James Ruse Agricultural High School

James Ruse Agricultural High School (colloquially known as Ruse or JR) is a government-funded co-educational academically selective and specialist secondary day school, located in the Sydney suburb of Carlingford, New South Wales, Australia, long known for being the highest academically ranked high school in Australia. The school is also one of four New South Wales Government agricultural high schools.

The school is especially noted for its consistent academic excellence, having ranked 1st out of all New South Wales high schools in the Higher School Certificate for 32 consecutive years from 1991 to 2022, as well as 1st in the national government NAPLAN tests across Australia since their establishment. Although they ranked 2nd in the HSC in 2023, they continue to rank 1st nationally in the NAPLAN.

There are approximately 835 students enrolled at James Ruse in Year 7 through to Year 12. James Ruse is an academically selective high school; admission to James Ruse in Year 7 is only through the Selective High Schools Test, which is open to all Year 6 NSW students. A small number of students from other high schools are accepted in Year 9, 10 and 11, through application made directly to the school. In 2019, approximately 97% of the student population came from a language background other than English.

History
In 1949 the main part of the school grounds was purchased by the NSW Government for the purpose of agricultural education. The school that commenced on this site in 1956 was an annexe of Carlingford District Rural School with Charles Mullavey as the Master in Charge. At that time the school consisted of a wooden, five-room classroom block, a small staff-room and ablution facilities. By the start of 1958 the school was independent of Carlingford District Rural School and was called the "Carlingford Junior Agricultural High School" (reflecting that students could only undertake the first three years of secondary education at the school).

In 1959 the name of the school was changed to "Carlingford Agricultural High School" (to reflect its new full high school status – although there were no actual Fourth and Fifth Year classes at that time). The first Headmaster, James C. Hoskin, and his Deputy Headmaster, Charles Mullavey, commenced duties at the start of that year and in April, the name of the school changed again - this time to "James Ruse Agricultural High School".

When James Hoskin was studying Agriculture at University, he had become interested in James Ruse due to his significance in the early development of agriculture in Australia, and also because "both Ruse and I [Hoskin] are of Cornish extraction". Hoskin questioned the name of the school (Carlingford Agricultural High School) as the school was not serving just the Carlingford area. In April 1959, Hoskin put forward a proposal to the NSW Department of Education outlining two new names for the school: Sydney Agricultural High School and Ruse Agricultural High School; eventually, the Department agreed to a modification of the latter. The school was named to honour prominent late farmer James Ruse.

Hoskin soon became synonymous with the school, as he served as headmaster until his retirement aged 65 in 1978. During this time, the school became established as one of the few public schools that were selective; initially because of its agricultural speciality, then for its reputation as a quality school. For his efforts, Hoskin was awarded the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977 and the Order of Australia for Services to Education in 1990.

The first group of students to complete the full five years of secondary education at the new high school sat for the Leaving Certificate in 1961. Most of these boys were part of the initial enrolment of 1st Year pupils at the Felton Rd. site, in 1957. James Ruse AHS was originally a boys only school, but gradually became co-educational after an initial intake of 24 female students into Year 11 in 1977.

Since the mid-1990s, James Ruse has undergone an extensive building works program funded by both parents of students and the State and Federal Governments. 1997 saw the completion of Stage 1 of this program (encompassing a new Library block and English classrooms which replaced the old Anderson building, a new block containing Art and HSIE classrooms, the integration of the existing Powe block and the former library into a science block, and the installation of an elevator in the Perrau block to improve wheelchair accessibility).

In 2000, Stage 2 of the program began with the first building (a 180-seat lecture theatre) completed in early 2001. The Schofield block became part of the program in 2002 after the building was damaged by fires. During the next two years the old Technology Block and the Francis block were demolished due to a white ant infestation, with both blocks being rebuilt and refurnished in 2004. The final stage of the works were underway at the time of the departure of Principal Michael Quinlan, who retired in 2006 after having been Principal since 1992. These developments (including a new music block) continued with the guidance of the new principal, Larissa Treskin.

