sir

Mark Oliphant Sir Marcus Laurence Elwin Oliphant, (8 October 1901 – 14 July 2000) was an Australian physicist and humanitarian who played an important role in the first experimental demonstration of nuclear fusion and in the development of nuclear weapon ...

AC, KBE, FRS, FAA, FTSE (1991-2000) - Governor of South Australia (1971-1976), Nuclear Physicist * Sir Don Anderson (1917–1975) – Director-General of the Department of Civil Aviation *

Nick Bolkus Nick Bolkus (born 17 July 1950) is a former Australian Labor Party politician. He was a member of the Senate from July 1981 to June 2005, representing the state of South Australia. Early career Bolkus was born in Adelaide and educated at Adela ...

(b. 1950) – South Australian Senator and Cabinet Minister * Ralph Clarke (b. 1951) – South Australian Deputy Opposition Leader * Hugh Cairns (1896–1952) – First Nuffield Professor of Surgery, Oxford University * John Stuart Dowie (1915–2008) – Artist *

Sia Sia Kate Isobelle Furler ( ; born 18 December 1975) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Adelaide, she started her career as a singer in the acid jazz band Crisp in the mid-1990s. When Crisp disbanded in 1997, she relea ...

(b. 1975) – Pop singer and songwriter *

Anne Haddy Patricia Anne Haddy (5 October 1930 – 6 June 1999), credited also as Anne Hardy, was an Australian actress, television presenter and voice artist, who worked in various facets of the industry including radio, stage and television. She was mar ...

(1930–1999) – Actress (best known for her role as

Helen Daniels Helen Daniels is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', portrayed by Anne Haddy. Following the death of Jim Robinson ( Alan Dale) in 1993, she remained the only original character played continuously by the same ac ...

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

) *Barbara Hall (b. circa 1931) – Physicist in 1956. one of two women first to receive a PhD from the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

; mother of

Hugh Possingham Hugh Phillip Possingham, FAA (born 21 July 1962), is the former Queensland Chief Scientist and is best known for his work in conservation biology, applied ecology, and basic ecological theory including population ecology. He is also a profe ...

Bob Hank Robert William "Bob" Hank (19 June 1923 – 14 June 2012) grew up in and lived in Lockleys and was an Australian rules footballer who played for West Torrens in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL). Career Hank began h ...

(1923–2012) – Dual

Magarey Medal The Magarey Medal is an Australian rules football honour awarded annually since 1898 to the fairest and most brilliant player in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), as judged by field umpires. The award was created by Willi ...

list * Margaret Hubbard (b. 1924) – First woman to win the Hentford Scholarship for Latin at Oxford *

Tom Koutsantonis Anastasios "Tom" Koutsantonis (born 23 August 1971) is an Australian politician in the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party, representing the seats of West Torrens (2002−current) and Peake (1997−2002) as a Labor member in ...

(b. 1971) – South Australian Treasurer *

Brian Ross Martin Brian Ross Martin (born 2 September 1947) is an Australian jurist. He was a judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia before being appointed Chief Justice of the Northern Territory, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Northern Terri ...

(b. 1947) –

Chief Justice of the Northern Territory The title of Chief Justice of the Northern Territory refers to the highest judicial position in the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory. The position is currently held by Michael Grant. History of the Chief Justice of the Northern Territory ...

* Sir Mark Oliphant (1901–2000) – South Australian Governor *

Neil Page Neil Philip Page (born 17 January 1944) is an Australian former baseball player. A left-hand starting pitcher, he regularly played for Australia from 1964 until 1977.Greig Pickhaver Gordon Greig Pickhaver (born 10 February 1948) is an Australian actor, comedian and writer, who forms one half of the satirical sports comedy duo '' Roy and HG'' as the excitable sports announcer HG Nelson. The award-winning duo teamed up in 1 ...

– aka H.G. Nelson, actor, comedian and writer *

David Vigor David Bernard Vigor (26 June 1939 – 9 April 1998) was an Australian politician. He was a member of the Australian Senate, representing the Australian Democrats and the Unite Australia Party. Born in Elbeuf, France to an English mother a ...

(1939–1998) – South Australian Senator * Jim May (1934–2023) – Australian chemical engineer and metallurgist *

Oswald Rishbeth Oswald Henry Theodore Rishbeth (né Rischbieth) 1886 – 1946) was an Australian geographer who was Professor and Chair of Geography at the University of Southampton, England. He is considered a pioneer of academic geography in Britain.Edwards, ...

(1886–1946) – Geographer, taught at Adelaide High in 1910Craig Campbell,
Adelaide High School: Inventing a state high school
, Dehanz, March 6, 2019.

References

External links

*Virtual Tou

{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1908 Public schools in South Australia Special interest high schools in South Australia Secondary schools in Adelaide 1908 establishments in Australia Adelaide Park Lands