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Northfield High School, Adelaide was a prestigious and highly regarded [|co-educational]public [|secondary] school with a reputation for academic excellence which served the inner northern suburbs of [|Adelaide], [|South Australia].

It opened in 1969 after students from retainer classes at nearby Enfield High School transferred to the newly opened campus and closed in 1995.

The school was frequently abbreviated as NFHS.

It celebrated its 20th year in 1988 which was coincidentally Australia's Bicentennial year.

Northfield had three principals in its history, two of them long-serving - the founding Headmaster Mr Terence R G Harper who later passed responsibility for the school to Mr Ivan W Hill BSc, DipEd, DipT, MACE, AFAIM. Ivan held the position until the end of the 1991 school year.

Location
Its formal address was 181-201 Hampstead Road, Northfield SA 5085. Telephone 261 5744.

Governance
There were four separate, but related, parent bodies which shaped Northfield's direction -


 * School Council
 * Parents & Friends Association
 * Mother's Auxilliary
 * Canteen Committee

Enrolment
Northfield High School regularly held a student population in excess of 1000 enrolments necessitating demountable metal classrooms to hold year 10 classes and, later, a four roomed transportable wooden building for Matriculation students.

Uniform
The School Council set the strict formal uniform policy which was upheld by staff and respected by students. The policy was not only widely respected but demanded by parents and consistently given as a key reason for enrolling their child. All students were expected to correctly wear the designated summer and winter uniforms. A brown blazer with the Northfield High School crest was an optional element which proved increasingly popular in later years. Leather shoes were preferred however desert boots, worn by the majority of students, were tolerated.


 * Girls Winter Uniform - Brown tartan skirt or brown corduroy trousers, long sleeved cream shirt, brown jumper and brown tie. Dark brown tights or socks. Brown leather shoes or desert boots. No jewellery or make up. Studded or sleeper earrings only.
 * Girls Summer Uniform - Light brown check dress. Brown jumper as required. Brown leather shoes or desert boots with brown socks, or sandals. No jewellery or make up. Studded or sleeper earrings only.
 * Boys Winter Uniform - Grey trousers, long sleeved grey shirt, dark green jumper with green and white striped tie. Black shoes or desert boots with grey socks.
 * Boys Summer Uniform - Grey trousers or shorts, short sleeved grey shirt, dark green jumper as required. Black shoes or desert boots with grey socks.

Leadership
The school had a well regarded and enviable reputation for academic and teaching excellence - especially in english, science, languages, business education, music and agriculture.

In the 1983 School Year Book the Chairman of the School Council, Doug Amey, reiterated the decision 'to place considerable emphasis on PEB type (Public Education Board) courses because we believe this school should continue to present courses with an academic and traditional basis'.

The school attracted enrolments from outside its formal catchment area and it maintained a long waiting list of prospective students.

According to the 1988 School Year Book -

'1987 was a very successful year academically for Northfield High School students. Over 100 Year 12 students sat for the SSABSA PES Examinations and the majority were very successful in both comparative and absolute terms. All of our most senior students sit for the externally examined subjects only, and their results in 1987 qualified them for a large variety of personal and individual goals. Some wanted qualifications for tertiary courses and for specific vocational courses and the school is proud of their successes'

'It must be noted that in all subjects, almost without exception, the students' results were better than the State average in As, Bs, Cs and of course below State average for Ds and Us.'

Fire
An arson attack on 22nd February 1983 destroyed the brick Resource Centre opened in 1971 and its contents of 20 000 books. A student was charged and convicted. A temporary four room wooden transportable building was delivered for use as an interim library. A new Library Resource Centre was opened on 27th June 1985. On 26th October 1987 the first computer was installed - a mini DEC machine with a hard disk storage of 70 megabytes for the Dynix Library System that utilised the Pick operating system. Principal Ivan Hill later donated a stained glass window for the Library Resource Centre that was installed adjacent to the Student Counsellors office.

