James Ruse Agricultural High School

History

In 1949 the main part of the school grounds was purchased by the NSW Government for the purpose of Agricultural Education. The school that commenced on this site in 1956 was an annex of Carlingford District Rural School with Charles Mullavey as the Master in Charge. At that time the school consisted of a wooden five room classroom block, a small staff-room and ablution facilities. By the start of 1958 the school was independent of Carlingford District Rural School and was called the "Carlingford Junior Agricultural High School" (reflecting that students could only undertake the first three years of secondary education at the school).

In 1959 the name of the school was changed to "Carlingford Agricultural High School" (to reflect its new full high school status - although there were no actual Fourth and Fifth Year classes at that time). The first Headmaster, James C. Hoskin, and his Deputy Headmaster, Charles Mullavey, commenced duties at the start of that year and in April, the name of the school changed again - this time to "James Ruse Agricultural High School".

When James Hoskin was studying Agriculture at University, he had become interested in James Ruse due to his significance in the early development of agriculture in Australia, and also because "both Ruse and I [Hoskin] are of Cornish extraction". Mr Hoskin questioned the name of the school (Carlingford Agricultural High School) as the school was not serving just the Carlingford area. In April 1959, Mr. Hoskin put forward a proposal to the NSW Department of Education outlining two new names for the school: Sydney Agricultural High School and Ruse Agricultural High School; eventually, the Department agreed to a modification of the latter. The school was named to honor prominent late farmer James Ruse.

Hoskin soon became synonymous with the school, as he served as headmaster until his retirement at age of 65 in 1978. During this time, the school became established as one of the few public schools that were selective; initially because of its agricultural specialty, then for its reputation as a quality school. For his efforts, Hoskin was awarded the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977 and the Order of Australia for Services to Education in 1990.

The first group of students to complete the full five years of secondary education at the new high school sat for the Leaving Certificate in 1961. Most of these boys were part of the initial enrollment of 1st Year pupils at the Felton Rd. site, in 1957. James Ruse AHS was originally a boys only school, but gradually became co-educational after an initial intake of 24 female students into Year 11 in 1977.

Since the mid-1990s, James Ruse has undergone an extensive building works program funded by both parents of students and the State and Federal Governments. 1997 saw the completion of Stage 1 of this program (encompassing a new Library block and English classrooms which replaced the old Anderson building, a new block containing Art and HSIE classrooms, the integration of the existing Powe block and the former library into a science block, and the installation of an elevator in the Perrau block to improve wheelchair accessibility).

In 2000, Stage 2 of the program began with the first building (a 180-seat lecture theatre) completed in early 2001. The Schofield block became part of the program in 2002 after the building was damaged by fires. During the next two years the old Technology Block and the Francis block were demolished due to a white ant infestation, with both blocks being rebuilt and refurnished in 2004. The final stage of the works were underway at the time of the departure of Principal Michael Quinlan, who retired in 2006 after having been Principal since 1992. These developments (including a new music block) continued with the guidance of the new principal, Ms Larissa Treskin.

Principals

Six Principals have served at James Ruse Agricultural High School:

Academic results

James Ruse Agricultural High School is especially noted for its excellent academic achievements and competitiveness, as well as a near perfect record of all students gaining university admission, especially in medicine, law and science. The school has outperformed every high school in New South Wales in the past 20 years in public university entrance examinations, known in the state as the Higher School Certificate with a median Universities Admission Index (UAI) of 99.55 in 2004, and 99.20 in 2005 and 2006.

Extracurricular activities

James Ruse Agricultural High School can be noted for its strong participation in extracurricular and competitive activities, as listed below. In addition, the school has a high level of participation in volunteering and fundraising activities, including World's Greatest Shave and the 40 Hour Famine, and is closely linked with Interact and Amnesty International . Many students have received awards for outstanding participation in community service.

Sport

The school also holds annual sporting carnivals, including the Swimming, Cross-Country and Athletics Carnivals, where students can compete for participation in wider regional competitions, from Zone and Area carnivals to the CHS (Combined High Schools) competition for the top school teams and competitors in NSW. James Ruse participates in a variety of tournaments and competitions with schools in surrounding areas. These include the following activities.

There are also many competitive sporting teams, where students compete against other schools in the area, state, or country. Some teams have had the opportunity to compete against sporting teams from overseas.

Music activities

The following ensembles offer musical training, and some groups perform at both school and public assemblies. Larger ensembles tour NSW annually to perform throughout the state.

Agriculture

Performing arts and visual arts

Public competitions and other student groups

Leadership

Welfare programs

Student Representative Council (SRC)

The school's Student Representative Council was inaugurated in 1960, making it among the first high schools in New South Wales to have such a body. Each year, each roll class elects a Class Captain and Vice-Captain who represent it on the SRC. Larger extracurricular organisations are also entitled to a representative. The SRC as a whole elect a student executive, which consists of a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Minutes Secretary, by a system first inaugurated in 1990. Through the SRC, students have a one-third representation on the school steering committees (along with parents and staff), and also play a major role in decision-making processes relating to curriculum, building plans, and resource allocation. This group is led by 5 year 11 student executives.

