The NSW Government has floated several ideas to shake up co-educational schooling options for future Northern Beaches high school students.
Chiefly, residents are being asked for feedback on whether Balgowlah Boys should permit girls, Mackellar should permit boys, Freshwater Senior permits all secondary years or Manly Selective becomes, well, less selective for the first few years.
The NSW Department of Education is holding consultations to understand what changes would best suit the Northern Beaches. They ran a first round of consultations with P&C members and parents of the affected schools at the end of Term 2. The second round is about to take off (a list of the consultation meetings is at the end of the article).
“The NSW Department of Education is consulting the Northern Beaches community to understand their preferences on co-educational offerings for years 7 – 12,” a Department of Education spokesperson said.
“The purpose of the consultation is to hear the views of the wider Northern Beaches community, and to determine the best way to deliver strong public education for future generations. The findings will be released and shared with the community.”
As part of their 2023 election campaign, Labor promised all students in NSW would have guaranteed access to a co-educational public high school by 2027. This is a flow on from that commitment.
The Department has four proposals, however, stressed to Manly Observer that, at this stage, no decision has been made.
Proposal A: NBSC Freshwater Senior Campus would move from a Year 11 – 12 Senior campus to a Year 7 – 12 Campus.
Proposal B: NBSC Manly Campus would offer non-selective enrolment in Years 7 – 9 for students from a new local intake area, reducing the number of selective students in older grades. Non-selective students would move to NBSC Freshwater Senior Campus for Years 10 – 12.
Proposal C: Intake area adjustments for NBSC Cromer Campus and The Forest High School, to expand their intake areas to all homes without a guaranteed co-educational option.
Proposal D: NBSC Mackellar Girls Campus and NBSC Balgowlah Boys Campus would become co-educational Year 7 – 12 campuses.
The Department added that they would review and plan for school infrastructure requirements, as needed, and make decisions based upon the need of the individual school. However, they stressed that the consultation is not about building a new school.
These are some pretty big changes, which has already prompted heated discussion in the school and parent communities.
Optimism
A number of parents Manly Observer spoke with who are in single-sex only catchment areas lament the lack of options for the area – particularly in the Curl Curl and Freshwater areas. These parents advocate to have the choice to send their children to a co-educational school, and so advocate for Mackellar Girls and Balgowlah Boys to go co-ed.
Scepticism
Whether to keep Balgowlah Boys and Mackellar Girls single-sex is causing a heated debate amongst parents. Some parents insist that girls and boys learn differently, and these schools accommodate those differences to outstanding results. While others believe single-sex schools are outdated and for these schools to get with the times.
High school parents and Manly Ward Councillor, Sarah Grattan, told Manly Observer that the five schools that make up the NBSC all work well as a sort of ‘combined school’, with the ability to focus on excellence in education for different cohorts. This has also been echoed by parents Manly Observer spoke yo.
“For example, Bally Boys has been able to excel in boys education, while Mackellar does similarly well for girls in academics, sport and dance,” she explained.
“Manly Selective accommodates the needs of our gifted kids, which other schools can find difficult to cater to their needs and the accelerated pace of learning they need, and this format protects them from bullying.
“Freshie Senior campus excels in preparing kids for life after school.”
There also exists a frustration that financial resources should instead be aimed at improving school infrastructure, which is desperately needed as demountables are brought in to accommodate increasing local enrolments.
As a high school parent, Cr Grattan believes all children need to be happy and in a school environment that suits their needs, but argues that the Department shouldn’t mess with something that isn’t broken.
“What is broken is there has been sustained under-investment in our public education system, its facilities, amenities and, most importantly, our teachers,” she said.
“Let’s not mess with our school communities until we’ve got the basics right.”
She highlights the bigger challenge facing Northern Beaches students: getting to and from school. This is an issue that has repeatedly come up as we speak to parents, particularly around the proposal to change catchment areas.
Parents have told us that instead of sending their children to a school within walking distance, they have to send their children to a school which requires the parents to drive them to the nearest bus stop and then for their children to take a 30-minute bus ride (often having to change buses along the way).
There are reports that buses regularly do not stop (an experience shared by most Northern Beaches commuters), being too full to take on any more students, which can prove dangerous for children trying to get home in the early winter darkness when they’ve completed after-school activities.
Parents have repeatedly highlighted infrastructure, or the lack of, to us.
