Principals Report

Every student tells their own story: when looking back at their time in school, it looks like it always made perfect sense with a perfectly formed beginning, middle and end. The reality is somewhat different with false starts, uncertainties, doubts and misdirection telling the true tale. As parents, carers and educators, we see in real time each student’s story unravelling and it often feels that all we can do is stand beside them and hope for the best.

But that’s not all we do, is it?

We support and respond; pick up, dust down and push them back into the fight. We lay awake at night worrying and planning for their next step hoping that it is one that takes them in the right direction and closer to their dreams and aspirations. If we allow ourselves to remember, we will agree with most young people that the teenage years are tough and that the transition from wanting to fit in, to needing to be accepted for who we are, is one of the most testing challenges that we face.

Today, as I write this final newsletter of the year, we celebrate the achievements of our Class of 2024 as their final results are announced. When reading through their destinations, courses, apprenticeships and big plans for the future, it is hard not to be amazed at the exciting possibilities that they now stand at the edge of. 

But this is looking at the end of the story at the expense of reflecting on what each has been through to get to this place. There have been days when they’ve turned up when they thought that they couldn’t. There will have been nights of worrying that the future wouldn’t pan out in the way that they wished. Even today, for some, there may be setbacks that feel like they signal the end of something when, in fact, they signal a change in direction and an opportunity to re-set and reevaluate.

We could not be prouder of our graduating class - not for the numbers or grades they have achieved, but for the people they have become and their willingness to be the authors of their own story, a story that has only just begun. This is the last farewell to them as we have reached the point when they finally move on with the hope that they will return to share the next chapters of their lives. On behalf of the Ballarat High School community, I would like to thank the families, friends and staff members who have supported them along their time at Ballarat High School and wish them well in whatever comes next.

And as one chapter ends, another begins… welcome to the Class of 2030 who joined us this week for our Year 6 Orientation Day. With estimated numbers for next year’s Year 7 around 270, we have a very big year group! For us, the most important thing is that we get to know our students and that they feel that they have the support and advocacy of the staff from day one. We want our families to know that we will stand beside them, every step of the way, many who will also be starting their journey at BHS. 

We recognise the challenges that some of our students face- with their new year group being bigger than many primary schools- so we are doing everything we can to innovate and establish that deep connection and sense of belonging that is so important when students transition to high school. To do that, we have restructured leadership and teaching positions; spoken to primary schools about the routines and rituals that help keep things predictable and safe for students; and we have relocated students to the Arch Learning Centre so that they have a place that they can feel anchored to. We know that all this matters and that, if every child experiences a great start to life at our school, then more will stand at the end of Year 12, pointing in the direction of their choice and ready to write the story that they want to tell.

It is exciting times ahead for our school and I would like to thank the whole of our community for their support across 2024 and opportunity to lead Ballarat High School. I know how fortunate I am to work in a school with the teaching expertise that we have, the dedication that exists within our Educational Support team and the care and compassion shown by all staff towards our students. The high standards we hold for our students we hold for ourselves, and we know that, together, we can keep getting better at what we do. And though, like every story, there will be challenges to overcome, by facing them together we can make Ballarat High School the best that we can be.

I hope you all have a safe and restful holidays and look forward to going again in 2025. 

Stephan Fields

Principal