Benowa State High School

Benowa State High School (BSHS) is a Co-Educational school located in Gold Coast, Australia, which was founded in 1980. It is part of the Council of International Schools (CIS) and hosts exchange students from Asia, America, Africa and Europe.^[1][2] It commenced a French Immersion program in 1985 and was the first school to offer Marine Biology as a subject in the Queensland curriculum.

Academic

Benowa's French Immersion programme is a four-year course offered in years 7 to 10, where students learn four of their six subjects in French - these being: mathematics, French, society & environment and science. The school has recorded 11 OP1s (Overall Position) each year from 2004 to 2007, which ranks it ahead of all other secondary schools in the Gold Coast region.^[3]

Another stream in Benowa SHS is the Waldorf education Programme which aims to develop independent and "natural" learning in students, who learn at their own pace. Unlike most state schools, but like some private schools, Benowa State High School groups year 10-12 as senior school, and offers Mathematics C as a subject to the year 10 students.

Another offered stream from Benowa is the STEM Learning programme which aims students to excel in the areas of Science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It is a four-year program from years 7-10 which ends with an excursion to the NASA launch site at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Each and every STEM student receives extra lessons in those categories and various opportunities including 3D printing, Rocket Launching, Coding, and more.

Benowa is known for having a large range of subjects. It has over 30 subjects which students can choose in years 10, 11 and 12.

Sports

Benowa is a constant achiever at volleyball tournaments, placing highly in most of the competitions they enter, and some students have entered the national level of competition in the event. Students also achieve high in many other sports, including tennis, swimming, athletics and touch. The school also has an athletics-inclined stream called 'Sports Excellence' which is aimed at year 7, 8 and 9 students who wish to pursue a career in athletics. It has produced athletes who have gone on to represent both state and country in a variety of sports such as: swimming, volleyball, rugby, Australian rules football, football and track & field.

Arts

Benowa has created an advanced curriculum in the arts, ranging from music to drama to the visual arts. To accompany these subjects is a 'Music Excellence' program which allows students to develop their own musical talent. Art workshops are offered to complement formal classes.^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

Use of Technology

Benowa currently has the 1 to 1 laptop programme. It offers year 9-12 students a loan laptop renewed each year. Benowa also has projectors and speakers in all classrooms, allowing students to have an enhanced learning experience. Benowa has a complex network system called BYOX, which allows students to access documents and files uploaded by their teachers via a G: Drive as well as function as a wifi network.

Sports House System

Benowa State High School puts students into four different sports houses when they start the school. Students can gain points for their sports house during sporting events. They are:

• Lindeman – Red colour
• Moreton - Blue colour
• Carnarvon - Yellow colour
• Girraween - Green colour

Notable Alumni

• Peter Andre, singer^[9]
• Jamie Durie, T.V. Presenter and landscape designer^[10]
• Daniel Merrett, AFL player for the Brisbane Lions^[11]
• Anna Torv, actress^[9]
• Dayne Zorko - AFL player for the Brisbane Lions^[12]

References