Figtree High School

Figtree High School is a government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school, located on Gibsons Road in Figtree, a suburb of Wollongong, in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia.

Established in 1969, the school enrolled approximately 900 students in 2018, from Year 7 to Year 12, of whom five percent identified as Indigenous Australians and 26 percent were from a language background other than English. The school is operated by the New South Wales Department of Education.

History
Figtree High School was established in 1969, with 242 First Form students enrolling as the first students to attend. The first principal of the school was Ken Brokenshire, with Robert Everitt, the Deputy Principal and nine assistant teachers. Because construction of the school was not finished at the time, students and teachers borrowed furniture from Dapto High School and attended classes in seven portable buildings in the grounds of Dapto High School. Construction finally finished in July 1969, being announced "Australia's most modern high school" by the local newspaper, and students re-located back to their new building in Gibsons Road. Of the original 242 students enrolled in 1969, 87 elected to enter the Senior School and completed their Higher School Certificate in 1974.

The school was built in close proximity to the famous, historic fig tree that the suburb was named after, and this tree was adopted as the school emblem. But in 1987, after a significant storm, the tree was terminally damaged and was removed as a safety precaution. Students referred to the school as "Figstump High" for this time. After much discussion, a new fig tree was planted on the site of the original tree in 1997.

Staff
The current principal of Figtree High School is Daniel Ovens. There are 52 classroom teachers and a total of approximately 100 staff members including behaviour teachers, physical disability teachers and school assistants.

Music, dance and drama
Figtree High School has put on a number of musical productions including the 2008 production of "The Course of True Love", written by a teacher at the school and the 2010 production of "Grease: The Musical".

Notable alumni

 * Jan Barhampolitician; former MLC – Greens Member NSW Legislative Council
 * Stephen Blackformer NBL basketball player
 * David Farmeradministrator; former General Manager Wollongong City Council, now CEO Ipswich City Council
 * Brian Hetheringtonformer rugby league footballer, state representative
 * Garry Jackformer rugby league footballer, national representative
 * Phil Jaquesformer Australian cricketer
 * Wendy Laidlawbasketball player; represented Australia at the 1984 Olympics and the 1983 World Championships
 * Ashley Paskeformer actor in Neighbours now voiceover professional
 * Steve Roachformer professional rugby league footballer, national representative
 * Jason Rylesformer rugby league footballer, national representative
 * Carolyn Watsonconductor
 * Zac Lomax – rugby league footballer