James Ruse Agricultural High School


James Ruse Agricultural High School is a government-funded co-educational academically selective and specialist secondary day school, located in the Sydney suburb of Carlingford, New South Wales, Australia, long known for being the highest academically ranked high school in Australia. The school is also one of four New South Wales Government agricultural high schools.
The school is especially noted for its consistent academic excellence, having ranked 1st out of all New South Wales high schools in the Higher School Certificate for 27 consecutive years from 1996 to 2022, narrowly beaten by North Sydney Boys High School since 2023, as well as 1st in the national government NAPLAN tests across Australia since their establishment. Although it ranked 2nd in the HSC since 2023, it continues to rank 1st nationally in the NAPLAN.
As of 2025, there are approximately 858 students enrolled at James Ruse in Year 7 through to Year 12. James Ruse is an academically selective high school; admission to James Ruse in Year 7 is only through the Selective High Schools Test, which is open to all Year 6 NSW students. A small number of students from other high schools are accepted in Year 8, 9, 10 and 11, through application made directly to the school. In 2024, approximately 97% of the student population came from a language background other than English.

History

In 1949 the main part of the school grounds was purchased by the NSW Government for the purpose of agricultural education. The school that commenced on this site in 1956 was an annexe of Carlingford District Rural School with Charles Mullavey as the Master in Charge. At that time the school consisted of a wooden, five-room classroom block, a small staff-room and ablution facilities. By the start of 1958 the school was independent of Carlingford District Rural School and was called the "Carlingford Junior Agricultural High School".
In 1959 the name of the school was changed to "Carlingford Agricultural High School". The first Headmaster, James C. Hoskin, and his Deputy Headmaster, Charles Mullavey, commenced duties at the start of that year and in April, the name of the school changed again - this time to "James Ruse Agricultural High School".
When James Hoskin was studying Agriculture at University, he had become interested in James Ruse due to his significance in the early development of agriculture in Australia, and also because "both Ruse and I are of Cornish extraction". Hoskin questioned the name of the school as the school was not serving just the Carlingford area. In April 1959, Hoskin put forward a proposal to the NSW Department of Education outlining two new names for the school: Sydney Agricultural High School and Ruse Agricultural High School; eventually, the Department agreed to a modification of the latter. The school was named to honour prominent late farmer James Ruse.
Hoskin soon became synonymous with the school, as he served as headmaster until his retirement aged 65 in 1978. During this time, the school became established as one of the few public schools that were selective; initially because of its agricultural speciality, then for its reputation as a quality school. For his efforts, Hoskin was awarded the Queen's Silver Jubilee Medal in 1977 and the Order of Australia for Services to Education in 1990.
The first group of students to complete the full five years of secondary education at the new high school sat for the Leaving Certificate in 1961. Most of these boys were part of the initial enrolment of 1st Year pupils at the Felton Rd. site, in 1957, Harry Fox Wilson was among them. James Ruse AHS was originally a boys only school, but gradually became co-educational after an initial intake of 24 female students into Year 11 in 1977.
Since the mid-1990s, James Ruse has undergone an extensive building works program funded by both parents of students and the State and Federal Governments. 1997 saw the completion of Stage 1 of this program.
In 2000, Stage 2 of the program began with the first building completed in early 2001. The Schofield block became part of the program in 2002 after the building was damaged by fires. During the next two years the old Technology Block and the Francis block were demolished due to a white ant infestation, with both blocks being rebuilt and refurnished in 2004. The final stage of the works were underway at the time of the departure of Principal Michael Quinlan, who retired in 2006 after having been Principal since 1992. These developments continued with the guidance of the new principal, Larissa Treskin.
In early 2020, the Powe Science block opened after extensive renovations.

Principals

The following individuals have served as Principal of James Ruse Agricultural High School:
OrdinalOfficeholderTerm startTerm endTime in officeNotes
1James C. Hoskin19591978 years
2A.J. Gilmour19791982 years
3Andrew Watson19821988 years
4Edward Clarke19891991 years
5Michael Quinlan19922006 years
6Larissa Treskin20072012 years
7Megan Connors20132018 years
8Rachel Powell20192024 years
9Matthew Dopierala2024- years

Academic results

James Ruse Agricultural High School is noted for its outstanding academic achievements.
James Ruse Agricultural High School has ranked 1st in the national government NAPLAN tests across Australia every year since their establishment. The school had also outperformed every high school in New South Wales for the 27 consecutive years in public university entrance exams, known in the state as the Higher School Certificate, with a median Universities Admission Index of 99.55 in 2004, and 99.20 in 2005 and 2006.
However, in 2023, James Ruse Agricultural High School ranked 2nd in the HSC, one place behind North Sydney Boys High School, breaking their quarter-century run as the top high school in New South Wales. They subsequently ranked 2nd again in 2024, Rachel Powell having resigned as principal prior to that year's HSC exams. They achieved the same rank of second in 2025.

Extracurricular activities

James Ruse Agricultural High School can be noted for its strong participation in extracurricular and competitive activities, as listed below. The school participates in volunteering and fundraising activities, including World's Greatest Shave and the 40 Hour Famine, and has links with Interact and Amnesty International. Many students have received awards for outstanding participation in community service.

Sport

The school holds annual sporting carnivals, including the Swimming, Cross-Country and Athletics Carnivals, where students can compete for participation in wider regional competitions, from Zone and Area carnivals to the CHS competition for the top school teams and competitors in NSW.
James Ruse participates in tournaments and competitions with schools in surrounding areas. These include the following activities.
There are also many competitive sporting teams, where students compete against other schools in the area, state, or country. Some teams have had the opportunity to compete against sporting teams from overseas.
  • Knockout Regional Teams
  • Summer Grade Sport
  • Winter Grade Sport
  • Regional Championship Sports
  • Davidson Shield Cricket Team
  • CHS Pentathlon
  • Australian International Junior Circuit Table Tennis Team

    James Ruse Agricultural High School Army Cadet Unit (JRAHSACU)

The Australian Army Cadets operates a school-based unit at James Ruse for students of the school. The unit was established in 1960, and is the largest extra-curricular activity offered at the school. With a current strength of over 300, it represents over a third of the students in the school.

Public competitions and other student groups

The school's Student Representative Council was inaugurated in 1960, making it among the first high schools in New South Wales to have such a body. Each year, each roll class elects two representatives who represent it on the SRC, with the exception of Year 11 classes who elect one representative for each English class. The SRC as a whole elect a student executive body, which consists of a President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Minutes Secretary, by a system first inaugurated in 1990. Through the SRC, students have some representation on the school steering committees, and also play a minor role in decision-making processes relating to curriculum, building plans, and resource allocation. This group is led by five, year 11 student executives.
The council is elected through a first-past-the-post voting system, with a voting card for male and female respectively. This replaced the instant runoff system, which caused gender imbalances in representation. Year Advisors and the school's teacher executives have final oversight over the representatives in this body, and have the power to veto any candidate without their knowledge, giving the position to the candidate with the next highest number of votes.