Trent Sherborne – Kalbarri High

Kalbarri District High School is situated in the picturesque tourist town of Kalbarri. Surrounded by National Park the township is located at the mouth of the Murchison River. The permanent population of the town is around 2,000 residents with the population rising up to 10,000 during the 'tourist season'. The community is reliant on tourism, service industries and the fishing industry.

The school was established in 1959 as a Primary School, shifting from its first location near the waterfront to its current location in 1960 and became Kalbarri District High School in 2001. There are currently 251 students enrolled in Kindergarten through to Year 12. A Secondary area of the school is in development bringing with it a host of new teachers with new skills and expertise. Secondary staff teach across the school providing positive interactions between Secondary and Primary areas.

The school is divided into classes and collaborative teaching groups based largely on phases of schooling:

• YOUNGSMARTS (K – 3)
• INDESMARTS (4 – 6)
• MIDDLESMARTS (7 – 10)
• VETSMARTS (11 – 12)

The school’s key priorities are Literacy and Numeracy, however there is a major focus on Health and Well-Being throughout Kindergarten to Year 12 classes. The school believes in instilling sound values in all students and have implemented a Values Education program across the school. VET focus in Year 11 and 12 has been strengthened by forming sound links between the school and TAFEWA (Geraldton), with many students receiving both school and TAFE qualifications. The school also has a history of setting up students to undertake school based traineeships with local businesses as part of their studies, and most Year 10, 11 and 12 students are involved in Structured Workplace Learning. 2007 saw face-to-face TEE subjects taught at Kalbarri for the first time.

The school continually strives for excellence and has received a number of awards, accolades and recognition for their work at district, state and national level. This includes being recognised as a leader in schools across Australia in the implementation of Enterprise Education and also being in the top ten schools across Australia, as judged by The Australian newspaper, in the category of Striking Innovation in Curriculum and Community Partnerships.