North Sydney Girls' High School (abbreviated as NSGHS, more commonly known as NSG) is a government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary

day school A day school — as opposed to a boarding school — is an educational institution where children are given instruction during the day, after which the students return to their homes. A day school has full-day programs when compared to a regular s ...

for

girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. While the term ''girl'' has other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.com, "Girl"'' Retrieved January 2, 2008. ''daughter'' or ''girlfriend'' regardless of age, ...

, located in Crows Nest, in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

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 ...

, Australia. Established in 1914, the school caters for approximately 910 students from

Year 7 Year 7 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand. It is the seventh full year (or eighth in Australia and England) of compulsory education and is roughly equivalent to grade 6 ...

Year 12 Year 12 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It is sometimes the twelfth or thirteenth year of compulsory education, or alternatively a year of post-comp ...

. Admission to the school is based entirely on academic results through the Selective High Schools Test undertaken by students in

Year 6 Year 6 is an educational year group in schools in many countries including Japan, most of Africa, Australia and New Zealand. It is usually the sixth year of compulsory education and incorporates students aged between ten and eleven. It is genera ...

. In 2023, North Sydney Girls was ranked fourth among all high schools in Sydney. In 2001, ''

The Sun-Herald ''The Sun-Herald'' is an Australian newspaper published in tabloid or compact format on Sundays in Sydney by Nine Entertainment. It is the Sunday counterpart of the ''Sydney Morning Herald''. In the six months to September 2005, ''The Sun-H ...

'' ranked North Sydney Girls High School first in Australia's top ten girls' schools, based on the number of its

alumnae Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...

mentioned in the ''

Who's Who in Australia The pronoun ''who'', in English language, English, is an English interrogative words, interrogative pronoun and a English relative words, relative pronoun, used primarily to refer to persons. Unmarked, ''who'' is the pronoun's subjective form; ...

''. In 2022, North Sydney Girls High School ranked as the fourth high school in the state, based on the percentage of exams sat that achieved a Distinguished Achievers (DA).

History

North Sydney Girls' High School was officially founded in 1914 with an enrolment of 194 students. The school was originally located on the corner of Hazelbank Road and the Pacific Highway (where

Cammeraygal High School Cammeraygal High School is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school, located on the Pacific Highway, , a suburb on the lower north shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 2015, the school enr ...

(junior campus) is now situated). By the 1980s, it was felt that the site could no longer meet the needs of the school, and years of intense lobbying for improved facilities followed. When the

New South Wales Government The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

decided to close

Crows Nest Boys High School Crows Nest Boys High School (abbreviation CNBHS) is a former high school located at 365 Pacific Highway in the Sydney suburb of Crows Nest, New South Wales, Australia. It was a boys' high school operated by the New South Wales Department of Ed ...

, the facility was transferred to North Sydney Girls. In December 1993, North Sydney Girls High officially moved to its current location, following a $6 million building and renovations project.

Academics

Enrolments

North Sydney Girls is an academically selective high school; admission to the school for Year 7 is determined by results in the Selective High Schools test, which is open to all Year 6 students in NSW. A small number of students from other high schools are accepted into years 8 to 12, with applications made to the school to sit for an entrance exam.

Award system

At North Sydney Girls High School, awards are given based on academic performance, sport performance, service to school and other merits across all years.

Academic results

The school performs well in public examinations, and in recent years has been placed as the leading girls' school in New South Wales in the Higher School Certificate (HSC) examinations. Annually, at least 30% of Year 12 students achieve places in the top 1% of the HSC.

Curriculum

North Sydney Girls High School is registered and accredited with the New South Wales

Board of Studies The Board of Studies was the state government education board in New South Wales, Australia from 1990 to 2013. It provided educational leadership by developing the curriculum from Kindergarten to Year 12 and awarding the secondary school credent ...

, and therefore follows the mandated

curriculum In education, a curriculum (; : curriculums or curricula ) is the totality of student experiences that occur in an educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experi ...

for all years.

Co- and extracurricular activities

NSGHS offers a diverse range of extracurricular activities.

Music and drama

NSGHS has a

theatresports Theatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges. Developed by di ...

troupe, junior drama ensemble, Year 10 drama night, and various clubs available to seniors. Instrumental ensembles and bands include the advanced string ensemble, stage (jazz) band, jazz ensemble, concert band, symphony orchestra, wind orchestra, wind ensemble, and beginner band. Choirs and vocal ensembles include Year 7 choir, junior choir, intermediate choir, combined (NSGHS & NSBHS) choir, senior vocal, and the

a capella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

group.

Sport and outdoor activity

Co-curricular sports include

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

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 ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...

table tennis Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

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 ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

, touch football,

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

fencing Fencing is a combat sport that features sword fighting. It consists of three primary disciplines: Foil (fencing), foil, épée, and Sabre (fencing), sabre (also spelled ''saber''), each with its own blade and set of rules. Most competitive fe ...

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 ...

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

. NSGHS also has a

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

club,

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

ensembles, and a cadet program at

Marist Catholic College North Shore Marist Catholic College North Shore (often shortened to Marist North Shore or abbreviated as MCCNS) is an independent Systemic Schools, Australia, systemic Roman Catholic Church in Australia, Roman Catholic K–12 Mixed-sex education, coeducat ...

, and has had students participate in the

Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, which has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and ...