Another concern is selective schools should prioritise being selective to local students. At the moment, out of area students are taking up spots that local students need.
Member for Manly, James Griffin recalls the last time NSW Labor took an interest in education on the Northern Beaches, which resulted in shutting down Beacon Hill High School, selling off Seaforth TAFE and leading Manly-based parents to believe they would be able to send their children to a co-ed Cromer High School (which didn’t eventuate.)
“I welcome the opportunity for teachers and parents to have their say,” Mr Griffin said.
“I do, however, caution the Government to not use this as an opportunity to ‘give with one hand and take away with another’.
“I do, however, caution the Government to not use this as an opportunity to ‘give with one hand and take away with another’. I want my community to have the best available schools. The feedback from principals, teachers and parents must drive these decisions, not a desire to rationalise land or close schools by the Department, which is what we’ve experienced historically. I am watching this consultation very closely.”
Change is coming
A parent who attended the first round of consultations said the Department pointed out that change is definitely coming. While another parent, who also attended the first consultation round, is concerned about the end result. The Department didn’t present the four proposals in the first round, so this “blindside” makes parents anxious to what the Department will come up with once this round of consultations conclude, they said.
Mr Griffin and Cr Grattan urge parents to attend the consultation sessions to ensure their voice and the community is heard by the Department- whatever the view.
“I encourage everyone with an interest in the future of public education on the Northern Beaches to have their say,” Mr Griffin said.
“Make sure you sign up for the meetings and find out what is being proposed for your school and have your say,” Grattan added.
“The danger is we end up with a result that satisfies nobody and we lose the richness of the educational experiences that are available through our current, more specialised model.”
This is a list of the latest consultation workshops at the time of publication. We recommend you visit eventbrite for the most up-to-date list (and to book your spot) or contact northernbeachesconsultation@det.edu.au for further information.
SOLD OUT Consultation Workshop Northern Beaches: Feeder Primary Parents and Carers
Tue, 13 Aug, 6:00 pm AEST
Online
SOLD OUT Consultation Workshop Northern Beaches: Feeder Primary Parents and Carers
Wed, 14 Aug, 6:00 pm
138 Abbott Rd
SOLD OUT Consultation Workshop Northern Beaches: Secondary College Parents and Carers
Mon, 19 Aug, 6:00 pm AEST
Online
Consultation Workshop Northern Beaches: General Public
Tue, 20 Aug, 10:30 am AEST
Online
Consultation Workshop Northern Beaches: Secondary College Parents and Carers
Wed, 21 Aug, 6:45 pm
Northern Beaches Secondary College Manly Campus
Consultation Workshop Northern Beaches: Feeder Primary School staff
Mon, 26 Aug, 3:30 pm AEST
Online
SOLD OUT Consultation Workshop Northern Beaches: Secondary College Parents and Carers
Mon, 26 Aug, 6:00 pm
138 Abbott Rd
Consultation Workshop Northern Beaches: Feeder Primary Parents and Carers
Tue, 27 Aug, 5:00 pm AEST
Online
Consultation Workshop Northern Beaches: Secondary College Parents and Carers
Tue, 27 Aug, 6:45 pm AEST
Online
Consultation Workshop Northern Beaches: Freshwater Senior Campus Staff
Mon, 2 Sept, 3:30 pm
Freshwater Senior Campus
Consultation Workshop Northern Beaches: Mackellar Girls Campus Staff
Tue, 3 Sept, 3:30 pm
Mackellar Girls Campus
Consultation Workshop Northern Beaches: The Forest High School Staff
Wed, 4 Sept, 3:30 pm
109 Frenchs Forest Rd W
Consultation Workshop Northern Beaches: Balgowlah Boys Campus Staff
Mon, 9 Sept, 3:30 pm
Balgowlah Boys Campus
Consultation Workshop Northern Beaches: Cromer Campus Staff
Tue, 10 Sept, 3:30 pm
Northern Beaches Secondary College Cromer Campus
Consultation Workshop Northern Beaches: Feeder Primary Parents and Carers
Mon, 16 Sept, 5:30 pm
Northern Beaches Secondary College Manly Campus
Consultation Workshop Northern Beaches: Manly Campus Staff
Mon, 16 Sept, 3:30 pm
Northern Beaches Secondary College Manly Campus
