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RETAINING BEACON HILL HIGH SCHOOL For Public Education Retain Beacon Hill High School Committee July 2006 1 SUMMARY POINTS The purpose of this submission is to provide additional information to support the view that Beacon Hill High School should be retained for public education. We believe the school is needed to ensure adequate provision and distribution of high school facilities in Manly Warringah. The high school facility can also be used to fulfil other education and training requirements. 1. Disposal of the Beacon Hill High School is not economic due to the high cost of replacing the existing investment in public land and facilities. 2. The catchment of Beacon Hill / Freshwater has one of the highest numbers of students in surrounding feeder primary schools in Manly Warringah. 3. The permanent loss of Beacon Hill High School would mean ongoing disadvantage for students living in one of the most populated areas of Manly Warringah. 4. Beacon Hill High School is the only school on the Southern peninsula with an adjoining primary school, to facilitate the integration of middle schooling 5. The number of students in feeder primary schools is sufficient to sustain a viable population in all high schools in the collegiate. 6. The only high school for girls, i.e. Mackellar Girls, is struggling to cope with an intake from two large clusters, including Beacon Hill / Freshwater 7. The new hospital site next to The Forest High will result in major disruption for several years, due to the construction and associated road works. 8. Cromer High School has the potential to exceed capacity and new development in Dee Why will result in increased population. 9. Spare capacity needs to be qualified by other factors such as geographical distribution, optimum school and class sizes, specialist use of rooms, alternative uses (see Excellence and Innovation submission) etc. 10.Educational facilities can also be used for training to address skills shortages. 11.There is a shortfall in public land and buildings for early childhood education. 12.Health education is an option that would alleviate pressure on hospital services in the peninsula. Retain Beacon Hill High School Committee July 2006 2 INTRODUCTION The Minister’s / Department of Education and Training's response to the Junior High School proposal for Beacon Hill High states that there is spare capacity in surrounding high schools and uses this to justify its closure. We challenge that on several fronts: The figure does not take into account specialist usage of rooms etc and is therefore not a reflection of the true capacity of schools. Spare capacity does not take into account the loss of students from the public education system between Year 6 and Year 7. There are sufficient numbers in the feeder primary schools to support Beacon Hill High’s re-opening. The figure does not take into account that Mackellar Girl's high school is already near capacity because of Beacon Hill’s closure. Schools operating at full capacity do not provide an ideal learning environment for students. 'Spare capacity' is the wrong measure, the wrong criterion upon which to base future planning. It is more relevant to look at the numbers of students in the primary feeder schools. This information reveals a different story. It shows there are sufficient numbers of students in the primary feeder schools to have a viable school population at Beacon Hill High School and the remaining public high schools in Manly Warringah. CAPACITY 'Capacity' should relate to a school size that allows students to feel that they are part of a large community, in which their individual identity is respected. It should not mean a school that is filled to the brim, with overcrowded corridors and large class sizes, and too little space to accommodate ancillary functions. The combined 'spare capacity' of several high schools in Manly Warringah is a single figure, which masks geographical variation. It also fails to identify or analyse the reasons for variation in particular schools. Focussing on vacancies in Manly Warringah high schools does not recognise problem areas and underlying trends, which may contribute to variations in enrolments. It masks differences, which allow comparisons between individual high schools, and diverts attention from the question as to why 'spare capacity' is greater in some schools than others. The combined 'spare capacity' does not address the problem of population pressure on particular schools, such as Mackellar Girls. The closure of Beacon Hill High School has contributed to this problem. Retain Beacon Hill High School Committee July 2006 3 MISLEADING CRITERION / ATTRITION What is wrong with using spare capacity as a criterion? Spare capacity does not take into account the loss of students from the public education system between Year 6 and Year 7. ATTRITION from the public education system occurs mainly in the transition from primary to high school. The figure for spare capacity camouflages the vacancies that can be attributed to attrition during this changeover phase. The failure of (some) public high schools to ATTRACT more students in their own cluster is being used as the BASIS for the proposed sale of BHHS. This action is only likely to exacerbate the problem of attrition, by permanently reducing the choice of options and scope of public education. Why dispose of a high school, which has the potential to ATTRACT more students and encourage them to remain in the public school system? The number of students in the feeder primary schools alleviates concerns that re- opening BHHS would reduce enrolments at other high schools i.e. Cromer or The Forest. Retaining BHHS eg as a composite school with supplementary services, has the potential to retain students who might otherwise leave the public education system, and to entice others back to public education. WRONG STRATEGY It is unfair to force some students to travel out of area in an attempt to balance numbers in high schools, which are failing to attract adequate enrolment numbers in their own cluster. The extra time is equivalent to one school day a week for some students. To address the imbalance of student retention in any particular cluster, perceived or actual problems should be tackled at the source. SIMPLISTIC MEASURE The focus on a single figure for 'spare capacity' is a very simplistic and risky measure to assess the existing and future educational needs. Some of the factors, which influence the choice of a high school, are convenience, amenity, school size, siblings, and shared (composite) school sites. Spare capacity in the public school system should be utilised to improve choice and quality, eg smaller and specialist classes. PRODUCTIVE USES The DET's view presumes that spare capacity is wasted space. This view fails to identify existing and potential uses for spare capacity in schools. Many of these uses are mentioned in the DET document on Excellence and Innovation (2005). One of the objectives of this report, and the accompanying invitation for public submissions, was to identify ways in which spare capacity could be productively used for the benefit of education and the community. Retain Beacon Hill High School Committee July 2006 4 HOSPITAL IMPACT A new factor, which must now be taken into account, is the siting of a major new hospital adjacent to The Forest High School. The announcement of the new hospital site was made on 30th March 2006, and introduces new arguments for the retention of Beacon Hill High School. Major construction is expected to last for around three years, with dust and trucks etc. Congestion would occur in the immediate area during the construction phase with a subsequent increase in traffic, including emergency vehicles. In the interests of health, safety and convenience, Beacon Hill High School should be retained for students living on the eastern side of Wakehurst Parkway. DEE WHY IMPACT Major new residential development is proposed for Dee Why, which is only 3 kilometres from Beacon Hill. Approval has been given for a complex of nearly 250 units and plans for several hundred more units are in draft form. Existing public educational facilities will be needed to cater for the additional influx of population. BENEFITS OF JUNIOR HIGH / COMPOSITE SCHOOL The proposal of a Junior Campus (or Composite School) is a sensible and logical initiative which, combined with supplementary services, would compliment the Freshwater Senior Campus. An advantage of a junior campus is that it provides a feeder school for the senior campus and avoids the need to derive (poach) senior students from elsewhere. It has the important benefit of allowing a cohort of students to advance to senior campus together, without the need to divide peer groups and fragment friendships that have been established during the earlier years at school. The opportunity to implement middle schooling and provide integrated teaching on one campus is a key factor. The overlap of core subjects in the curriculum for primary and junior high school would economise teaching resources and reduce running costs for a junior high school. Strengthening connections between local primary and high schools has social advantages for the community. A local high school is more convenient for parents and encourages increased community participation in the school. A junior high school is a buffer in the event of increased retention of senior students in comprehensive schools. Freshwater Senior Campus students derive mostly from Year 7-12 public high schools, with a proportion from private schools. The latter source could diminish if private schools introduce new incentives to encourage students to continue to Year 12. In a stand-alone high school, senior students provide role models and mentors for younger students. Academic, sporting and other achievements in senior years can provide positive feedback for the whole school.

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