Principal's Message 

Start of year

2026 is off and running! We had a very busy start to the year with swimming sports on February 5 proving a great success. Parent information sessions for most year levels have also been conducted and well-attended. It’s great to see the interest of parents in wanting to help their children make the best possible start to the year. A working group that convened in Term 4 last year to help develop improved practices for the management of bullying and anti-social behaviour was also able to meet to continue this important work. The group considered survey responses from a number of parents and students provided last year, and has started to formulate new guidance that tries to take account of these submissions. I am confident that we will have improved practices for supporting students who have been bullied in the next month or so and that these will be well-received by the school community.

New Progress Reports

The school has undertaken a review of the progress reporting used in recent years and has developed a new model for use at Years 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12 in 2026. The first report in this format will be provided to families in Week 8 of this term. It includes attendance, along with measures of academic progress and engagement. Organisational and “Respectful Relationships” capabilities are also included. Finally, teacher recommendations regarding Parent/Teacher conferences are included for the first time, providing families with the opportunity to book interviews on this basis. Year 9 will continue to refine the continuous reporting model that was introduced last year and proved popular with students and parents.

New semester reports are currently being developed for Year 7 students for Semester 1, this new format will also be rolled-out to other year levels for the Semester 2 reporting cycle.

Lateness to class and school 

The school’s approach to managing compliance with rules relating to the use of technology in classrooms has been a great success, with staff reporting much more focussed classrooms with fewer distractions. While it is still early days, I am confident that with a consistent application of the new processes, a permanent and positive change to our classroom culture will result.

The next challenge for the school is the management of lateness to class and school. Lateness to class is a problem for some students and will be the focus of teacher and year level coordinator attention over the remainder of Term 1. There is little excuse for students to be late to periods 2 to 6 given that they have generally already arrived at school before these periods begin. Coordinators will be notifying students when they have been late more than once in the week, and detentions will be used to encourage students to be on time.

Lateness to school in the morning can be very frustrating for teachers and on-time students, as these instances are often by more than just a few minutes. As a VCE teacher, I found it frustrating to have seven students late by between 3 and 23 minutes in one of my recent classes! The school has been under a strict local enrolment policy for many years now, and so it is fair to assume that the vast majority of our students live within the University High School enrolment zone. This should lead to relatively short commutes and little excuse for being late to school. While the occasional unanticipated public transport or traffic delay can catch anyone off-guard, I would ask that families and students plan to arrive at school with enough time to ensure a missed tram does not lead to being late to school. I would recommend that all students plan to be at school by 8.25 am. This will usually provide for enough of a safety buffer and ensure students have visited their lockers with plenty of time to prepare for the first class of the day. Similar processes for the management of this lateness will be a priority for coordinators in the coming weeks.

VCE Study Hall

The VCE study hall has opened with great success. Students are attending faithfully and working very productively. New air conditioning, carpeting and furniture were installed over the summer, and a second round of improvements will be undertaken in the Term 1 break. This resource has already proven invaluable for coordinating more than 350 Year 12 student enrolments, supporting students with SAC preparation, and setting an academically aspirational tone for students this year.

School review findings and preliminary Strategic Plan development

In mid-December last year the school undertook its 4-yearly School Review. The findings of this review have informed the development of the draft 2026 – 2029 Strategic Plan goals which are currently being expanded into a series of yearly action plans. A draft of the 2026 Annual Implementation Plan will be available for community consultation in late Term 1 or early Term 2.

Vale Professor Emma Johnston AO

The entire school community was saddened to hear about the passing of Professor Emma Johnston – Vice Chancellor of the University of Melbourne and a University High School alumni. The thoughts of the whole school community are with her husband Sam Maresh and son Antonin who is currently a Year 12 student at University High.

Emma was an active and engaged student and highly successful during her time studying at Uni High. Her name on the honour boards as dux was only part of her enduring connection with the school. She was also active in politics and can claim to have been a central influence on the decision to place the Melbourne Hospital carpark under the school sports fields, thus saving what has become a crucial piece of open space for students to enjoy.

Her professional success as an academic and someone who cared deeply for the world was central to the school’s decision to name a house after her. We are proud that our students continue to get to represent Johnston House and know that Emma’s words still resonate with our community today:

‘University High School supported my learning in all forms and encouraged my spirit of inquiry. I was busy, joyful and inspired.’

We hope that many more students go on to be busy, joyful and inspired at our school.