KURRI KURRI High School is celebrating its success at the Australian Education Awards, where it won a highly competitive category and was a finalist in a further two.
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Principal Alan Hope said the school was proud of its achievements, winning the Innovation in Curriculum Design category for its staged learning plan and being a finalist for the government secondary school of the year.
Its "incredible" head physical education teacher Tracey Gavenlock was a finalist for the government secondary school teacher of the year.
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"It's a really nice thing for staff to be recognised at a national level for their hard work but for us it's always about the students," he said.
"For them to see Kurri Kurri High School being recognised on that national scale, it's really important for them because they can be proud of their school and can see what their teachers are doing and that we have got reason to be proud for what's happening at this school."
Mr Hope said he, previous principal Tracey Breese - who now leads Hunter School of the Performing Arts - and the executive team had developed the staged learning plan to ensure every year of school looked different so the students did not find it repetitive.
"We really wanted to make sure every single year of a student's education at high school was something different, something they may not have experienced before but something that created new challenges, new opportunities and new pathways for each of those students."
He said the plan aimed to ensure every child was engaged in their education and had opportunities for success and "personal excellence" through a range of different pathways, including the Big Picture model, transition to work and a HSC acceleration program.
Medowie Christian School's Simon Herd was a finalist for non-government school principal of the year, while West Wallsend High's Lauren Holding was a finalist for education rising star of the year. Maitland Grossmann High was a finalist for best use of technology.
St Philip's Christian College Cessnock's Luke Adams was a finalist for department head of the year and his colleague Alysia Neirinckx was finalist for non-government secondary school teacher.