Kiama High School

ok for starters, learn how to listen to the students. If we are telling you to unlock the bathroom because either we need to pee or are on our period, open the bathrooms and don’t make up a petty excuse that “your not allowed to” shut up and help out a student. If i’m bleeding through my pants and can’t/don’t wanna go to the deputies bathroom and wait in a huge line just so i can change my pad or tampon and for everyone outside to hear it since the deputy toilets are fucking mank and you can hear absolutely EVERYTHING from the outside. If that’s not embarrassing enough open the fucking bathrooms for a bit more privacy and easier access. If i look like i’m gonna vandalise them rewatch the cctv footage you have put outside the bathrooms and just track me down, since you bought them for a reason so use them properly.

next, maybe have some consideration for uniform situations. if i don’t wanna freeze in your dumb uncomfortable and useless uniform that does absolutely nothing to keep you warm i can wear my clothes to keep me warm. grey trackies and a navy hoodie isn’t gonna tarnish any reputation this dumb school has with uniform and everyone is sick of it. Also why should you be caring so much about inform and the colour of our ‘black and white’ shoes that are definitely not the biggest problem at our school when you should be focusing on the learning and education aspect as it’s not very good.

after all that dumb stuff is taken care of maybe the students would enjoy the time they spend at school rather then faking sick to get out of it. if your goal is creating a happy and safe environment for students it’s definitely not working at all.

thank you dearly

There are nice teachers the oval is great for running and playing footy. there is great activities for sports and academics like heaps of sports gala days and debating and chess club. Some students make the school worse and some have a vaping problem. No phones as of 2023 but if its the cheapest school for you if you live in the Kiama area and dont want to go to a selective school and expensive school

Throughout my years at this school I have been shown respect from most if not all of the teachers. Where this school falls apart is at the deputy principals and the principal, aswell as a handful of teachers, the absolute disregard for student mental health and the lacklustre support for certain facilties and miss treatment of learning utilities from the student body has plunged the school from one of the highest ranking in the Illawarra to the one of if not the lowest. I'll go through these topics one by one.

Section 1: The student body.
During my time at Kiama High School 2017-2022 I had watched the student body go from a bright vibrant cluster of students to a bunch of spoilt know it all group with a large portion smoking marijuana and vaping or doing other illegal activities, that is not what bothers me for I don't care what you do it's the fact that they brag, show little to no respect and expect to be given extra privileges. When I was in Year 10 the grades below me were a bunch of people called in slang "eshays" these hoodlum kids would do all the aforementioned activities and pick fights for no reason among themselves or other kids. I will also address the gossiping and nerve racking lies that get spread causing people to leave the school or fall into a form of depression that I will address in the next topic. This school has also gone from one of the most inclusive school in the area do being one of the most uninclusive bullying ridden school in the Illawarra, there have been multiple times where I myself have been bullied about my mental or physical attributes and my sister aswell who was forced to be removed from the school for her own mental well-being due to this said bullying. This bullying of which is often unaddressed or completely looked over to preserve the outside look of the school.

Section 2: Mental Health services

What I will mention to address it publicly and to further convey the point of this review may be disturbing to some people so read this section at your own risk. Kiama High School has seen the highest suicide rates in one school in the entire Illawarra. This is in my opinion due to the lack of peer support and support from the school. Just saying it's going to be okay isn't a permanent fix, these kids need guidance and to be referred to professional help in some cases and this is something that the school does not do. The bullying in this school and the feeling of being unincluded is also something that the school approach too is what I would like to say as "Suck it up" that is something that I have literally been told by a teacher and I think a lot of other kids have also experienced. The school also has punished kids for saying or speaking out for their personal issues crying out for help just get shut down and have on one occasion been suspended. I understand that mentioning it publicly can be disturbing to some kids and needs to be someone kept from affecting other kids but it also doesn't constitute punishment.

Section 3: The Deputy Principal/The Principal

Let me start with the principal. She since her being employed at Kiama HS the school has slowly fell from being one of the top secondary schools. Funding getting spent in the wrong areas and the clothing prices getting raised to line their own pockets. Now I understand with government budget cuts that it can be hard to fund things but it still is not reason to for kids to pay 80 dollars for a shirt and the same of not more for a jacket. Shirts that look the exact same from say for example best and less are strictly prohibited for God knows what reason. Aswell as that she has limited certain activities and has actively disregarded suggestions from not only the student body but the staff.

Cont: Now I will mention the Deputies now the deputies are lovely and I have often found myself chatting with them on multiple occasions but one of the deputies that has a son the both won't be named but whenever he does run a muck or does something thay gets pulled up he often get away with little to no punishment. He has walked out of class and walked back in with a large amount of cookies from the canteen. He thinks he can do what he wants when ever he wants just because the Deputy is his mother.

Section 4: The Teachers

Now I will start this off by saying many of the Teachers are lovely and where honestly some of if not most of the reason I even tried attempting at Year 11 but there are a few that are extremely rude or lack of care for educating students. Worksheets and a text book won't cut it for a lot of students like myself and we actually need a demonstration of how the material needs to be approached and the teachers that go above and beyond to make sure their students get a fair shot are amazing but it's a few that spoil it for the rest and some just hand a worksheet and textbook amd sit at their desk twiddling their fingers now I understand marking the role and doing reports etc etc but I mean literally just sitting there doing nothing.

Note to Parents or people looking to enrol their kids here:

I have since left this school so I can't speak on behalf of what it is like now but I would take high caution when enrolling here and check in with your kid regularly to see what it's like and if they're liking it. Also look at other reviews mine may be very bias because of the way I was treated. If you want the utmost education for your child I would suggest private education because they will actually have the funding and educational material there to access it.

I give this school a 2/5 because of the wonderful teachers that worked there before they got bullied out of the school either from the students or the principal. The school doesn’t value education or mental health surrounding kids who really need it.

Did not have a maths teacher for 6 months in year 10. School did not resolve the issue.