Campus, Infrastructure & Facilities
The large campus featured two large ovals - North Oval and South Oval - and well maintained grounds.

There were five major permanent buildings -


 * A Block (Administration)
 * B Block (Year 11 in the ground floor classrooms, Year 8 classes upstairs) with science laboratories located in the eastern wing (both levels) plus a ground floor Tiered Demonstration Room (Tiered Dem), Computer Studies and Business Education Class rooms.
 * C Block (not designated) North Hall, Home Economics and Technical Studies (woodwork, metal work, plastics and photography) classrooms were located at either end of the hall which opened on to the gymnasium (constructed after the school was opened). The canteen was also located here along with change room facilities for Physical Education classes.
 * D Block housed Year 9 classes with the Art Department located in the eastern wing.
 * Library Resource Centre located in the centre of the campus between B and D blocks.

Despite phenomenal growth in the student population the planned permanent buildings for Year 10 and 12 classes were never built despite extensive lobbying of the Education Department. Year 10 and Music Faculty classes were held in demountable metal buildings located at the eastern edge of the campus alongside the Agricultural Studies facilities. An ongoing campaign to release adjacent Department of Agriculture land to the school for the expansion of the Agriculture Faculty never succeeded. From mid-1985 Matriculation classes were held in the former interim library building.

The David Campbell Performing Arts Centre was opened in 1998 and named after the former Northfield High School student. It is located south west of A Block and the North Hall on former gardens and where the secure bike cage was placed.

The Mural and Stained Glass Windows
In 1982 the Technical Studies wall facing Hampstead Road was painted with an eye-catching mural by students, thereby becoming a popular art installation for the local community. In 1983 following a Year 11 Options project a 16 panel stained glass window installation was created for the entrance to Administration in A Block. Teachers Anastasia Anastassiadis and Barbara Kirkman, along with Derek and Sue Mabire, the Jam Factory's Ian Mowbray and students Andrew Roberts and Trevor Sanders worked on the panels which were installed one Sunday afternoon.

Building a Culture of Excellence
From day one in 1969 parents demanded Northfield develop a culture of excellence and academic leadership. Over its entire history the school stayed firm to these values and expectations through a rigorous academic agenda made possible by a talented and passionate teaching staff.

In 1984 one of the school's founding teachers and Year 12 Head, Heather Heard, retired from teaching. Promoted to Senior Mistress in English in 1974 she also taught Latin and French and provided leadership to Matriculation students for a record 11 years. In the same year Deputy Principal Alison McPharlin, who joined Northfield in 1978, retired after commencing her teaching career in 1952. In 1987 the Head of French John Rochette retired after a 24 year teaching career.

Northfield students participated in statewide Inter-School Debating Championships, Music Festivals, Sports Matches with local high schools including Marden and Morialta. A very popular School Exchange program brought international students from Japan, Germany, Finland and other countries. An annual school musical was performed over successive nights mid year, with productions including South Pacific; Oliver; Bats; Sheik, Rattle and Roll; and Man of Steel.

In 1985 the Music Faculty led by Sam Hordern boasted four concert bands, stage band, rock band, wind and brass ensembles, recorder ensembles and singing groups who performed at more than 22 major events. In 1986 21 music students studied Music (Performance and Theory) and 12 studied Music (History and Literature) for Matriculation with nine students studying both subjects.

Heritage & Tradition
At the commencement of each year 29 Prefects were elected from among the Year 12 students and a Head Boy and Head Girl Prefect chosen plus a Deputy to each. A Prefect Induction Ceremony was held at which all took the Prefects Oath during the first of two annual formal school assemblies held at the beginning and end of the academic year. In pledging the oath Prefects made a promise to the school to set a high standard of conduct as an example to fellow students and to uphold the good reputation of the school. Head Prefects were part of the School Council and participated in the decision making process to enhance facilities and standards.

