GlenungaInternational High School is a publicly funded international school in Adelaide, South Australia. It is located approximately four kilometres south-east of the Adelaide city centre in the suburb of Glenunga, between L'Estrange and Conyngham Streets, adjoining the major thoroughfare Glen Osmond Road. The school serves the surrounding suburbs of the cities of Unley, Burnside and the Adelaide Hills. Glenunga maintains a strong academic reputation, and is one of only three South Australian schools to offer the Ignite program for gifted students. Glenunga is currently the only publicly funded high school to offer the IB Diploma Programme in South Australia. With students from 76 different countries of birth, and incoming international exchanges, it is a highly multicultural school. It is the largest secondary school in the South Australian public system.
History
The school was established in 1903 from the defunct Adelaide Agricultural School as the Preparatory School for the South Australian School of Mines and Industries. It was renamed the Junior Technical School in 1914 and then AdelaideTechnical High School in 1918. The school and the Old Scholars Association marked 1998 as the centenary year. It was located at the School of Mines building on the corner of North Terrace and Frome Road, now part of the City East campus of the University of South Australia. The school population outgrew the campus, so in 1964 it was relocated to its current location in Glenunga, and was renamed Glenunga High School in 1974. It adopted its current name upon the introduction of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme in 1990–91 with the aid of The Honourable Greg Crafter, a development which was instigated to help save the school from closure due to dwindling student numbers. With enrolments rising, GIHS has subsequently attracted substantial government funding and construction projects, most notably the technology and science wing extensions, a new administration block, and a performing arts centre; since 2005 there have been various additional changes to the facilities, such as extra rooms. In 2013, development began for a new $10 million building to accommodate the growing number of students. This new building was accompanied by the renovation of the Music, Sciences and Art departments, as well as a new library. The development upgrades were completed in 2014.
Student life
Glenunga International High School hosts an array of extracurricular groups, all of which are student-run. These include special-interest clubs, a variety of community service organisations, as well as various sporting teams. Glenunga has over 50 student-led clubs, which include Musical Theatre, Debating, Chess and Raspberry Pi, amongst others. Glenunga International High School has an extensive student leadership model, which gives any student the opportunity to make change within the school community. This includes the Learner, International Mindedness, and Wellbeing Councils, student driven bodies who co-ordinate events and a number of other responsibilities.
Academic performance
Glenunga continues to foster some of the academically highest-achieving students in the state, including but not limited to Shabab Rahman, who completed Year 12 Mathematical Studies as a commencing student in 2012, and Dangyi Peng, who achieved a perfect score in the IB at the age of 16 in 2017. In 2016, 20 students across both diplomas achieved an ATAR of 99 or more — a score in the top 1% of students nationwide for that year.
