Principal's Message
Welcome to the Willoughby GHS website.
If I had to choose one expression to describe our school it would be “high standards for girls”.
What girls need more than anything else to succeed is to be simultaneously challenged and supported.
At WGHS we strive to develop the best in each girl, to draw out her talents and interests, and to support and guide her in all areas of her schooling, so that she is well placed to pursue her career options, and to live a happy and productive life.
In an all girls’ setting, we offer your daughter unique opportunities to help meet her needs and aspirations.
Research demonstrates that girls in single sex schools generally possess higher levels of self-esteem, develop a greater sense of their potential, make wider career choices and perform better overall on academic measures.
One of our most successful academic initiatives has been the extension class program, which caters for the intellectual needs of gifted and talented students. Highly regarded, the program has been officially recognised as a state exemplar in that it provides the advantages of a selective education within a comprehensive school setting.
In external examinations, such as the HSC, the school has an excellent track record, reflected in gaining the highest ‘value-added’ results in the area. Year 12 graduates are routinely placed in the state, many figure in the distinguished achievers’ list and 30% or more attain a university admission index of 90 or more. Regardless of the starting poinst of our students, the school succeeds in improving performance across the board relative to other schools.
With the interests of all students in mind, the school offers a broad curriculum, with more than 40 courses in the junior and senior years, as well as a rich array of over 80 extracurricular programs, including competitions and awards in all subject areas, exhibitions in visual arts and design and technology, music and drama ensembles and performances, debating and sporting teams, and activity and study camps.
The school’s culture promotes values essential for living in a caring, civil and just society, values such as cooperation, integrity, responsibility and respect for others. We foster in students a capacity for independent, life-long learning and provide opportunities and guidance for students to develop into good citizens and capable leaders.
An effective support system, responsive to student and parent needs, along with clear discipline policies and a defined uniform code, creates a safe, fair and well-ordered school setting. The school has a purposeful but friendly feel with students from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds learning together and supporting each other.
Major refurbishments have been carried out in recent years creating excellent facilities, within solid, traditional buildings, and pleasant landscaped grounds.
Over the last decade or so, the population has near doubled to now number 900 students, testimony to the school’s high standing in the general community.
Ms Suzette Young
PRINCIPAL
