BARHAM High school has been recognised for its outstanding academic achievements in Year 12 HSC results and NAPLAN performance and offerings for students in a remote and rural location.
Each year the education industry’s leading publication, Educator, holds national awards for excellence in schools, educators and education leaders in more than 25 categories.
This year Barham High School has been nominated as best regional school in Australia, going up against eight other schools in the category drawn from the private and public education sectors across the country.
Last year the school had 16 students in Year 12, of whom five received the ‘band six’ which indicated the highest level of performance with marks between 90 and 100.
Barham High School principal Brendan Yu, himself a former student at the school, said there was great appeal in being part of a school that was big enough to have up-to-date facilities but small enough that he knew all the kids and their families.
“I am really proud of the fact we are a public education school and we are able to compete with private schools,” Mr Yu said.
“We do an outstanding job with what we provide the students in our local area.
“We are really honoured where we are with the award.
“We know there are always plenty of things to improve on and we want to make sure we are not just having one good year but multiple years moving forward.
“I am really proud of the staff.
“They really put a lot of work in and they deserve to be recognised for the contribution they have made.
“We are doing some great things here at Barham High School.
“We see it as our job to set kids up for life – we have them for six years at the most and we want to make sure they are ready to go out in the world.”
To help ensure the students are ready for life after school they are given exposure to a wide range of options which include TAFE and university pathways.
As part of helping students find the ‘right fit’ for further education, the school offers career expo days.
Mr Yu said during Years 7 and 8 students at the school did additional numeracy and literacy classes.
“This is seeing improvements our NAPLAN results – that is a value-added opportunity for our students,” Mr Yu said.
“We had 124 students in 2022.
“This year we are at 166 and we are expecting close to 190 students next year, so we are growing.
“We have a great school community and they are very supportive.
“It’s great that we can provide students in our area with a high-quality education.
“To make sure students have the best fit post school, we work with families and employers to create work trials.
“We really build on the aspirational growth for our students and have high expectations for them to succeed.”
Over the past four years the school has upgraded its workshop, replacing all the tools to give students the experience of learning on up-to-date modern tools.
This year the school has been able to offer six Vocational Education Ttraining courses running alongside the HSC, giving students a dual qualification.
