Gosford High School

I went to school here during 2020. Make no mistake, no school is perfect... but this school is a unique place in all aspects. For the students who really care, they will discover that teachers do care too. I personally was a student who fell very ill for a long time and despite the pressure in my abnormally ambitious grade, I found teachers who understood me. This is very important, there's enough trouble out there in the world, the school should be a place where a student can understand what lies beyond. Many schools are terrible and aren't worth going to as students can't even spell their own name, however there lies the antithesis where the 'top' schools are too proud and ignorant of what the world really is. Neither of these environments are conducive to success for ultimately what is the biggest test, life. While most schools fit on an end of this spectrum, Gosford is right in the middle.

The classrooms are mainly just rooms. Not much heating or cooling and best off in my time when the temperature used to hit 49 degrees the fans didn't work or were too high to do anything and aircon was a distant fantasy. In melting heat we'd be doing exams and the teachers would get buckets of ice water bottles for us. That's what I mean by they understand. Now a few of the staff have changed but honestly. I often remember back fondly on these times as now after highshcool, the days when I have to pull of 18 hour days of research, I can. I am prepared. It feels like nothing and that is what being prepared is.

The teachers; this is something I've talked about extensively and probably will keep raving about the entire time, because that's the type of treatment they deserve. One example I can give you to sum it all up is an incident in my grade 9 times - my genius friends and I didn't really know what 'entrepreneur' means, but you can sure bet we had that raging through every cell of our body.

We'd get off the train by about 8:30 - 8:40 travelling from Sydney to Gosford station (which is a story for another time) but the first thing that clicked to us in that heat riddled day, is to go to the local mall (which is 10 minutes in the other direction) and load up on cans of soda and juices and haul them from there to school where we can sell them on the grounds as the NSW Education Department had recently taken off all the sugar drinks off the canteen. However, that is what all the kids wanted as the new drink tasted rather artificial. When I say that those drinks sold, they really did SOLD. It became a thing to sell drinks at double market price (like any other café). Of course as the teachers pay attention to everything they noticed the same sugary drinks still at school. It was tracked back to us soon enough and we were called into the office. At the time the Assistant Principal was Mr Bennett (What an amazing guy for real) and he had called us in to ask us questions. Understanding the initiative, he praised us for being business minded - however told us that he trusted us to stop (not mentioning school guidelines) but rather listing the dangers of doing un-registered business and how young people carrying out large amounts of cash can lead to altercations/theft outside of school especially with other kids from other school and possibly adults as well. To conclude, that's the first time we had heard the word 'entrepreneur'. He had less than a 15 minute conversation with us that reshaped the way we think, made us aware of the risk to reward ratio, and how to use rules to our advantage and not the opposite. This level of care and reality is not present at every NSW school. In fact, at most schools they either wouldn't care and someone would've gotten hurt or there would have been reprimands/punishment. Both of these are not conducive for success. The environment was mute and lacking enough to keep us thinking on our toes and being wanting to be ambitious but the care was great enough to keep us safe and ready us for the world.

The canteen; was an absolute delight. I just wish the portions were bigger however thanks to inflation. The scrolls are like addictive or something as they used to be 2 dollars and you can fill yourself up. As soon as the bell goes I'm sure there's still a school wide race to be first in the canteen line.

The playground; was mediocre. I heard they've had some upgrades however I was part of so many different friend groups that I'd just be roaming around the school. From the hardcore handball kids to the lazy gamers playing clash royale every second of the day to the library kids who were trying to study 4 years ahead to the ping pong table championships in the year 12 area to just roaming around the school. So still plenty to do but if you're wanting cutting edge pay areas and a swimming pool then one of them posh private schools would be more your vice.

The kids; this of course changes from time to time as the kids graduate and change but I know for a fact that my grade had set off this trend of accelerated classes with almost half the grade finishing their year 12 in year 11 and some taking another chance to get a better score in their year 12 (yes imagine trying your HSC twice!) We set of this accelerated race which from asking newer students is still happening. A good rule of thumb for new students who don't arrive in year 7 but in the later years where friendship's and groups have already been made is not worry. many of the kids who came later on fit right in. If someone is truly panicking about joining late then a nice thing I observed out in the world that to be accepted anywhere be at least 25% better than the average for any 1 thing and then you yourself will feel like you belong.

So once again. The resources may be a hinderance but the people are great and there is a reason the prestige exists in the first place. It's the perfect place to shape your kids future. A school for the underdogs.

GOAT school. Incredible teachers, facilities, environment, atmosphere, counselling etc. i love it

The school itself has a poor layout, but considering it’s heritage it is understandable. Mostly the environment is good however the leadership construction of the student team is poorly built. The school provides moderate toilet facilities. The teaching and in class aspect is good. Overall could be better.

Ultimately, I believe that Gosford High School isn't all it's shaped up to be. There's a lot of prestige surrounding its name as a result of it being a selective school, however in reality this isn't the case.

1. The school's facilities are poor. There is no air conditioning or heating which means it gets quite cold in winter and very hot in summer. This makes it difficult to concentrate in class sometimes. Furthermore, there are no lockers. We are expected to carry a bag full of books, a laptop, pencil case, and lunch box every day. Thirdly, the facilities that exist aren't well-kept.

2. The level of teaching is mediocre.
The school promotes the idea of teaching advanced material however this isn't quite the case. Whilst we may be taught some things earlier on, we're pretty much on par with other, non-selective public schools. Some teachers are bad at the jobs and after several complaints the school hasn't made an attempt to do something about it. They also assign these sort of teachers to Year 11 and 12s, which is particularly bad because that's when things start to really matter.

3. The results. If you want proof that Gosford High School isn't all it's made out to be, just look at the rankings for the HSC. At an all time low in the 80s, it has performed poorer than Central Coast Grammar School.

In summary, if you have another option such as a scholarship into a private school, I strongly suggest you take it. I had the option and I passed up on it as a result of the deluded idea that this school is among the best on the Central Coast. If you live in Sydney, it is NOT worth it. This school ISN'T anywhere near what a selective school should be like and you will have to spend so much time commuting. Your local highschool will be the better option.

As a selective school I think the environment does provide benefits for those who want a focused environment. My sister goes to a nonselective high school and I recognise that people have different goals and ideas about school. On top of that, for the central coast the school does a great job of preparing you for the hsc compared to other schools. People typically think the work is overwhelming but it depends on your teachers and I think up until year 10 the work is really light and the increase is gradual. It makes it so that years 10,11 and 12 are manageable and quite enjoyable for students. Downside is that it is still a public school so you can’t expect the underpaid teachers to be amazing. If you are looking for babied guided teaching go to a grammar school if your looking for the environment I recommend Gosford.