In addition to providing leadership to the school body Prefects also undertook gate and canteen duties, and frequently conducted tours of the campus and classrooms for visiting dignitaries, parents and prospective students so they could witness the strong values of the school in action.

Weekly assemblies were held each Thursday afternoon following lunch in the quadrangle between B Block and the Library Resource Centre. During construction of the new building assemblies were held in the courtyard between A Block and the main North Hall.

In the 1983 School Year Book the Principal Ivan Hill wrote in his report -

'The parents of students who applied to enrol at this school in 1984 wrote the same clear message on their application for enrolment as did the parents of our 1983 and 1982 and other intakes. In brief, they want a curriculum that is appropriate rather than "flashy", one that is up to date and relevant to the eighties, but conserving the best of our educational heritage. They want this school to emphasize a traditional, academically demanding formal curriculum which is supported by caring but firm discipline for their children - and they are prepared to travel some distance to get it.'

Closure to an Era of Excellence
As part of changes in Education Department policy a number of long-serving and highly regarded staff members left Northfield High School at the end of the 1991. These included Morris Allen, Wayne Anderson, John Carter, Shirley Castelijns, Cathy Evans, Judith Gilfillan, Mike Harrison, Mike Headland, Ivan Hill, Linda Humphries, Simon Johnson, Patricia Leslie, John Lovell, Paul Martin, Hatsue Matsunami, Greg Parker, John Ridnell, Katrina Rodda, Flora Rumbelow, James Thiele, Ron Victory and Paul Winkley.

In 1995 Northfield High School was forcibly merged with nearby technical school Nailsworth High School and renamed. Ross Smith Secondary School opened on the Northfield campus in 1996 but due to falling enrolments and social issues was closed at the end of 2010 with the creation of 'superschool' Roma Mitchell Secondary College which opened at nearby Gepps Cross.

Academia
[|Professor Michael Thalbourne]

Media, Entertainment & The Arts
David Campbell, performer

Kim Dillon, media presenter

Sandra Winter-Dewhirst, State Director, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Lisa Moseley, jazz singer

Bernard Hull, performer

Joanna Moore (t), voice over actor

Graham Archer (t), Executive Producer, Today Tonight Adelaide

Sam Hordern (t), presenter, ABC Classic FM

Hiroshi Haga (t), actor

Politics & The Law
Bronwyn Killmier, Assistant Police Commissioner

Marita Altman, Solicitor and Partner, Lethbridges Barristers and Solicitors

Sports
Kim Dillon, former West Torrens footballer now media presenter

Community
Andrew Heslop, social entrepreneur

Future Use of the Campus
Despite the imminent extensive increase in residential population at Lightsview and Northgate on former Royal Adelaide Hospital, Department of Agriculture and CSIRO land to the north and east of the campus it is likely all of the school buildings will be demolished in the near future. Although Sports Park is nearby a proposal has been circulated to develop of a multi-sports venue for basketball, volleyball and disability sports on the available land. A major east-west access road to link Hampstead Road towards Fosters Road for Lightsview and Northgate residents will be constructed through the North Oval. Fencing has already been erected to allow roadwork excavation to begin.

David Campbell Performing Arts Centre
This facility did not exist at Northfield High School however it is named after the former student, now a globally renowned entertainer who is the son of Australian rock singer Jimmy Barnes. It opened in 1998 for Ross Smith Secondary School and features -


 * a theatre area with retractable seating (approximately 100 seat capacity)
 * a sound box area (with sound and lighting equipment)
 * two separate sound stage areas (music labs) with permanent tiered seating
 * three small music rehearsal rooms and a classroom
 * storage area for musical instruments and associated wet areas
 * dressing rooms at the rear of the performance area to the main theatre

A separate campaign from Adelaide's performing arts community is presently lobbying the State Government to retain this facility and make it available to the community.

Preservation of an Icon
The iconic pine tree on the South Oval, the symbol of Northfield High School, is protected and will be retained in any new development on the site.