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Kent Street Senior High School

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Kent Street Senior High School
File:Kentst.png
Location
Map
Perth
,
Western

Australia
Information
TypeState Government School
MottoCourage
Education through Sport
Established1949
FounderHon. T.AL. Davy
PrincipalMr. Rod Beresford
ChaplainMr. Terry Dywer
Grades8-12
Enrolment789
Colour(s)Red, Blue, White
School feesAUD$ 350 + Course Fees
AffiliationWA School Sports,
Websitewww.kentst.wa.edu.au


Kent Street Senior High School originated as the first high school on the southern side of the Swan River in Perth, Western Australia and is well known for its Specialist Courses and Academic Programs.

Kent Street is located 4 kilometres southeast of Perth's central business district. Located within the community of Victoria Park, Kent Street has a diversity of students coming from all over the state. Kent Street has nearly 50% of its students coming from the outer ring of the school's district, most of them joining one of our four specialist programs (Aeronautics, Cricket, Tennis, Fashion & Design)


History

Among the many proposals put to the WA State Parliament in the late 1920s was a request for a post-primary school "South of the River" - but a lack of funds, this time blamed on a most serious Depression, had cut capital spending. It was a period in which teachers' salaries were severely diminished and the Teachers' Training College was closed in order to afford grants for unemployment relief (the distribution of blankets, clothes and rabbit stew).

In 1932, the Director of Education, Mr. Wallace Clubb, ordered a survey, which showed that 410 post-primary pupils residing in Victoria Park and nearby South Perth were required to travel to Perth to receive their schooling. On June 22, a deputation of spokespersons representing local groups met the Minister for Education, the Hon. T.AL. Davy, to ask for a post -primary school in Victoria Park. This meeting resulted in an immediate negotiation for the release of a 15-acre site.

Six years later, in 1938, when resumption of a site of 15 acres was almost completed, opposition from the City Council resulted in the chosen site being reduced to 10 acres.

Approval for the building of a south suburban central school at a cost of 15,000 pounds was given on February 3, 1939. Plans show that the school comprised a single-storey brick building of eight classrooms, administrative area and toilets. Furthermore, while the work was in progress, approval was received in November of the same year, for an additional construction of domestic science and manual training centres at a cost of 3,550 pounds; caretaker quarters, 600 pounds; and installation of school equipment. and furniture, 746 pounds.

Kent Street Central School, the ninth metropolitan public secondary institution, began in February 1940, on the completion of the eight classrooms, with 354 pupils. The Domestic Science and manual training centres were completed on March 20, and the caretaker quarters were finished a week later.

Kent Street reached a milestone on its first intake of Fourth Year (Year Eleven) scholars in 1952. At once arrangements were put made the purchase of five prefabricated Bristol units of two classrooms each. These buildings, referred to as silver city" because of the aluminium framework, were put on site and made ready for use for the sum of 19,700 pounds.

Headmaster Eric McGrath, after 14 years at Kent Street High School was at the helm during one of the school's roughest passages - through years of unbridled growth; frenetic building activities (amid some 27 temporary structures), and through profound changes in secondary education.

Kent Street High recorded an enrolment of 1,733 in 1957. The task of accommodating all those bodies fell to Headmaster George Lambert.

The 1970s added a library resource centre, a pool, changerooms, a pre-vocational centre, a further eight-room facility building and a hall/gymnasium with a seating capacity of 1,000. The hall was named after Headmaster Eric McGrath who had, in 1943, so earnestly pleaded for its existence.

On Kent Street Senior High School's fortieth birthday, McGrath Hall housed an exhibition of memorabilia. Its four decades were colour-coded thus:

  • Green, for the useful forties.
  • Red, for the vibrant fifties.
  • Gold, for the golden sixties.
  • Blue, for the royal seventies.

The "old pupils" were issued with ribbons indicative of the era of participation.