In early 2020, the Powe Science block opened after extensive renovations.

Principals
The following individuals have served as Principal of James Ruse Agricultural High School:

Academic results
James Ruse Agricultural High School is noted for its outstanding academic achievements as well as a near perfect record of all students gaining university admission, with many JR alumni forging prominent careers in science, engineering, medicine, law, commerce, and academia.

James Ruse Agricultural High School has ranked 1st in the national government NAPLAN tests across Australia every year since their establishment. The school had also outperformed every high school in New South Wales for the past 27 years in public university entrance exams, known in the state as the Higher School Certificate, with a median Universities Admission Index (UAI) of 99.55 in 2004, and 99.20 in 2005 and 2006. In 2023, James Ruse Agricultural High School ranked 2nd in the HSC.

Extracurricular activities
James Ruse Agricultural High School can be noted for its strong participation in extracurricular and competitive activities, as listed below. In addition, the school has a high level of participation in volunteering and fundraising activities, including World's Greatest Shave and the 40 Hour Famine, and is closely linked with Interact and Amnesty International. Many students have received awards for outstanding participation in community service.

Sport
The school also holds annual sporting carnivals, including the Swimming, Cross-Country and Athletics Carnivals, where students can compete for participation in wider regional competitions, from Zone and Area carnivals to the CHS (Combined High Schools) competition for the top school teams and competitors in NSW. James Ruse participates in a variety of tournaments and competitions with schools in surrounding areas. These include the following activities. There are also many competitive sporting teams, where students compete against other schools in the area, state, or country. Some teams have had the opportunity to compete against sporting teams from overseas.
 * Quad-School Tournament; initiated in 2011, in which the school competes against Baulkham Hills High School, Girraween High School, and as of 2013, Penrith High School in touch football, soccer, basketball, and volleyball over the course of one day.
 * Year 7 Gala Day; against Cumberland High School
 * Year 8 Farmers' Cup; against Muirfield High School
 * Zone, Regional, or State Representative Teams
 * Knockout Regional Teams (Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, Netball, Soccer, Table Tennis, Touch Football, Tennis, Volleyball)
 * Summer Grade Sport
 * Winter Grade Sport
 * Regional Championship Sports
 * Davidson Shield Cricket Team
 * CHS Pentathlon
 * Australian International Junior Circuit (ITTF) Table Tennis Team

James Ruse Agricultural High School Army Cadet Unit (JRAHSACU)
The cadet unit at Ruse was established in 1961, and is the largest extra-curricular activity offered at the school. With close to a third of the students in the school participating, JRAHSACU is one of the largest public school based units in Australia. The unit conducts a weekend bivouac every term that often involves hiking interspersed with lesson on fieldcraft, radio telecommunications and first aid. Each year, the unit conducts its week-long Annual Adventurous Activity at an exotic location within Australia or occasionally New Zealand. Colloquially known as “Annual”, the exercise involves multiple days of strenuous hiking. Previous locations include the Cape to Cape Walk, Mt Kosciusko, Kangaroo Island, Coffs Harbour and Bogong Plains.

During home parades, the unit conducts lessons within specialist courses developed by the Training Officer and Cell. Cadets are organised in platoons according to the course they are completing. Theory lessons are taught by section commanders or the platoon sergeant whilst drill lessons are taught by company sergeant majors. In the unit's independently designed specialist training program, cadets become proficient in:


 * Army drill, dress, and bearing
 * Fieldcraft
 * First aid
 * Leadership in the field
 * Navigation
 * RATEL (radio telecommunications)
 * Survival
 * Special Operations
 * Physical training
 * Robotics
 * Engineering

The unit is a part of the 94th Battalion of the NSW 2nd AAC Brigade, and consists of four companies (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta), with typically three platoons each. Each platoon is led by a platoon sergeant and consists of around three sections under the command of a section commander and a second in command. The current strength of the unit is around 300. The senior leadership group of the unit is known as Senior Command and consists of 7 senior cadets, 6 of whom wear the rank of Cadet Under Officer (CUO), and one Cadet Regimental Sergeant Major who wears the rank of Cadet Warrant Officer Class 1 (CDTWO1). Senior Command also consists of Company Commanders (one for each company), an Administration Officer, a Logistics Officer and a Training Officer, each role overseeing their respective cells in the unit, as well as organising and planning activities.

