Established 1910 Enrolment 1,303 Website www.unihigh.vic.edu.au Principal Heather Thompson Founded 1910 | Years 7-12 Colour(s) Green, White & Tan Phone +61 3 9347 2022 Number of students 1,303 | |
Address 77 Story St, Parkville VIC 3052, Australia Motto Latin: Strenue Ac Fideliter; ("With Zeal and Loyalty") School types State school, Mixed-sex education, Secondary school, Day school | ||
The University High School (UHS or Uni High) is a public, co-educational high school, located in the Melbourne, Australia suburb of Parkville. The University High School caters for 1,303 students.
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History
In 1910, the "University Practising School" was opened in a former primary school on the corner of Lygon and Lyton Streets, Carlton. In 1913, it changed its name to "The University High School" after the closure of the older private school.
Since 1930, the University High School has occupied a site in Story Street, Parkville, adjacent to the Royal Melbourne Hospital and in close proximity to the Royal Children's Hospital, newly built Royal Women's Hospital, University of Melbourne and the Central Business District.
During World War II, the United States Army set up a camp on the school oval. Additionally, 240 extra students from MacRobertson Girls High School transported to UHS for schooling as their buildings were also seized by the military.
An A$8 million upgrade of the school facilities was completed in 1997. The school experienced major disruption and change during the previous years through dislocation of classes and staff. The completion of the works has given the school modern facilities with appropriate specialist rooms.
There are two substantial histories of this school that should be acknowledged,Alice Hoy, A City Built to Music, University High School, Parkville, 1961 & Carolyn Rasmussen, 'A Whole New World' 100 Years of Education at University High School, Australian Scholarly Publishing, North Melbourne, 2010.
Academics
VCE studies offered by the school:
Accounting, Australian and Global Politics, Australian Politics, Biology, Business Management, Chemistry, Economics, English, English (EAL), English Language Extended Investigation, French, Further Mathematics, General Mathematics, German, Global Politics, Health and Human Development, History: 20th Century (1900-1945), History: 20th Century (since 1945), History: Revolutions, Information Technology, Latin, Legal Studies, Literature, Mathematical Methods (CAS), Media, Music Performance, Philosophy, Physical Education, Physics, Product Design and Technology, Psychology, Specialist Mathematics, Studio Arts and Visual Communication Design.
The University High School was ranked in the top 200 public secondary schools in Australia based on academic results in 2009.
In 2014, 17 students scored an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank above 99 and 130 students, or 61 per cent of the year, scored above 80.
Buildings
The University High School is divided into 10 building: West, North, South, Art/Tech, Music, Hall, Gymnasium, Canteen, EBSS, and GTAC.
The North building was constructed in 1930 during the Great Depression. Because of this, no additional facilities were constructed and therefore assemblies were held in other venues. The north building has three levels, and contains the rooms numbered 100 through 405. The North building holds the main entrance to the school as well as most administrative facilities. Inside the main foyer one can see a collection of photographs commemorating pupils and teachers from the school who were killed in the First World War. Also many plaques are hanging from the walls that honour achievements made by students and state principals and other important administrative roles. There are many banners that show sports achievements, as well as sub-school names that recognise past principals.
The South Building is the next largest building containing the Library and VCE centre. The East Building is primarily used for Art and Technology classes and is the third largest of the four buildings. The West Wing is the smallest of the buildings, but is conjoined with the Music Wing. The west wing features many lockers, manly for the younger students (Year 7-8)
The Music Wing was developed, planned, constructed and funded by ex-students and ex-teachers, including Mrs. Stella Langford and Mr. J. Economo.
Early in 2004, a new Gene Technology Access Centre (GTAC) was opened for use by staff and students from across the state. This allows students from throughout Victoria to have direct exposure to cutting edge research in the genetics field.
An extension of the canteen was completed in the last quarter of 2006 which connected it with the M.S. Sharman Hall.
A fourth level extension to the South Wing was completed early in 2007 and was named the VCE Centre. The extension was made for VCE students. It has classrooms specifically for VCE students and the Bryce Sub-school Offices are located in the centre.
In late 2009 the school unveiled a new bridge linking the North and South Buildings from the west-end of the 700s corridor (South Building) to the centre of the 300s corridor (North Building).
A series of building works were undertook from 2010-2014. In 2011, the West Building was gutted and the interior was completely rebuilt, allowing for more classroom spaces. Minor renovations were made to the bottom floor of the North Building to construct a food technology classroom and kitchen. In conjunction with the University of Melbourne, a new dedicated science school was created for students in year 11 and 12, on space previously occupied by the University's Veterinary Science buildings. The school was named the Elizabeth Blackburn School of Sciences (EBSS), after a former student of the school. A dedicated art classroom for VCE students was also constructed, above the existing Art/Technology building.
Notable alumni
In 2001, University High was ranked tenth in Australia's top ten schools for the education of girls based on the number of female alumni in the Who's Who in Australia.