Penrith Selective High School | High School Guide

In this High School Guide, we profile Penrith Selective High School - one of NSW's best performing schools.

Written by:
Matrix Education

Looking for a selective school in the Nepean, Western Sydney or Blue Mountains area? Are you already considering attending Penrith Selective High School? In this guide, we’ll discuss its history, admissions processes and cutoffs, and share some alumni success secrets. Read on to discover its history, famous alumni, key statistics, and HSC subjects offered.

 

What’s in the Penrith Selective High School Guide?

In this guide, we provide detailed information that helps parents and students make an informed decision about applying to Penrith Selective High School.

 

In this overview, we will discuss:

 

Overview

Penrith Selective High School is a co-educational Academically Selective High School that was established in 1950.

Penrith Selective High School has performed consistently among the top schools in the HSC, ranking  27th in 2010, 2017 and 2018.

 

History

Penrith Selective High School was first opened in the 1930s as an intermediate school. The school’s location was then occupied by a mansion known as The Towers. Soon, the mansion was sold to the Department of Education which then the land became Penrith Selective High School. This was then officially established in 1950 and became an academically selective school in 1989.

Two of the original foundations of the mansion have been preserved in the school grounds and the original plaque commemorating the introduction of Penrith Intermediate School has been moved into the school grounds. This plaque is currently residing in the school’s archives. The annual school magazine is named The Towers in commemoration of The Towers mansion.

 

Famous alumni

NamesContribution
Linda BurneyFormer Member of the NSW Parliament for Canterbury, and current Member of the Australian Parliament for Barton
Joyce FardellFormer teacher librarian
Tony LauerFormer Commissioner of the New South Wales Police
Ognjen MaticAustralian handball player
Grigor TaylorActor, Matlock Police, Silent Number and Glenview High
Ray WatsonJudge who reformed family law to create no-fault divorce
Penelope WensleyFormer Governor of Queensland
Richard WilsonActor, The Proposition and Clubland

 

Penrith-selective-High-School-Overview-Alumni

 

 

Key statistics

How many students go to Penrith? What is the student population’s diversity like? How does it perform? Let’s take a look.

 

Student profile

The total number of students were relatively consistent over the past 4 years, including the number of males and females.

YearTotal Number of Students EnrolledMalesFemales
2020914510404
2019916525391
2018919533386
2017924530394

 

HSC Performance

YearRankB6/E4 ResultUnique B6/E4 ResultState RanksSuccess Rate (%)
202037274119129.69
201945270115229.35
201827297121131.80
201727329127034.24

 

HSC subjects offered

FacultySubjects
English
  • English Advanced
  • English Extension 1
  • English Extension 2
Mathematics
  • Mathematics Advanced
  • Mathematics Extension 1
  • Mathematics Extension 2
Science
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Physics
TAS
  • Engineering Studies
  • Software Design and Development (SDD)
  • Information Processes and Technology (IPT)
CAPA
  • Music 1
  • Music 2
  • Music Extension
Social Science
  • Society and Culture
  • Business Studies
  • Economics
LOTE
  • Japanese Beginners
  • Italian beginners
  • Japanese Continuers
  • Italian Continuers
  • Japanese Extension
  • Italian Extension
History
  • Ancient History
  • Modern History
  • History Extension
  • Legal Studies
  • Studies of Religion 1
PDHPE
  • PDHPE

 

blog-Penrith-Selective-High-School-subjects-hsc

 

Written by Matrix Education

Matrix is Sydney's No.1 High School Tuition provider. Come read our blog regularly for study hacks, subject breakdowns, and all the other academic insights you need.

© Matrix Education and www.matrix.edu.au, 2023. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Matrix Education and www.matrix.edu.au with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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