Blaxland High School

Blaxland High School
Location
Blaxland , New South Wales Australia
Coordinates	33°45′18″S 150°36′36″E
Information
School type	Government-operated comprehensive secondary school
Motto	A School of Excellence, Opportunity and Success
Established	1977
School district	Regional North
Educational authority	NSW Department of Education
Principal	Emma Le Marquand
Teaching staff	74.3 FTE (2023)[1]
Years	7–12
Enrolment	981[1] (2023)
Campus type	Suburban
Colour(s)	Blue, white and red
Website	blaxland-h.schools.nsw.gov.au

Blaxland High School is a government-operated comprehensive secondary school located in Blaxland, a suburb in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia.

Established in 1977, the school enrolled approximately 1,000 students in 2018, from Year 7 to Year 12, of whom four percent identified as Indigenous Australians and eleven percent were from a language background other than English.^[1] The school is operated by the NSW Department of Education.^[2]

Sexual assault case

In 2019 a Music teacher, David Leishman was found guilty of sexually touching another person. At the time, the pupil was 15 years old.^[3] Leishman was sentenced to 12 months in prison in April at Penrith District Court on the touching charges, with a nine-month non-parole period. On the kissing accusation, he was sentenced to 13 months in prison with a nine-month non-parole period.^[4]

Chemical spill incident

In February 2019, the school was evacuated after a hazardous chemical spill that occurred in the Science Lab store room.^[5] Calcium Carbide powder is highly explosive if contacted with water, resulting in the school being evacuated as a precaution by the St Mary's Fire and Rescue NSW team who responded to the incident. There were no injuries to teachers or students.

Cars for Refugees

In 2018, Shaun Halden's Industrial Arts class set out on a project to rebuild cars that were donated to the school that would then be donated to refugee families.^[6] Halden was introduced to the project by the Blue Mountains Refugee Support Group, which was hoping to find cars for refugees in need, and Halden set to get his students involved.

Notable alumni

• Jessica Fox – Bronze Medal Winner 2016 Summer Olympics, Silver Medal Winner 2012 Summer Olympics,^[7] Gold Medal Winner 2020 Summer Olympics and 2024 Summer Olympics
• Noemie Fox – Bronze Medal Winner – Under 23 Canoe Slalom World Championships,^[8] Gold Medal Winner 2024 Summer Olympics
• Amanda Reid – NAIDOC Sportsperson of the Year, two-time Paralympian and silver medalist^[9]
• Peter Wallace – professional rugby league footballer^[10]
• Adam Giles – former Chief Minister of the Northern Territory (2013–2016)^[11]
• Jordan Silk – Cricketer who is captain of the Tasmanian Tigers Sheffield Shield team, and number 5 batsman for the Sydney Sixers T20 team.
• Melissa McIntosh – Australian Liberal Party politician^[12]

References

1. "School Profile".
2. "Blaxland High School". Blue Mountains Australia. Stralia Web. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
3. Palin, Megan (13 November 2019). "Police accuse Sydney high school teacher of sexually assaulting student". News.com.au.
4. "Teacher jailed". Blue Mountains Gazette. 5 July 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
5. Cunningham, Ilsa (18 February 2019). "Blaxland High School evacuated after chemical spill". Blue Mountains Gazette. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
6. Josh, Butler. "This Aussie School is Giving Cars To Refugees". 10Daily. Network Ten. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
7. Nageshwar, Pranesh. "High excitement as Jessica Fox goes back to school with Olympic medals". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
8. "Noemie Fox finds her form at Under 23 Canoe Slalom World Championships". Blue Mountains Gazette. 23 July 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
9. "Top honour for former Blaxland athlete Amanda Reid". Blue Mountains Gazette. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
10. "Retiring Panthers captain Peter Wallace as tough as they come". Blue Mountains Gazette. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
11. Lewis, B. C. (19 June 2013). ""Adam Giles' journey from Blaxland High to running the Northern Territory"". Blue Mountains Gazette. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
12. Rolfe, John (16 August 2024). "Sydney Power 100: Where the city's most powerful people went to school". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 August 2024.