The Henry Lawson High School

Location: Grenfell

The Henry Lawson High School is a small rural comprehensive high school of approximately 170 students in central NSW. Our students and school community take great pride in the academic, sporting and school community achievements, especially in music and a range of sports. Our students are polite, friendly, value their learning and the opportunities provided through the school and community.

How has your school used its Gonski funding?

We have targeted raising student expectations for Aboriginal students through developing pathways to increase their engagement and achievement levels. Strong partnerships with parents have developed.

We have used funding to increase students from non-English speaking backgrounds' proficiency with English, particularly with writing.

Funds were used to offset Year 9 students’ access to technology: Transition adviser employed to continue to work with students at risk of becoming disengaged, supporting them with curriculum adjustments, additional tutoring and goal setting and pathways mapping.

School learning support officers were employed to support students with a range of learning needs to implement identified adjustments.

How has Gonski made a positive difference for students?

All students had an individual learning plan in place. All made sound progress across all learning areas and continue to be engaged in learning and school life. They access support through school learning support officers, the transition adviser, the learning support teacher and Norta Norta tutors. Language proficiency was supported through weekly tutorials in written English in preparation for Stage 6 writing demands. Strong progress was achieved. All students in Year 9 had access to a laptop for learning.

Suspension rates were down, attendance rate above state average; All Year 10 and 11 students completed requirements for RoSA. Retention to Year 11 was high – 91%. Students made sound progress, with adjustments supported by the additional support in the classroom.

Across all areas that were tested in NAPLAN, the Year 7 data showed that there was good progress for the students in the lower bands, evidence that the range of adjustments were improving student outcomes.

What could your school do with Gonski funding in the future?

Provide access to opportunities not always available to rural students. Improve the literacy and numeracy results of students. Allow greater access to technology and associated pedagogy for its use in learning. Provide strong professional learning opportunity for staff. Allow greater learning options for student who experience difficulties at school. Provide a diverse and expanded curriculum for rural students. Foster strong relationship with community.

<<< BACK


More Gonski Success Stories

Rooty Hill High School
Rooty Hill High School, a large comprehensive co-educational school in western Sydney, had an enrolment in 2016 of 1,125 students.
Penshurst Public School
Penshurst Public School, in the Georges River area of southern Sydney, has an enrolment of about 440 students from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds.
Eagleby South State School
Eagleby South State School, located halfway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, has an enrolment of approximately 410 students from a range of socio-economic and culturally diverse backgrounds, including Pacifica, European, African and Asian.
Kedron State High School
It has a diverse student population of around 1,100, with a third of the school’s students in the two lowest SES quartiles.
Canley Vale High School
Canley Vale High School, located in Sydney’s south-west, has an enrolment of 1,455 students, drawn from the local community, international students, and new arrivals to Australia.
Colac Primary School
Colac Primary School, located in rural Victoria, has an enrolment of 236 students, most of whom are from low-income backgrounds. Indigenous students comprise 4% of the students, with another 4% comprising students from non-English-speaking backgrounds.
The Rivers Secondary College – Lismore High Campus
Lismore High Campus has an enrolment of 365, of whom 80% are from low-income backgrounds, 20% are Aboriginal, and 7% come from non-English-speaking backgrounds
Mansfield State School
Mansfield SS has a stable enrolment pattern of over 900 students. 20 per cent of its students were born overseas in 44 different countries, many of them coming to Australia from India, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand and the Philippines.
Sarah Redfern High School
Originally built for students from the Minto public housing estate, but since 2005 a Housing NSW Community Renewal Project has brought about significant changes in Minto.
Wadalba Community School
Wadalba Community School, located on the NSW Central Coast, is a comprehensive P-12 school with an enrolment of 1,400 students. 75% of students are from low-income backgrounds, 8% of students are Indigenous, and 7% of students are from non-English-speaking backgrounds.
Emerald State School
Emerald State School has a socially and economically diverse enrolment of around 340 primary students.
Harristown State High School
Harristown State High School, located in Toowoomba Qld, has an enrolment of about 1600 students.