James Ruse Agricultural High School Cadet Unit (JRAHSACU)

The first cadet unit in James Ruse AHS was established in 1961, and JRAHSACU usually has a strength of 90 to 140 cadets. JRAHSACU is currently made up of 3 platoons and 2 recruit platoons. The unit conducts a field expedition every term, with a strong emphasis on navigation and hiking. Weekend unit bivouacs are held every term, and 10-day unit-held annual camps offer cadets an intense and exotic hiking adventure. Cadets receive training in:

Throughout its history, the JRAHSACU has been actively involved in community events, including Hyde Park Memorial Parade, RSL Services, services at local primary schools, and parades in the city. JRAHSACU was awarded the high honour of parading the Duke of Edinburgh's Banner in 2011. The unit participates in annual field exercises held to battalion or brigade (statewide) levels, and has many cadets participate in the annual national Adventure Training Award. An enthusiasm for Cadets continues to exist at rising levels, and the unit has been awarded with numerous formal commendations, unit medals, and Unit Efficiency awards.

Business, science, and public service

Religious

Entertainment and the arts

Military

Sports

Agriculture

The school teaches agriculture as a compulsory subject from years 7 to 10. Formerly it was also compulsory in Year 11 (with students taking an accelerated version of the HSC course to allow completion within one year). However, following the introduction of a new HSC curriculum by the Board of Studies in 2001, the school made Year 11 optional (with the decision supported by a survey amongst students). Agriculture is a significant part of the school's curriculum, with students undergoing study of the subject both on and off-site, where students study and visit agricultural enterprises both in the Greater Sydney region, with visits to regional horticultural farming enterprises such as the Sydney Royal Easter Show, farms in Bathurst, and Gloucester farms. There is also great involvement in with other agricultural schools, with the school linked with Yanco Agricultural High School, and previous Head Teacher of Agriculture, Lisle Brown, being the co-author of the Dynamic Agriculture textbook series, which is extensively used in agriculture in Australian schools.

The school leases approximately ten hectares of land from the neighbouring electricity sub-station for use in practical agriculture lessons. The farm land is situated north of the general school buildings, extending north to Lynch Close and east to Jenkins Road. The farm is arranged to include a vegetable garden, a classroom, a glasshouse and nursery, a greenhouse, an orchard, experimental plots, an area for field crops and a livestock section, among others. It also contains some riparian land which is currently being monitored and undergoing rehabilitation to its native state by the Streamwatch group (currently working as part of Sydney Water Streamwatch).

A significant amount of the farm land is set aside for student plots. Part of practical agriculture lessons involves students growing and maintaining their own crops, and a practical mark worth 10% of their yearly mark is awarded at the end of term. Mature crops in the students' assigned plots of land are then the students' to take home. In addition to its use for educational purposes, the farm also supplies a wide variety of agricultural produce including: Cattle - Angus stud, paraded annually at the Castle Hill Show by the Cattle Group, and sold at Camden Sales yard; Sheep - First-cross Ewes & Prime Lambs; Eggs - Free-range eggs; Poultry Meat - Broilers raised and sold onsite, Oranges - Washington Navel; Peaches - Flordagold and Sherman's Red varieties; Sweet Corn - Shimmer variety; James Ruse Gold Rose - A privately crossbred rose variety the rights were donated to the school in 1999 in celebration of its 40 years of teaching ; Apiary - Honey sold on-site in jars; and Macadamia Nuts. Various groups of students have been set up to look after these, such as the Poultry Squad and a Weather Watcher group to maintain farm records. In the past, the farm also housed Merino and Border Leicester sheep, named the Sharlea Sheep. It was replaced by the Aquaculture venture, silver perch and a crayfish growing system.

Campus

The school is situated in Carlingford, a suburb of North-Western Sydney. Its main entrance is located on the southwest corner of the school, with a number of smaller entrances on its southern and western boundaries. The campus is built around a main quadrangle, another cluster of buildings around a smaller quadrangle, with an oval, sporting facilities and the farm to the north of these.

Barrengarry House

Barrengarry House, the school's main administration block is located near the southwest entrance of the school, adjoining the Senior Common Room and the Library and housing the offices of the principal, deputy principals, head teacher of administration and the administration staff on the lower floor, and the counsellor's office, uniform shop and function rooms on the upper floor. It was originally the home and property of the Felton family, and was built in 1885, with the architect thought to have been Charles Slatyer. The block adjoins a roadway of the same name, both of which are named after the Feltons' estate.

J.C. Hoskin Auditorium

More commonly known as the "school hall", the J.C. Hoskin Auditorium, named after the school's founding principal (see history above), is used as a multi-purpose facility. Along with holding important school assemblies, concerts and the school musical, the hall is also used for examinations (primarily government and senior exams) and PE classes- although this function will be largely removed with the proposed construction of the new gymnasium. The planned construction of this gymnasium has been scheduled for the years 2016-2018.

Library Block

The Library Block (or "L-Block") was built in 1997 and opened by then NSW Premier Bob Carr as part of the school's building works program, to provide a larger, and more modern and well-equipped library to replace the smaller Shearman Block (now the school's Music block). The block is a two-storey building, with the library occupying the top floor and English classrooms and offices on the bottom floor.

Technology Block

The Technology Block (or "T-Block") is a recent addition to the school campus along with the new Canteen Block, with construction finished in 2005. The wing is a two-storey building with a mix of classrooms, workshops and modern computer labs, and overlooks the farm on its northern side.

Cameron Block

The Cameron Block (or "C-Block") is a three-storey building with a variety of classrooms, science labs, computer rooms and lockers. It is also home to the Mathematics Department and is located on one of the edges of the Main Quadrangle. There is also a Drama Room which contains a stage, a huge closet with costumes and some other drama-related objects. Mathematical wonders and other mathematical topics decorate the block.