The 1980s began with the phasing out of Bentley Senior High School Students north of Manning Road who had previously attended Bentley or Millen Primary Schools were redirected to Kent Street SHS in 1982. Other students living in the former Bentley SHS catchment area were redirected either to Cannington, Como, or Kent Street Senior High Schools according to newly-drawn school boundary lines. Transportable classrooms once again cluttered up the school grounds in a bid to overcome immediate accommodation requirements. Some of these were fitted out for use by commerce classes.

Kentian Society

The First Government School Ex-students Association in Western Australia.

More is yet to be updated

File:Ketiansoc.png
The Kentian Society Logo

Rotary Residential College

The Rotary Residential College is on land leased from Kent Street Senior High School. The idea of the college was generated by the constant requests to metropolitan Rotary clubs for accommodation for high school students wanting to study special courses only provided at city based high schools. With the help of Federal, State and Local Governments, the corporate sector and guided by some Individual Rotary Clubs, this project is now a reality and has been operating successfully since 1991.

Over the past twelve years some 450 boarders have availed themselves of the accommodation and they have come from nearly 100 country towns.

Facts about the college

  • The College has 95 single, well appointed rooms each with its own ensuite and linen included.

Reconstruction
The College had just been under a major upgrade to improve facilities and intake more country children. The upgrades were,

Thirty two (32) single accommodation units. i.e. bedroom with en-suite.

  • New dining / meeting room to seat 130.
  • New kitchen, food storage and garbage disposal systems.
  • New expanded laundry w/- 5 washing, 3 drying machines, 3 iron stations and 3 troughs.
  • Computer and I.T. area w/- 35 networked terminals 5 Printers, ADSL Broadband
  • Separate general study / quite rooms.
  • Separate aero modelling room.
  • New staff quarters.
  • Parking for an additional 48 cars including 3 acrod and safe goods delivery access.
  • 8 undercroft storage bays for luggage, bicycles, golf bags, cricket equip, wheelie bins, bus

School Facilities

The School is based primarily on its 10 acre campus on Kent Street in East Victoria Park. The campus of the school is divided into three levels, because of its sloping hill it was positioned on. The school has no breaking in age groups except for a Canteen Quad for lower school children and a UpperSchool Quad of upperschool children.

The facilities that are part of Kent Street Senior High School follow.

  • A 25m Swimming Pool
  • Gymnasium
  • Four Sporting Ovals with additional parkland from Victoria Park council.
  • Basketball Courts
  • Tennis Courts
  • Cricket Nets and Turf Wickets
  • Photography Facility
  • Drama Theatre and Art Gallery
  • Four Computing Rooms
  • Interactive Intranet sites (http://kentweb/, http://libweb/, http://comweb/)
  • Aviation Education Centre
  • Industrial Technology Centre
  • Specialist Sports Centre
  • Library with five study areas
  • Student Services Centre
  • Media Centre with Radio Station (88.5fm, 5km output)
  • Music Centre
  • On sight Hostel
  • Seven post school Transperth bus routes to all different locations of the metropolitan area
  • One before school, Tranperth bus serving our district borders
  • Student Parking for provisional drivers

Houses

Kent Street Senior High School does have a number of Houses, but unfortunetly, have not been treated with competitiveness for quite some years.

  • Phytharus (Purple) 1939
  • Massic (Yellow) 1939
  • Cherrush (Orange) 1965

Kent Street Senior High School Cricket Course

yet to be updated


5 Highs Australian Cricket Carnival

yet to be updated


International Tours

yet to be updated


Steenholdt-Dalton Oval

yet to be updated

Kent Street Senior High School Aviation Course

yet to be updated

Avalon Airshow

yet to be updated

Kent Street Senior High School Tennis Course

yet to be updated

Southern Skies, Brisbane

Alumni

Several alumni of the school have become professional sportsmen and politicians. At the moment, Kent Street Senior High School, or the Kentian Society have a room show-casing all of its greatest students and staff. But in early 2007, there was talk of upgrading a classroom to become a so called "trophy room"

Before 2005

After 2005


References

  • History of Kent Street Senior High School, History of Kent Street Senior High School
  • Student Records located in the School Science Block
  • Ex-Principal, Mr. Peter Klifunis
  • School Website
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