Fremont-Elizabeth City High School

Infobox Aust school
name = Fremont-Elizabeth City High School


motto =
established = 1995
type = Public
principal = Peta Kourbelis
city = Adelaide
state = South Australia
country = Australia
campus= Urban
enrollment = 940+
colours = Navy blue, maroon
homepage = [http://www.fechshs.sa.edu.au/ www.fechshs.sa.edu.au]

Fremont-Elizabeth City High School is a high school in Elizabeth a northern suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, the result of amalgamating the original three secondary schools in Elizabeth.

It offers general secondary education with elite programs in music, it is one of four Special Interest Music Centres, with those at the then "Fremont High School" set up in 1978, Brighton Secondary School and Marryatville High Schools set up 1976 and Woodville High School in 1977 and covering four distinct geographical areas of Adelaide. It is also one of thirteen Engineering Pathways Schools in South Australia.

Entry to the music program is highly competitive and by audition or try out.

It offers Aboriginal Studies 8-12 with support provided for all Indigenous Australian students. It works closely with Kaurna Plains Aboriginal School (R-12) with a joint program called "Tapparla Tarkarianna" (meaning "two paths to our future" in the Kaurna language).

History

Elizabeth Girls Technical High School

The Elizabeth Girls Technical High School was established in Elizabeth East around 1960, providing for students beyond year 7, at a time when the minimum school leaving age was 14. It was renamed Playford High School around 1976, the school changed from a girls only to a co-ed school in 1978 and then amalgamated with Elizabeth High School in 1988, after which the Elizabeth East site was decommissioned.

The name "Playford" was in recognition of Sir Thomas Playford, the state premier whose government established Elizabeth, a reference seen today in the name of the council area formed by amalgamating Elizabeth and Munno Para.

Elizabeth Boys Technical High School

The Elizabeth Boys Technical High School was established in Elizabeth Park in 1960, providing for students beyond year 7. It was renamed Fremont High School after 1975, the school changed from a boys only to a co-ed school in 1978 and then amalgamated with Elizabeth City High School in 1995, the Elizabeth Park site was decommissioned in 1996.

The name "Fremont" was taken from Elizabeth's sister city in California, a reference seen today in the name of Fremont Park, between Elizabeth Park and Elizabeth East.

Elizabeth High School

Elizabeth High School was established at the Philip Highway site in Elizabeth in 1961, providing general education for students beyond year 7, and preparation for entry to tertiary education. With the growth of the suburbs, enrolment rapidly outgrew the buildings in the north-eastern corner of the site, and by the mid-1960s over half the school was housed in "temporary" buildings extending west. A third wing was added to the "permanent" buildings and enrolment continued to grow to over 2000 students in the latter half of the decade. Enrolment eventually declined with the maturing population of the city and the establishment of another high school in Elizabeth West nearer the developing suburbs that had extended northwards into Munno Para.

In 1988 amalgamation with Playford High School formed Elizabeth City High School, and the schools were combined at the Philip Highway site.

In 1995 amalgamation with Fremont High School formed Fremont-Elizabeth City High School, and again the schools were combined at the Philip Highway site.

External links

* [http://www.fechshs.sa.edu.au Fremont-Elizabeth City High School]
* [http://www.aboriginaleducation.nexus.edu.au/6_school_kaurna.html Kaurna Plains Aboriginal School]
* [http://www.decs.sa.gov.au/futuresconnect/pages/default/EngineeringPathways/ Engineering Pathways] a VET program in South Australian schools