Prairiewood High School

Prairiewood High School (established in 1984) is a co-educational, local, comprehensive and partially selective high school of just over 1200 students in South Western Sydney. The student population is almost 80% NESB with the largest cultural groups being Vietnamese and Arabic at about 17% of the student population each. The multicultural diversity of students and staff (representing almost fifty different cultural backgrounds) fosters the development of an inclusive and harmonious environment which acknowledges and celebrates cultural differences. Sixty academically selective places are available on a competitive basis in each of the years 7 to 12 and demand for placement is high. Demand is also high for out-of-area enrolments but availability is very limited. Prairiewood High School offers students a diverse curriculum which includes innovative stage 5 electives such as Astronomy, Dig it and Eat and Philosophy as well the full complement of HSC courses including extension 1 and 2. A comprehensive range of VET, Board Developed and Board Endorsed courses are also offered allowing us to personalise learning options for individual students. Academic performance across the whole student body has shown steady improvement in all measures over the last 4 years with some talented and hard working students achieving outstanding results. There is a strong school focus on student welfare and wellbeing with a team of more than thirty staff involved in providing wellbeing and learning support to students. Wellbeing and Learning Support Teams are highly effective in coordinating whole school and individual student programs and they provide essential services that complement a culture of high expectations in regard to student behaviour, respect, cooperation and effort. Our students are a credit to their school and their families. A comprehensive range of leadership development and extra-curricular enrichment programs (including public speaking, debating, music, drama and sport) with many students performing at regional, state and national levels. The school has exceptional teaching and support staff who are highly skilled, passionate about their own learning and who value professionalism, collegiality and collaboration as the foundation upon which effective student learning and the creation of a dynamic learning community can be laid.