Throughout its history, the JRAHSACU has been actively involved in community events, including Hyde Park Memorial Parade, RSL Services, services at local primary schools, and parades in the city. JRAHSACU was awarded the high honour of parading the Duke of Edinburgh's Banner in 2011 and 2023. The unit participates in annual field exercises held to battalion or brigade (statewide) levels, and has many cadets participate in the annual national Adventure Training Award. An enthusiasm for Cadets continues to exist at rising levels, and the unit has been awarded with numerous formal commendations, unit medals, and Unit Efficiency awards. In 2022, JRAHSACU was featured as the Guard of Honour at the Sydney Hyde Park War Memorial in the online ANZAC service video, made in lieu of the current COVID-19 pandemic, which was released to units and communities around New South Wales. In 2023, JRAHSACU was featured as the Guard of Honour at the Department of Education's ANZAC Day Service, and was selected as part of the Royal Guard of Honour of the first in seventy years, King's Birthday Parade for the Governor of New South Wales at Government House, Sydney.

Music activities
The following ensembles offer musical training, and some groups perform at both school and public assemblies. Larger ensembles tour NSW annually to perform throughout the state.
 * School Choir
 * Jazz Orchestra
 * Year 7 Concert Band
 * Wind Orchestra
 * Symphonic Band
 * Woodwind Ensemble
 * Percussion Ensemble
 * Jazz Ensemble
 * Annual Musical Production Orchestra
 * String Orchestra

Agriculture

 * Rural Youth (Also known as Rural Ruse), defunct as of 2016
 * Poultry Squad
 * Agriculture Enrichment
 * Garden Crew
 * Regional Cattle Show Team

Performing arts and visual arts

 * Annual School Musical Productions – For over 50 years, James Ruse AHS has been running an annual school musical, with well over a quarter of the whole school community being involved in its making.
 * Shakespeare Festival – Held to a statewide level, where students compete in areas such as Music, Duologue, Mash-Up, Scene, and Set Design.
 * Cluster, Region, or State Music/Drama Production
 * Annual Yearbook Productions
 * Ruse Publications, publishes the student magazine, RuseStar
 * Knit Wits
 * Booklover's Cafe
 * Ruse Art Club
 * Junior and Senior Tropfest Video Teams

Public competitions and other student groups

 * Informatics Team (International team representatives in 2005–2006, 2008–2015, 2019, 2022).
 * Physics Olympiad Team (International team representatives in 1990, 2004–2008, 2010–2011, 2015–2017, 2019, 2021)
 * Chemistry Olympiad Team (International team representatives in 2000–2005, 2008–2012, 2015–2021)
 * Biology Olympiad Team (International team representatives in 2000–2003, 2005–2008, 2010, 2016, 2019, 2021)
 * Mathematics Olympiad Team (International team representatives in 1985–1986, 1997–2000, 2003–2017, 2019–2022 ).
 * ASOR (Astronomical Society of Ruse)
 * State Debating Teams (Premier's Debating Competition)
 * Earth and Environmental Sciences Olympiad Team
 * Australian and New Zealand Brain Bee Competition
 * History Mastermind Competition
 * Mock Trial
 * NSW Robotics Programming Team
 * FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics Team
 * Chess Team
 * RuseID (Ruse Intranet Development)
 * Zero Robotics Team
 * Science Enrichment
 * Programming Club
 * Geography (Geoguessr) Club
 * Tennis Club
 * Stage Crew
 * Set Crew
 * Sound and Lighting Crew
 * Poultry Squad
 * Cooking Club

