Unley High School
| Unley High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
|
Netherby, South Australia Australia |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Motto | The Utmost For The Highest |
| Established | 1910 |
| Principal | Brenda Harris |
| Enrolment | 1219 (2009) |
| Colour(s) | light and dark blue |
| Website | uhs.sa.edu.au |
Unley High School, located in Netherby, is one of the largest public high schools in South Australia. In recent years the number of students enrolled typically ranges from 1,100 to 1,300, but in the early 1960s the school had a peak enrolment of 2,000 students.
The school currently has 30 international students enrolled, and has a history of enrolling such students from the 1960s. Unley has a long history of teaching foreign languages; in the beginning Latin, then French, German and for a period Indonesian. Today, Chinese is strong; Unley has sister schools in China. The school has many multicultural students, the majority of which come from China, Greece, Italy and Lebanon.
Unley High School was founded in 1910 as one of the first group of public high schools to be established following Adelaide High School in 1908. Initially it was under the control of the Headmaster of the Unley Primary School, and had its first home as part of that school in the suburb of Unley.
In 1915 the school was granted independence from Unley Primary and its first headmaster was appointed. This was Ben Gates who remained at the school until 1940. It was during his headmastership that the school became renowned for its discipline and high academic standards. An early link was forged with the Australian rules football club, Sturt. The colours of the school, light and dark blue, were also the colours of the football club.
During its first decade the school was shifted south to new buildings in Kyre Avenue, Mitcham. There were problems which developed quite rapidly with this site, especially in relation to adequate sports grounds. Complicated negotiations eventually saw control of a block of land and a cottage passed to a trust associated with the school. This remains an open space, now used by Mitcham Girls High School, on Belair Road. The "memorial gates" celebrating the acquisition of this land were opened in 1936.
Following the setbacks of the Great Depression, which included the introduction of fees for students to attend the high school, student numbers gradually rose to their early 1930s high point. (1931: 956 students, 1934: 638, 1939: 869) Unley High had been a coeducational school from the beginning, but in fact, most classes were taught in single sex groups. This pattern would only change in the late 60s and early 70s.
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