The Rivers Secondary College Richmond River High Campus
Richmond River High School, as a caring school of excellence shares in its core values the North Coast Regional commitment to capacity building within schools. This is achieved through great leaders planning, developing and sustaining innovative programs and excellent opportunities for students and staff, great teachers planning and delivering quality teaching, and great partnerships delivering student success within and across the Rivers Secondary College, its partner primary schools, and in consultation with our diverse community.
Message from the Principal.
Richmond River High Campus provides a positive, caring, safe environment where all learners are encouraged and expected to strive to achieve their personal best. With guidance, our students grow into sensitive, responsible, independent young adults. Richmond River High Campus is focused on developing socially responsible students with a breadth of academic, cultural, sporting and social skills and knowledge. I take pleasure in welcoming students, parents and carers as members of our campus and learning community.
At Richmond River High Campus, we take every opportunity to establish and maintain positive relationships with our students, their families and colleagues. Positive relationships develop quicker where communication channels are established, and a common purpose exists. We want our students to have the opportunity to enjoy a bright future. We know that the future will be brighter when students receive and participate in quality education programs that develop a well-rounded individual with a strong sense of belonging and social responsibility.
A sense of belonging develops quicker when a campus has clear, consistent expectations and programs that recognise and support students and staff to meet those expectations.
Mr Luke Woodward Principal
Richmond River High History
The Lake Street site of Education has changed greatly since 1917. Over the years there have been many different schools on the Lake Street Site ranging from primary to secondary. On June 12th, 1917, the land of the Lake Street Site was bought for the purpose of building Lismore High School. It was the first high school in town.
A year later, on the 24th of November the foundation stone of Lismore High School was laid by Mr George Nesbitt. There was a big crowd at the laying of the foundation stone including the mayor, Mr McKenzie after whom McKenzie Park was later named. The mayoress presented Mr Nesbitt with a silver trowel and a mallet as a souvenir for such an important occasion.
In 1920 Lismore High School opened on the Lake Street Site. Unlike many high schools it was set right near the street. It was not set back on the land. It consisted of offices for a Deputy Principal and a Principal plus an admin office, a hall, ten classrooms and two kitchens which were all made of weatherboards and had tiled roofs. Most rooms had a fireplace.
Fifteen years after the High School was opened agriculture work was transferred to the high school from Lismore Rural School and with it brought three more classrooms. Lismore Rural School, which used to be known as Lismore Public School, changed its name back after the transfer was completed.
In 1942 Lismore High School moved to the Keen Street Site and stayed there until 1969 when it moved to the Dalley Street site.
Fifteen years later North Lismore Public School closed and the teachers and students moved to Lismore Heights and Albert Park Primary schools. The following year (1958) Richmond River High School opened on the Lake Street site and it had the status of “secondary class”.
In 1961 the present rooms 11 and 28-31 were built to increase the number of classrooms. These rooms were also made of weatherboards but they had tin roofs instead. Two years later RRHS gained full high school status, which means it became an independent secondary school.
The Design and Technology rooms (15-21) were moved from Lismore High School when it was in Keen Street in 1958 and they were made of weatherboards.
In 1966 all the art, science and music rooms were built and some maths rooms were added. These rooms seem a lot more modern because they are made out of bricks.
Four years later a new library was built after the old one burnt down. The fire was thought to be deliberately lit by children.
In 1974 the biggest flood recorded in Lismore occurred and with RRHS being low down it was affected greatly that year.
Eight years later the new Multi-Purpose Unit was built as the old one burnt to the ground because of an electrical fault.
Room one is now the English/History staffroom. Room 4 has been extended onto the office and room 7 is now the leading teachers office. Today there is a new set of basketball courts behind rooms 26 and 27 and the old ones, which are in front of rooms 26 and 27 now have some garden beds in the area.
Update:
In 2022 Lismore experienced two major flood events. The first flood on February 28 far exceeded the previous record flood of 1974, with the Wilsons River reaching 14.4 metres, surpassing all other floods on record by more than 2m. A month later a second flood of 11.4 metres occurred. The school suffered extensive damage as a result of the flood events with floodwater entering the school and damaging buildings on site.
At the end of March 2022 Richmond River High Campus students resumed learning from Lismore High campus, with staff and students accommodated in shared spaces on the site. Department of Education school infrastructure commenced planning for a temporary ‘pop-up’ school to include general learning spaces and specialist learning spaces.
Richmond River High continued to operate with students learning from the Lismore High campus throughout Term 2.
At the start of Term 3 2022 the school moved into an operational temporary school at the Military Road Campus, sharing the Lismore High Campus canteen and playground areas. Additional demountable buildings were placed on the campus in December to be operational for Day 1, Term 1, 2023.