Notable alumnae

Academic

*Dame Valerie Beralbreast cancer epidemiologist * Anna Katherine Donald

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

(1989)"NSW Rhodes Scholars"
—

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

list, (retrieved 16 April 2007) * Dame Janet Rittermanformer director of the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

in London, from 1993 to 2005.

Entertainment, media and the arts

Benita Collings Benita Collings (born 1940) is an Australian theatre, television and film character actress and children's television presenter best known for her role on ABC TV's '' Play School''. Collings has also featured in documentaries and commercials. ...

'' Play School'' presenter *

Ruth Cracknell Ruth Winifred Cracknell AM (6 July 1925 – 13 May 2002) was an Australian character and comic actress, comedian and author. Her career encompassed all genres, including radio, theatre, television, and film. She appeared in many dramatic as wel ...

actress *

Ceridwen Dovey Ceridwen Dovey (born 1980) is a South African and Australian author and social anthropologist. The winner of several awards, she is known for her first novel, ''Blood Kin'' (2007), and her 2014 short story collection, '' Only the Animals''. In 2 ...

author * Jill Hellyerauthor and poet *

Nathalie Kelley Nathalie Kelley (born 3 March 1984) is a Peruvian-Australian actress, known for her role as Neela in the 2006 action film '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'', and for her roles in various television series including ''Body of Proof'' (2 ...

actress *

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

actress *

Samantha Lang Samantha Lang is an Australian film director and screenwriter. Her production company is Handmaid Media. Early life and education Samantha Lang was born in London, England, migrating to Australia with her family at the age of 14. She attended ...

film and theatre director * Catherine Martinproduction designer *

Lucy Maunder Lucy Maunder is an Australian cabaret and theatre performer. She originated the role of Lara in the Australian premiere of ''Doctor Zhivago (musical), Doctor Zhivago'' in 2011 opposite Anthony Warlow, and toured with her own cabaret ''Songs in t ...

cabaret and theatre performer *

Janet Patterson Janet Patterson (12 August 1956 – 21 October 2016) was an Australian costume designer and production designer. She is best known for her collaborations with directors Gillian Armstrong and Jane Campion. She has been nominated for the Academy Aw ...

costume designer and production designer *

Cassandra Pybus Cassandra Jean Pybus (born 29 September 1947) is an Australian historian and writer. She is a former professorial fellow in history at the University of Sydney, and has published extensively on Australian and American history. Pybus was born i ...

historian and author *

Margaret Throsby Margaret Ellen Throsby AM, (born 1941) is an Australian radio and television broadcaster. She is known for having interviewed thousands of notable people for Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio programs. Early life Margaret Ellen Throsb ...

ABC Classic FM ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. I ...

presenter *

Naomi Watts Naomi Ellen Watts (born 28 September 1968) is a British actress. Known for her work predominantly in independent films with dark or tragic themes, she has received various accolades, including nominations for two Academy Awards, a Primetime ...

actress *

Wengie Wendy Ayche (born 9 January 1986), better known as Wengie or WRAYA, is a Chinese-Australian YouTuber, pop singer, and voice actress. Career YouTube In 2013, Ayche started the YouTube channel, "Wengie", inspired by her Chinese name, Wen ...

YouTube personality, singer, voice actress *

Nina Oyama Nina Oyama (born 18 August 1993) is an Australian comedian, writer, actress and director. She is well known for her roles in ''Utopia'', ''Taskmaster Australia'', and ''Deadloch''. Early life and education Oyama was born on 18 August 1993 ...

comedian, writer, actor, and director *

Nagi Maehashi Nagi Maehashi (b. 1979) is an Australian author, cook and business owner. She created the website RecipeTin Eats and the not-for-profit organization RecipeTin Meals, and is the author of the bestselling cookbook ''RecipeTin Eats Dinner''. Biogr ...

– cook, writer and businesswoman

Politics, public service and the law

Sally Dowling Sally Dowling is an Australian lawyer who has been Director of Public Prosecutions for New South Wales since August 2021. Early life and education Dowling is one of three children; her mother, Stephanie Claire, worked as an English teacher and ...

NSW Director of Public Prosecutions *

Shelley Hancock Shelley Elizabeth Hancock (born 14 November 1951), an Australian politician. Hancock was the Liberal Member of the Legislative Assembly seat of South Coast from 2003 until 2023. Hancock previously served as the thirtieth Speaker of the New ...

teacher and parliamentarian; elected as a member of the

NSW Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

for South Coast (

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

) * Justice Lucy McCallumChief Justice of the

Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory is the highest court of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters and hears the most serious criminal matters. The court ha ...

* Nancy Grace Augusta Wake resistance fighter known to the Germans as "the White Mouse"; the most decorated woman of World War Two

Sport

* Elise Simone Ashton (née Norwood)Olympic water polo player

Principals

The school principals have been:This table was copied from a display plaque in the school office.

References

External links

North Sydney Girls High School
{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1914 Girls' schools in New South Wales Public high schools in Sydney Selective schools in New South Wales Crows Nest, New South Wales 1914 establishments in Australia

History

Academics

Enrolments

Award system

Academic results

Curriculum

Co- and extracurricular activities

Music and drama

Sport and outdoor activity

Notable alumnae

Academic

Entertainment, media and the arts

Politics, public service and the law

Sport

Principals

See also

References

External links