Coffs Harbour High School

Coffs Harbour High School is a comprehensive secondary school, situated on the mid-north coast of NSW. It is the original high school in the district and opened at its present site in 1938. The school has strong demand for places and a current enrolment of approximately 975 students, including 90 Aboriginal students. A successful intensive English program taught be experienced and passionate teachers supports new arrivals from diverse language backgrounds. As the oldest secondary establishment in the area we are conscious of our responsibility to maintain and nurture the excellent reputation and high standards of community involvement that have been painstakingly built over more than eighty years. Our ethos is underpinned by a belief in the importance of whole-child development, and the intimate relationships between academic, physical, emotional and social needs of students. Teaching and learning programs attempt to reflect the equal importance of these crucial components of a quality education. The school offers an extensive curriculum drawing heavily on the natural riches of our coastal environment to support learning experiences in different KLAs. The school has a strong and effective student welfare program, centred on our core values of care, commitment, cooperation and courtesy. Student leadership is promoted through a range of structures, including Prefects, SRC and a Student Environmental Council. An extensive enrichment program involving major excursions for each cohort contributes to our educational outcomes. Year 7 attend a team-building camp in their first term of high school. Year 8 travel to the Coffs Harbour hinterland to experience an outdoor challenge camp. Year 9 have the opportunity to participate in a week-long excursion to the Snowy Mountains (a very new experience for most of our students, who have lived their entire life in a sub-tropical environment by the sea). Year 11 travel to Heron Island research station, where they are able to use the excellent facilities of the University of Queensland to conduct experiments related to their senior Science courses. In 2019 senior students of Modern History and Society and Culture will travel to Vietnam and Cambodia to suppplement work done in class with first-hand in-country experience. Students of Mandarin visited China in 2018 for the school's fifth China visit in seven years. A highlight is always a visit to our sister school in Nanjing. CHHS is very proud to be one of only thirteen schools in NSW - and the only school outside of Sydney -  hosting a Confucius classroom as part of a Department of Education partnership. Every year we welcome Chinese assistants who work alongside our teachers in the classroom and provide authentic modelling of Mandarin to our students. We regularly host visits by teachers and students from China including students participating in language classes and home stay at Southern Cross University. Coffs Harbour High enjoys an effective partnership with a very active group of parents, who contribute significantly to school planning and resources. Parent and Citizen Meetings, which are held monthly, are very well attended. Parents contribute to policy development; decide on spending of resources from canteen profits and share in discussions of pedagogical matters. Members of the P & C are valued for their contribution to staff selection panels.