Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Childcare) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wanted to inform the House of two very significant events that happened in May in my electorate. Two public schools in my electorate celebrated their 150th anniversaries: Cleveland Street Intensive English High School and Paddington Public School. Reaching this kind of milestone is a very important event in Australia’s educational history and is of course very rare. Both Cleveland Street high school and Paddington model school were established on their original sites on 5 May 1856.

I was fortunate to be invited to celebrate with Cleveland Street Intensive English High School when they had a reunion, an open day and a number of other events over a wonderful weekend recently. The school started off as a model school with 215 students and has seen in its years very many changes and very many famous faces pass through. The students who are now attending the school are all newly arrived non-English-speaking background students of high school age. They come from many different countries and bring with them a diversity of languages, customs and beliefs.

Since 1977 more than 10,000 students have passed through the doors, representing more than 100 different countries. They usually spend between three and 12 months at the school and then transfer to other government high schools in order to complete their high school studies, go to TAFE or go directly into the workforce. The school provides an education to a unique group of students—newly arrived permanent refugees, long-term temporary residents and international students. It is known not only for the fine quality of its education but also for its innovative welfare and transition programs for students providing not just an education but also the support that these young people need to settle into the community.

The school has marvellous architecture as well, and much work has been done recently by the New South Wales Department of Commerce to restore the fabulous buildings there. In fact, there is raked theatre style seating in one of the very old classrooms that would have held probably 100 students at a time when educational styles were quite different to now.

Paddington Public School is a primary school that was established in 1856 as the Paddington model school providing an educational program for girls and boys. The school’s first building was an iron house that was built and shipped from England and designed to hold 200 students. At one stage in 1892 the school held 1,400 students on a very small inner-city site. In 1963 it became a public school called Paddington Public School providing primary education to local students. I am so pleased to be able to congratulate these schools on their sesquicentenary. (Time expired)