Cumberland High School

Cumberland High School is a co-educational secondary school located in the northern suburbs of Sydney. The school's vision of providing 'Quality Education in a Caring Environment' is driven by its school values of Respect, Responsibility and Excellence. These values permeate the teaching and learning environment and provide the context for academic, sporting and cultural achievement. Established traditions including zone sport, multicultural festivals, a local community funded scholarship program, an annual interschool visit with Wauchope High School for the last 36 years, and the singing of the school song engender a special fellowship among students and staff, widely identified within the school as 'the Cumberland spirit'. The school has a long history of sporting success in local, regional and state arenas. The cornerstone of the school's success is its student welfare program with its focus on personal student growth and the continual expansion of leadership opportunities for all its students. The school is proud of its highly qualified teachers and excellent physical resources. Its facilities include a gymnasium, two sporting ovals, two tennis courts, two basketball courts, cricket nets, an undercover synthetic netball court, a drama performance facility, a school auditorium and extensive grassed play areas. All indoor facilities including classrooms, auditorium, library and offices are fully air conditioned thanks to the magnificent work of the school's dedicated Parent and Citizen Association. Cumberland High School is committed to academic success and reflects community aspirations for student transition to employment and tertiary education. A Gifted and Talented Program, which accepts enrolments into Year 7, produces HSC students in the top 1% of the state each year while a structured learning support program ensures that all students achieve to their potential. During the past five years six students from Cumberland High School have been recipients of the prestigious Minister for Education's Award for Educational Excellence, an award given to only 39 of the over sixty thousand Year 12 students each year. In each of these years the school DUX has scored a university entrance rank of over 99. Recent expansions of school facilities and programs have been in the areas of information technology and music. A sophisticated network of computers has been rolled out across the school, with on-line classrooms being the most recent focus. Two interactive connected classrooms link the school with other schools and educational institutions across the world. The opportunities for students to study and perform music have been expanded to include a number of bands and ensembles which perform both at school functions and in the local community. In 2010 the school presented its annual Music, Art and Drama festival over two nights at Parramatta's Roxy Theatre. Of special note is Cumberland's place as the home of the NSW Millennium Marching Band.