Mac.Robertson Girls' High School
The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School (also known simply as Mac.Rob) is an academically selective, public high school for girls', located in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Entry for Mac.Robertson, which is operated by the Victoria Department of Education [1], is by competitive academic examination. It is unique in its status as a statewide provider for girls in years 9 to 12. The equivalent for boys is Melbourne High School.
In 2001, The Sun-Herald named Mac.Robertson Girls' High School the sixth best girls' school in Australia based on the number of its alumni mentioned in the Who's Who in Australia (a listing of notable Australians).[1]
History
The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School traces its origin to the Melbourne Continuation School, the first government funded school in the state of Victoria, established in 1905 in Spring Street, Melbourne. Melbourne High School was a co-educational school, but the school's second principal, Mr Claude Searby, believed that boys studied better in a single sex environment. And so, in 1927, the boys moved to their current residence in Forrest Hill, South Yarra in Victoria, Melbourne, and became Melbourne Boys' High School.
The girls remained in the crumbling Spring Street building until it was condemned in 1930. The girls then moved to Government House. They were moved once again to King Street in 1933. In 1934 Victoria celebrated its centenary. Sir Macpherson Robertson made a gift of 100,000 pounds, 40,000 of which was to be spent on building what was to become The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School in the north/east corner of Albert Park Reserve. The building gained a national trust classification in 1987.
The school celebrated it centenary year in 2005 with Melbourne High School with a joined assembly. Mac.rob also celebrated by inviting Steve Bracks (the 44th Premier of Victoria) to witness the restarting of the school clock tower.
Mac.Robertson Girls' High School today continues and maintains a tradition of high academic achievement. Each year the school's VCE results are among the highest in the state, topping the statewide VCE results five years running (2002-2006 inclusive), with 2006 being the most impressive year for the school. The girls of 2006 achieved a median score for their ENTER of 96.5 and median study scores for all subjects taken at a VCE level being 39.
Houses
The four Houses and their associated colours are:
- Naiads, River Nymphs (Blue)
- Dryads, Tree Nymphs (Green)
- Nereids, Sea Nymphs (White)
- Oreads, Earth Nymphs (Red)
Nereids official colour is white, although throughout the years it has come to adopt purple as its secondary colour.
The houses compete in four major competitions, each taking place annually:
Other competitions include lipsynching, warball, volleyball, softball, soccer, rounders and cricket.
School Magazine
The school's yearbook is called Pallas, with the editor generally being a year 11 student. There is also an informal satirical magazine, Ethos, with articles written by students and editorship shared by a group of year 11 students who are elected by the student body.
Exchanges
Overseas Exchange
Macrob offers its students various chances to interact with students from different schools in other countries, which involve Japan, Germany and France.
Adelaide Exchange
Every year, an exchange takes place with "Adelaide High School" over the period of 3 days. This exchange changes it location every year, one year at Macrob and the next at Adelaide High School. The students compete in a variety of different events, such as Debating, Theatre Sports, Chess and Football,etc. The school that wins most events is awarded with the Prefect Cup to keep until the next Adelaide Exchange. The latest exchange was the 56th exchange (which took place in 2007).
References
- ^ Walker, Frank (2001-07-22). "The ties that bind". Sunday Life. The Sun-Herald. p. 16. Retrieved 2007-09-12.
See also
- List of schools in Victoria
- List of schools in Victoria, Australia according to 2006 VCE results
- Melbourne High School (Victoria)
- Adelaide High School