Leadership

 * Student Representative Council (S.R.C.) – A student body with 2 representatives elected from each class.
 * James Ruse Prefects – A student body composed of seniors elected by the whole school as a group of leading representatives.
 * James Ruse Peer Support – Elected leaders who help new students settle into the school community.
 * James Ruse ASPIRE Mentoring Program – A group consisting of volunteers from the Student Representative Council to instill the ASPIRE values into the school.
 * Australian Army Cadets (James Ruse Agricultural High School Army Cadet Unit – JRAHSACU)
 * RuseMUN (Ruse Model United Nations)
 * High Resolves Community Leaders
 * The Duke of Edinburgh's Award

Welfare programs

 * Go Green – Ruse's most popular extracurricular, a group helping to raise awareness for the environment.
 * James Ruse Save The Children
 * James Ruse UNICEF Group
 * James Ruse Amnesty International Association
 * James Ruse OxFam
 * Rotary Interact Club
 * Interschool Christian Fellowship (I.S.C.F)
 * First Aid Program
 * Each for Equal

Student Representative Council (SRC)
The school's Student Representative Council was inaugurated in 1960, making it among the first high schools in New South Wales to have such a body. Each year, each roll class elects a Class Captain and Vice-Captain who represent it on the SRC. Larger extracurricular organisations are also entitled to a representative. The SRC as a whole elect a student executive, which consists of a President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Minutes Secretary, by a system first inaugurated in 1990. Through the SRC, students have some representation on the school steering committees (along with parents and staff), and also play a minor role in decision-making processes relating to curriculum, building plans, and resource allocation. This group is led by five, year 11 student executives.

The council is elected through a first-past-the-post voting system, with a voting card for male and female respectively. This replaced the instant runoff system, which caused gender imbalances in representation. Year Advisors and the school's teacher executives have final oversight over the representatives in this body, and have the power to veto any candidate without their knowledge, giving the position to the candidate with the next highest number of votes.

Agriculture
The school teaches agriculture as a compulsory subject from years 7 to 10. Formerly it was also compulsory in Year 11 (with students taking an accelerated version of the HSC course to allow completion within one year). However, following the introduction of a new HSC curriculum by the Board of Studies in 2001, the school made Year 11 optional (with the decision supported by a survey among students). Agriculture is a significant part of the school's curriculum, with students undergoing study of the subject both on and off-site, where students study and visit agricultural enterprises both in the Greater Sydney region, with visits to regional horticultural farming enterprises such as the Sydney Royal Easter Show and farms in Bathurst and in Gloucester. There is also great involvement in with other agricultural schools, with the school linked with Yanco Agricultural High School, and previous Head Teacher of Agriculture, Lisle Brown, being the co-author of the Dynamic Agriculture textbook series, which is extensively used in agriculture in Australian schools.

The school leases approximately ten hectares of land from the neighbouring electricity sub-station for use in practical agriculture lessons. The farm land is situated north of the general school buildings, extending north to Lynch Close and east to Jenkins Road. The farm is arranged to include a vegetable garden, a classroom, a glasshouse and nursery, a greenhouse, an orchard, experimental plots, an area for field crops and a livestock section, among others. It also contains some riparian land which is currently being monitored and undergoing rehabilitation to its native state by the Streamwatch group (currently working as part of Sydney Water Streamwatch).

