Northern Beaches Secondary College (NBSC) Freshwater Senior Campus students staged a walkout this morning, Friday, 21 February 2025, to protest plans to change the school from a seniors campus to a full Year 7-12 high school.
The changes, announced in December 2024 were made to provide a co-education public high school option for students in the area. Previously, options were either public single-sex high schools, Balgowlah Boys or Mackellar Girls, or Catholic or private schools. You can read more here.
Prospective and current students and parents shared their concerns of dismantling a successful specialised senior teaching model that many described as a “second chance” and “lifeline” for students, and have even fundraised to mount a legal challenge against the decision.
On the other side of the school gate, local primary school parents have welcomed the decision to give their children access to a co-education local high school. Curl Curl North, Harbord and Manly Village primary schools all fall into the new Freshwater High catchment zone.
Freshie Senior students organised and led the walkout while parents supervised their safety. Students cried out “Save Freshie” as they asked the Department to reverse the decision, or at the very least, delay the decision so current Year 11 students (who were unaware of the decision when they enrolled) can complete their HSC next year without disruption and have the experience that was promised to them at enrolment.
The changes were announced after many current Freshwater Year 11 students had enrolled, bought the uniform and attended orientation sessions.
Department agrees to delay
The transition was to begin as early in 2026, but following pushback the Department today announced it would delay the transition by 12 months
Originally, Years 7 and Years 9 were due to start in 2026, with the full roll out of all years in 2027, however, a statement from the Department of Education received late this afternoon confirmed the transition would be delayed by a year.
“The timeline to expand Northern Beaches Secondary College Freshwater Senior Campus to include Years 7 to 10 has been extended to allow more time for transition planning and to enable currently enrolled students to complete their senior schooling,” the statement said.
Wakehurst MP Michael Regan declared it a win for his electorate and a response to his direct appeals to the Education Minister Prue Car. Many students attended the school, which is in Manly MP James Griffin’s electorate.
“The updated timeframe will now see Years 7 and 8 start at Freshwater in 2027, and Years 7-12 from 2028. This change ensures the current Year 11 students can complete their senior studies as anticipated, without disruption,” Mr Regan said.
Member for Manly, James Griffin, added, “It shouldn’t have taken the students having a protest to get the government to listen but here we are. I am pleased that the school community will have some time to determine how they can make this work for families, students and teachers.”
The statement from the Department added, “The NSW Government made a commitment at the last election to ensure every community had access to a co-educational high school. A Northern Beaches community consultation that concluded last year found strong support for co-education. The most preferred option to deliver guaranteed co-educational access was expanding NBSC Freshwater campus to years 7-12.”
Think of the Year 6s
Last year, when the Department announced the move to change Freshwater Senior to a full high school, many parents, like Vicki, rejoiced. She has a child in Year 6 at Curl Curl North and despite living within walking distance to Freshwater Senior and Manly Selective, prior to the Department’s announcement, her daughter couldn’t go to either. Instead, they enrolled her in a private school.
“While we are fortunate enough to be able to afford private education, and not every family is, it’s not what we wanted for our daughter,” Vicki told Manly Observer.
“I went through the public education system, and I wanted the same for my daughter. I’m an advocate for public education, but there weren’t many other options of good local high schools in our catchment with good reputations that were easy to get to.”
Then in December last year, the Department announced Freshwater Senior would move to a full high school and accept Year 7 students in 2026 – perfect timing for Vicki.
“We’d heard such great things about the school and my kid was so happy to go there,” Vicki said.
Then the Department announced they would delay the transition by a year, leaving families like Vicki in limbo – where was her daughter expected to go for just one year of schooling (as Vicki has every intention of sending her daughter to the new Freshwater High when it eventuates)?
It happened all so quickly; the day before the student-led walkout Vicki attended a parent information evening at the school, and the following morning received an e-mail from Freshwater Senior with information about how to enrol and the details of the Open Day sessions. Vicki didn’t even get notified about the change of plans, instead she heard about it third hand as the news travelled through the community. As of Monday evening, Vicki hasn’t received any further information from Freshwater Senior.
“I understand the concerns of the Year 11 students and their parents, and I understand there were concerns about where to put the students (there were rumours of demountables in the car park) but at the same time, the knee-jerk reaction by the Minister didn’t take into consideration the families who had already decided to send their kids there, and have probably missed cut-off dates to enrol their children in other schools,” she added.
“It would’ve been nice if there was a constructive conversation that took in everyone’s concerns and points as opposed to a quick reaction.
“We just want a good, viable, close co-education public high school.”
Freshwater Seniors and their families take aim
Freshie Senior parents have organised a fundraiser to help take legal action against the Department (you can donate here) – they are half way to their $20,000 goal.
