My High School Life

The photos on this page are from my senior years at Burwood Girls High School but it wasn't always smooth sailing in my teen years.

Leaving the security of Primary School was terrifying. I lived on the border of two High Schools and I was sent to Burwood Domestic Science High School while all my friends went to Strathfield Girls High School. Try as they might, my parents could not defeat the Education Department even back then. I was placed in 1A with all the smart kids and revelled in the competitive atmosphere.

Thankfully in that first year they also changed the name of the school to Burwood Girls High School and changed the curriculum as it was the first year of the Wyndham Scheme making the high school year to six instead of five. I would be the first to do a School Certificate and HSC in six year.

I was quite popular due to the fact that I was a good athlete and swimmer which was important in those day. I grew tolove the PE department and revelled in gymnastics and any sports that were available. I did unusual activities to ice skating and fencing for sport and loved every minute of it. I excelled at gymnastics and loved using the horse until just 6 weeks before my school certificate exam I dislocated both elbows at once when a long fly over the horse went horribly wrong. I had to have a scribe to do my S.C.

The teachers I most remember were

Mrs Eddlestone - a teacher who taught me to think in Mathematics.

Madame Woods - my wonderful French teacher for 6 years... she had the most beautiful nails and wore white gloves when she used chalk on the blackboard.

Ruth Fuller

Lynne Harlow

Eleanor Berry

Kathleen Rushton

Louise Boreham

Margaret Simpson

Marian

Morris

Wendy Wotherspoon

Laurel Anderson

Lynne Chilcott

Jayne Azzopardi??

Marian

Morris

Suzanne Lee

Marian

Morris

Mr Barry - my Fourth Form Science teacher who was so bad that we nerdy kids in 4A took a chapter each of The Blue Book Home and summarised it, making four carbon copies for us to learn the info for our School Certificate. (Baby boomers will all remember the “Blue Book” – the high school science bible of the 60s and 70s. Its creator, Professor Harry Messel, was determined to inspire young people to love science..... and he did!)

As I said, SPORT was a big part of my High School life. I regularly represented the school in Swimming and Athletics, getting to State in both. I played Softbal and Hockey for the school in the city each Saturday morning for a number of years and I made the regional softball team in 4th Form (Year 10). I became Kurrajong House Captain in 5th Form and again in 6th form. It was with great pride that I received the inaugural award called the Gay Thomas Memorial Trophy for Effort and Enthusiasm in the Field of Sport. Gay and I went to school and church together as well as sometimes training together at Cabarita Pool. Gay sadly died at the pool from a brain aneurism and her family created the award in the year when she would have graduated.

I followed my home rooms in the A classes (there were 7 graded classes in our year) to 4th Form where I was one of the few to gain 6 A Levels in my School Certificate. I did Advanced English, Advanced Maths, Advanced French, Advanced German, Advanced Science and Advanced History.

My parents rarely argued but I caused the exception to this rule. I grew up in an era where people believed that women should leave school, get married, have a family and look after the house and her husband. So Mum wanted me to leave school after Fourth Form and work in retail. Many night discussions occurred and when I came home and said I was a House Captain and Prefect for Fifth Form, Mum exploded. After that everything was quiet. I thought I capitulated I left school and got a job at AMP at Circular Quay. One night towards the end of the January school holidays, my Dad had a private conversation with me. He had been to my school last year and told them I would be returning for 5th and 6th Form. I was told I now had to speak to Mum about how much I hated working in an office and ask her if I could go back to school. I don't know how much groundwork my dad did with Mum, but she quietly agreed to the return and this was never spoken about again till now. I know that Dad was especially proud that I was the first girl in either family to go on to senior education. I was the ground breaker in my family.

In about 4th Form I discovered Scripture Union which was a group of Christians who met each Tuesday during lunch to discuss all things spiritual. This is where I first learnt about Daily Bread, a daily Bible Reading Program, as well as attending a few camps and beach missions with my friend Kathleen Rushton.

Bullying was around even when I went to school in the sixties. I still clearly remember the incident when I was in first year... a big slovenly, blonde hair tart of a girl pushed me up against the wire fence around the underground canteen and asked for money. Thankfully a teacher was close-by and nothing eventuated.... but I still remember!!!

In my senior years I did First Level French and Second Level German, English, Indonesian, Maths and Science. A whole group of us "nerds" decided to do Bahasa Indonesia because the teacher knew a lot of Indonesian uni students. WE had regular meets with them, learning songs, going to indonesian restaurants in the city... all in the name of learning the culture.

Fitting study and learning into High School was fine but I know now why I can multi-task so well. In our senior year I was a prefect and was an organiser for all things good in 6th Form... Our Muck-up Day was a blast... the Prefects ran a sausage sizzle on the verandah of the 6th Form Study Room. Money was raised for the Red Cross and sent away. This all began at 7.00am in the morning and when Mr Hall arrived at school we had 50 blown up balloons ready to pack into his car.... in those days no-one locked their cars. Lots of pranks even at the daily school assembly where we prefects took over and pretended we were the principal, Mrs Krippner.

By my senior years, I was very sure I wanted to be a primary school teacher. My years in High School had taught me not to go there although I seriously thought about applying for PE high school teaching but you had to teach English and another subject as well so that was out of the question. Primary teaching was a two year college course in thos days and that sounded good to me!