A significant amount of the farm land is set aside for student plots. Part of practical agriculture lessons involves students growing and maintaining their own crops, and a practical mark worth 10% of their yearly mark is awarded at the end of term. Mature crops in the students' assigned plots of land are then the students' to take home. In addition to its use for educational purposes, the farm also supplies a wide variety of agricultural produce including: Cattle – Angus stud, paraded annually at the Castle Hill Show by the Cattle Group, and sold at Camden Sales yard; Sheep – First-cross Ewes & Prime Lambs; Eggs – Free-range eggs; Poultry Meat – Broilers raised and sold onsite, Oranges – Washington Navel; Peaches – Flordagold and Sherman's Red varieties; Sweet Corn – Shimmer variety; James Ruse Gold Rose – A privately crossbred rose variety the rights were donated to the school in 1999 in celebration of its 40 years of teaching; Apiary – Honey sold on-site in jars; and Macadamia Nuts. Various groups of students have been set up to look after these, such as the Poultry Squad and a Weather Watcher group to maintain farm records. In the past, the farm also housed Merino-Border Leicester sheep, named the Sharlea Sheep. It was replaced by the Aquaculture venture, silver perch and a crayfish growing system. Now some students also participate in making peach jam and sorbet after the peach harvest.

Campus
The school is situated in Carlingford, a suburb of north-western Sydney. Its main entrance is located on the southwest corner of the school, with a number of smaller entrances on its southern and western boundaries. The campus is built around a main quadrangle, another cluster of buildings around a smaller quadrangle, with an oval, sporting facilities and the farm to the north of these.

Barrengarry House
Barrengarry House, the school's main administration block, is located near the southwest entrance of the school, adjoining the Senior Common Room and the Library and housing the offices of the principal, deputy principals, head teacher of administration and the administration staff on the lower floor, and the counsellor's office, uniform shop and function rooms on the upper floor. It was originally the home and property of the Felton family, and was built in 1885, with the architect thought to have been Charles Slatyer. The block adjoins a roadway of the same name, both of which are named after the Feltons' estate.

J.C. Hoskin Auditorium
More commonly known as the "school hall", the J.C. Hoskin Auditorium, named after the school's founding principal (see history above), is used as a multi-purpose facility. Along with holding important school assemblies, concerts and the school musical, the hall is also used for examinations (primarily government and senior exams) and it was used for PE classes in the past—this function was largely removed with the construction of the school's new gymnasium in 2017. Ceremonies which celebrate the school's highest achievers are also held annually in the Auditorium.

Library Block
The Library Block (or "L-Block") was built in 1997 and opened by then NSW Premier Bob Carr as part of the school's building works program, to provide a larger, and more modern and well-equipped library to replace the smaller Shearman Block (now the school's Music block). The block is a two-storey building, with the library occupying the top floor and English classrooms and offices on the bottom floor.

Technology Block
The Technology Block (or "T-Block") is a recent addition to the school campus along with the new Canteen Block, with construction finished in 2005. The wing is a two-storey building with a mix of classrooms, workshops and modern computer labs, and overlooks the gymnasium on its northern side. To its south is the Art Block.

Art Block
The Art Block (or "A-Block") is a two storey facility that contains a 5 classrooms. On the lower floor resides the Creative and Performing Arts staffroom, two art classrooms and an art storage room with kilns and other art supplies. On the upper floor are 3 classrooms that are usually used for HSIE lessons such as History, Geography, Commerce and Economics. Due to the sloped nature of the campus, the upper floor adjoins to the first floor of Cameron Block and the lower floor adjoins to the upper floor of the Technology Block.

Cameron Block
The Cameron Block (or "C-Block") is a three-storey building with a variety of classrooms, science labs, computer rooms and lockers. The second floor is primarily used for Mathematics lessons, and the Mathematics Staffroom is located on the second floor accordingly. On the first floor, rooms C1.1 and C1.2 are science labs, whilst C1.4 and C1.5 are primarily used for HSIE lessons. There is also a Drama Room (C1.3) which contains a stage, as well as a hobbit hole with costumes and other drama-related objects. The topic of Multiple-Disciplinary Communications (MDC) was also formerly taught within the drama room. The HSIE/LOTE staffroom is located between C1.5 and C1.4. The cadets Q-Store is hosted in the exterior of the block.

Powe Block
The Powe Block (or "P-Block") is a two-storey building connecting L-Block and C-Block which houses most (but not all) of the school's laboratories. It has 5 classrooms. Most science lessons are held in this building and the science faculty staff room is located on the first floor. Its second storey was constructed in 2012.

