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Sydney Boys High School founded as Australia's first state high school

When
1883–1892
Where
Castlereagh Street building; Sydney
Episodes
3

Sydney Boys High School was established in 1883 as the first state high school in New South Wales and Australia. The school began instruction on 1 October 1883 for 46 boys in a building on Castlereagh Street, Sydney. It was founded specifically for secondary education, lacking a primary division, and initially shared premises with Sydney Girls High School.

Episodes

  1. 1883 · SydneyEstablishment as First State High School

    Sydney Boys High School was established in 1883 as the first state high school in NSW and Australia.

  2. 1883-1892 · Castlereagh Street buildingShared Premises 1883-1892

    From 1883 to 1892, Sydney Boys occupied the lower floor of the Castlereagh Street building.

  3. 1 October 1883 · Castlereagh Street buildingFirst Day of Instruction

    Instruction began for 46 boys on 1 October 1883 in a Castlereagh Street building designed by Francis Greenway.

Background and detail

Background. Sydney Boys High School is an Australian government-funded single-sex academically selective secondary day school for boys. It is operated by the New South Wales Department of Education as a school within the Port Jackson Education Area of the Sydney Region. The school is situated adjacent to its sister school, Sydney Girls' High School, and hosts approximately 1,200 students from Year 7 to Year 12.

Founding. Sydney Boys High School was established in 1883 and is recognized as the first state high school in New South Wales and Australia. Neither Sydney Boys High School nor Sydney Girls High School has ever had a primary education division, making them the first NSW state high schools founded for the express purpose of secondary education.

Early Operations. The first day of instruction occurred on 1 October 1883 for 46 boys. The school was located in a building on Castlereagh Street, designed by Francis Greenway and constructed by convicts. From 1883 to 1892, Sydney Boys occupied the lower floor and entered from the Castlereagh Street side, while Sydney Girls occupied the upper floor.

People involved

Sources

  1. Sydney Boys High School Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-29

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.