Merewether High School
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Merewether High School

Merewether High School (abbreviated as MHS) is a government-funded co-educational academically selective secondary day school, located in the suburb of Broadmeadow in the city of Newcastle, Australia. It was established in 1977 following the merger of Newcastle Technical High School and Cooks Hill Girls High School. The school is named in honour of Edward Merewether, a prominent businessman and civil servant in the Colony of New South Wales who later became the Superintendent of the Australian Agricultural Company in Newcastle.

The school enrolled approximately 1,070 students in 2020, from Year 7 to Year 12, of whom two percent identified as Indigenous Australians and 25 percent were from a language background other than English. The school caters for students from a wide area within the Greater Hunter Region. The school is operated by the NSW Department of Education; the principal is Rochelle Dooley.

Merewether High students have consistently achieved some of the highest results in the Higher School Certificate, outperforming other schools in the Greater Hunter Region[citation needed], with many students achieving state rankings in select courses.

The suburb of Merewether is named after Edward Merewether, who began his working life in Australia as aide-de-camp to three Governors of New South Wales between 1842 and 1861. He was appointed Superintendent of the Australian Agricultural Company in Newcastle in 1861 and became a significant landowner and local benefactor. The school's E.C. Merewether Award for Creative Endeavour and the shield, which adorns the school's front foyer, were inaugurated in honour of Merewether.[citation needed]

From 1952 until 1976, the site, enclosed by School Street, Awaba Street, Chatham Street, Pokolbin Street and Melville Road, was occupied by Newcastle Technical High School. The school included an industrial arts block (now the covered outdoor learning area (COLA)), K Block (the library), two bike sheds (since removed) and a canteen (since pulled down and a new canteen built in its place). L Block was added in the 1960s.[citation needed]

The school merged with Cooks Hill Girls High School in 1976 to form a comprehensive co-educational high school, which drew students from the suburbs of Carrington, Wickham, Hamilton and Merewether. A building programme commenced just before the merger, with new blocks (A–D) being constructed, and blocks F–G being added later. The final principals of both schools are memorialised in the naming of the Bensley Hall and the Foley Library on the present campus.[citation needed]

Since 1989, enrolment is determined by an academic selection process. The school has a planned capacity of 1,080 students (180 from each year from 7–12). It first reached its enrolment capacity across all years in 2005.[citation needed]

Many buildings sustained severe damage in the 1989 earthquake, but were repaired thereafter. Another more recent event that affected the school was the floods of June 2007, which toppled trees and required the replacement of carpets in some blocks' lower floors, including K Block and the Foley Library.[citation needed]

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