W-Block
W-block is a set of 4 separate single-storey buildings. One building contains W1.1 (science lab) and W1.2 (classroom). W1.3 is a band room. W1.4 is partitioned into 5-6 music rooms and one larger classroom. The W-block building nearest to the quadrangle houses several classrooms, and the English Staffroom.

F-Block
F-Block is a single storey building with two adjoining rooms that houses agriculture lessons. The farm manager utilises this block. It is located on the farm besides the tool shed and behind the basketball courts, and overlooks the peach/orange orchard.

Bishop Block
Bishop Block is named after John Bishop. It is a 2 storey building adjacent to the canteen sails. The bottom floor is used as a sports equipment storeroom and the second floor is a single classroom often used for Latin or Japanese classes.

Gymnasium
The JRAHS Gymnasium began construction in late 2016 and opened in 2017. It is the furthest block from Barrengarry House with the exception of the F Block. The Gymnasium currently plays hosts to a majority of Physical Education classes, and can be altered to play volleyball, netball, basketball or futsal. During exam periods, the facility can be converted into an additional exam hall to supplement the J.C. Hoskin Auditorium.

Business, science, and public service

 * Scott Farquhar – co-CEO of Australian software company Atlassian
 * Andrew Leigh – economist and Member of the House of Representatives
 * Cleo Loi – astrophysicist, mapped atmospheric plasma tubes aligning with Earth's magnetic field
 * Elizabeth New – chemist and associate professor at University of Sydney, recipient of RSC Dalton Young Researchers Award
 * David Shoebridge – former barrister and member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, and member of the Australian Senate
 * Dhananjayan (Danny) Sriskandarajah – Rhodes Scholar, Director General of the Royal Commonwealth Society, CEO of CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
 * Mark Taylor – former police officer and prosecutor and State Member for the Electoral district of Winston Hills
 * Justin Wolfers – professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan
 * Catriona Noble – Former CEO McDonalds Australia
 * Eddie Woo – Mathematics teacher known for Wootube, online mathematics lessons
 * John Ho – Chairman of Bellamy’s Organic, Board Member of Vocus Group, Founder and Chief Industrialist Investor of Janchor Partners

Entertainment and the arts

 * Aravind Adiga – journalist, author, and 2008 Man Booker Prize winner
 * Joh Bailey – celebrity hairdresser
 * Kate Fagan – (1985–1990) Folk singer and poet
 * David Fung – international concert pianist, laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Competition and the 12th Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Masters Competition, Tel Aviv (2008), and winner of the 2002 ABC Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year Award.
 * Antony Green – ABC election analyst and commentator
 * Stephen Dziedzic – ABC Foreign Affairs reporter
 * Jason Davis (Jabba) – radio and television presenter, actor
 * Maha Koraiem – co-founder of swiish.com and co-author of Super Green Smoothies
 * Magdalena Roze – television weather presenter and meteorologist
 * Katrina Warren – television veterinarian

Military

 * RADM Trevor Jones – Deputy Chief of Navy and former chief of staff of Headquarters Australian Forces in Middle East
 * MAJGEN Mark Kelly – Repatriation Commissioner and former commander of Australian Forces in Middle East

Sports

 * Ron Jackson – swimmer, Gold Medal Winner 1650 yard freestyle Commonwealth Games, Kingston, Jamaica. 1966 (while still at school).
 * Natalie Bates – cyclist, 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medalist
 * Andrew Leeds – footballer, former member of the Australian National Rugby Union team
 * Greg Mail – cricketer, former opening batsman for the New South Wales Blues

Religious

 * Greg Anderson – has been Anglican Bishop of the Northern Territory since 2014.
 * Chris Edwards – has been Anglican Bishop of North Sydney since 2014.
 * Gary Koo – has been Anglican Bishop of the Western Region since 2019
 * Stuart McMillan – President of the Uniting Church in Australia, 2015–2018
 * Steve Chong – founder of RICE Movement, since 2001.