“If the Department doesn’t reverse their decision, we will be definitely going ahead with legal action,” Sam Williams, a parent at the school told Manly Observer.
“This decision has been really devastating and we’re all trying to band together and hope that in being strong and showing we’re a united front, it’ll show how much we care about what’s going on,” Aysha who is in Year 11 and led the protest told Manly Observer.
“It’s really powerful that, as students, we’re organising this.”
Aysha said she only found out about the decision after she enrolled and is disappointed it will affect her final year of school.
“With the Year 7 and 9s starting next year, it will be really disruptive.”
The comments were made before the decision to delay was announced.
For many students, having the opportunity to enrol in a senior campus was the second chance they desperately needed.
“Coming, here was a fresh start for me,” Ruby, a Year 11 student, explained.
“Honestly, this school, it’s a diamond in the rough and it’s the best thing that has ever happened to me. It just works being a senior school and the whole vibe will change, teachers will leave, it’ll change the whole dynamic of what makes this school so incredible.”
Toby is in Year 10 and had opted to go to Freshie Senior next year.
“I saw this as kind of a fresh start, and I feel ripped off,” he said, speaking of the upcoming change.
“My sister is in Year 12, and she has spoken about how amazing it is. I really wanted to come here but now I’m not so sure.”
Many parents who were at the walkout spoke about the, as they referred to it, flawed consultation process.
“It just works being a senior school and the whole vibe will change, teachers will leave, it’ll change the whole dynamic of what makes this school so incredible.”
“The consultation process was absolutely flawed,” Katrina Sloane said. She has a student in Year 11 at the school.
“The position of the consultation process was around co-educational opportunities. It had nothing to do with expanding this school to include years 7 to 10. The consultation was a complete waste of tax payer money.”
She added the senior campus model is known to work so well that private schools like St Lukes and Stella are developing senior campuses.
Parents reported that Department of Education staff were meauring classrooms at Freshwater Senior Campus prior to the consultations taking place which only added to the parents lack of faith in last year’s consultations.
“I have a daughter in Freshie Senior and a prospective child that might come and I’m a Freshie local and I wasn’t even aware of the consultation process, much less invited to participate in it,” Jonathan Morse told us.
“I’ve emailed Prue Car (Minister for Education and Deputy Premier of NSW) and got the standard letter response. She can’t even bring herself to come here and have a conversation with the locals. I think that’s pretty disgraceful.”
Margot Hazard, another parent, asked why the new Forest High School catchment zone wasn’t expanded.
“Spending money on infrastructure required to expand this school is an expensive solution to a problem that doesn’t exist,” she said.
“Forest High has millions being poured into it and their enrolments are at 50 per cent. Freshie Senior is a beacon of public education and last year, the Department of Education put out a press release saying that it draws students in from private schools. This school should be held up as the jewel in the crown. Why would you dismantle something that people are desperate to get into?”
Former Principal (2007 to 2020), Frank Pikardt, said the school on average receives 800 applications for 325 Year 11 spots (the school has a total of 650 students).
Freshie Senior used to be a full high school and Mr Pikardt was involved in the transition to a Senior campus.
“The Department of Education was trying to find a model that would save public education on the southern end of the Northern Beaches in 2000, so they created the Northern Beaches Secondary College and within that model was Freshwater Senior campus as a unique school,” he explained.
“A lot of people thought it wouldn’t work, but not only did it work, it actually prospered and grew. Kids who didn’t have the greatest time at their previous school, they came here for a second chance and a senior experience.
“From my understanding, preschool and primary parents want it to be a full high school, but they don’t understand how unique and needed this model is and won’t understand until they have a Year 7 or Year 8 kid who needs this model.”
What local primary school parents say
Martin Fry, who has two children enrolled at Curl Curl North, is one of many locals on the other side of the argument. He said he is all for Freshie Senior to be a full high school.
“Our eldest will be in high school in a few years and we started to look into what options we had,” he said.
“We aren’t in a financial position to afford a private school and our only public high school options were single-sex schools, which isn’t what we want for our kids. Education isn’t just about academics, it’s about life and for us, life is co-ed.”
He added he didn’t agree with the senior model.
“Where are you going to send your kid for Years 7 to 10? And then just before they hit the most important part of their schooling years, you’re going to rip them away from their friends and put them in the local high school?” he asked.
While there is the benefit that Freshwater High will be a closer option than the other high schools, Martin said geographical location wasn’t a big deal to him.
“In 2025, we should have access to a public, co-education high school in our school zone,” he said.
Related stories: Northern Beaches primary school catchment changes follow highschool rejig
