About Our School

About Our School

Our Vision

Christies Beach High School is an inclusive and safe community where learning expectations are high for every child. This looks like:

A culture that promotes an inclusive community and provides a safe place for all.

Students who are connected to their learning, recognised for achievements, and equipped to peruse a successful future.

Teaching and learning that is rigorous, innovative, differentiated and personalised.

Leadership that is collaborative, shared, supportive and guided by a clear vision.

Our Values

Respect

We honour and value other people.
We ensure that our intentions are positive when interacting with others.
We take accountability for all our actions and responsibility for our resources.

Inclusion

We provide equitable learning opportunities and have fair expectations.
We celebrate diversity by welcoming and considering everyone.
We value individuality (eg different languages, cultures and beliefs).

Innovation

We try new things and learn from mistakes.
We resource ideas and take risks.
We are curious and experimental.

Achievement

We challenge ourselves and have high aspirations.
We are committed to continuous improvement.
We understand individual needs and design relevant learning.

Our Priorities

High quality teaching and learning

Improving literacy and numeracy achievement for all students through high quality teaching and powerful learning.

Improve student wellbeing for learning

Ensuring positive student wellbeing and connectedness to rigorous and personalised learning.

Improve conditions for learning

Developing safe conditions for learning in an environment that inspires engagement, opportunity, participation, success and celebration.

Our History

Christies Beach High School (CBHS) opened its doors on Tuesday 24 May 1966 at the site now known as Marcellin Technical College. The official school opening was delayed until building works were complete. This took place on Friday 13 October 1967 and was opened by the Minister of Education, Hon. R.R. Loveday, M.P. Built at a cost of $660,000, the 2 storey building comprised of 2 wings sitting on a 20 acre site which featured extensive sporting grounds, 14 well-equipped classrooms, a large library, a commercial room, an art section and a single storey administration block.

At the time, the Christies Beach and surrounding areas were largely agricultural and the site was chosen because it was considered to be at the geographical centre of a large development area, with the largest population growth at the time.

We started with 140 students and 6 full time staff including the Principal, Mr David Goldsworthy. The school bus was an Austin 20 passenger bus which had a mechanical arm for signalling turns and stops. The boys wore blazers and ties and the girls’ dresses were worn down to the knees. The prefects did a lot to control poor behaviour and the cane was used in the first couple of years!

The second campus was opened in 1971. Originally the plan was for a technical school but when government policy changed, it acted as a second campus for CBHS – the Eastern section. The original campus was now called the Western section.

Over the next few years the student population expanded to approximately 2000, making it the largest secondary school in South Australia. This growth presented challenges for both staff and students and a senior/junior school arrangement was introduced across both campuses during this period as a means of coping with the large cohort. When Wirreanda High School opened its doors in 1977 the student population began to decline. Both CBHS campuses became a mix of years 8 to 12 and a new era began.

In the 1980s the development of Colonnades and Noarlunga Centre had a big impact on the school, providing access to a variety of services and transport previously not available to the community.

In 1997 the Western campus was closed and what was the Eastern campus became the school’s only site. Recent years have seen significant development of the CBHS buildings and surrounds. The next exciting redevelopments to our school began in late 2020, with our Student Services/Administration/Science building as well as the Arts and Resource Centre buildings receiving a much-needed upgrade. Our values underpin our commitment to providing young people with high quality teaching and learning programs in engaging and supportive environments. These new environments have also helped us to accommodate our year 7 students in 2022.

From the early days until now, our school has nurtured many highly successful individuals. A high priority has always been to create a caring atmosphere and to establish effective relationships between staff and students. We are proud to say this remains a high priority for CBHS which is reflected in our vision to create a culture that promotes an inclusive community and provides a safe place for all. Our Principal Mr Graham Clark, his dedicated leadership team, teachers and support staff work tirelessly to ensure the wellbeing of students is at the centre of everything we do.