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School History

Opening in 1940, "Kent Street Central School" was the first High School built south of the river to accommodate the growing population of South Perth and Victoria Park.

A growing population

The Western Australian Parliament received many proposals for a high school to be situated south of the river through the 1920s but a lack of funds mostly due to the depression meant that the school did not eventuate. In 1932 a survey was conducted finding that 410 post-primary-age children were living in the South Perth and Victoria Park areas. Construction of the first building commenced in 1939 and the school commenced operations known as Kent Street Central School in 1940 with 354 students.

Buildings

The buildings of the school are listed on the Western Australia Heritage Register and described as a complex of “Inter-war Free Classical” style brick and tile buildings and grounds.

About Us

Crest

When the school initially opened it had no crest or uniforms. Principal Mr James Wood issued a competition  in 1942 to design the school’s badge which was won by student Peter Perica. Peter drew on inspiration from the crusades, using the shield as a base as it was reminiscent of the war being fought at the time. Red was chosen for the blood of those soldiers while blue and yellow reflected the mediterranean sea and desert sands. The central image is made up from a rail spike and sewing machine tool – this was to honour the efforts of those still at home. We believe Peter chose “Courage” with the help of a teacher to commemorate the courage shown by the ANZACs. The design was modernised in 2008 by Principal Mr Rod Beresford with “Courage to Achieve” expanding on the original motto.

Timeline

Kent Street Central School commenced building in 1939 and was only the third secondary school in the State – and the first south of the river. At the time that Kent Street Central School opened, there were only eight main classrooms completed. The first intake was of 354 Year 7 students under headmaster Mr James Wood. Year 8 and above students still had to travel to the city.

In December 1941, the Government approved expenditure for four more classrooms, science rooms, a metal workshop, a forge room, a room for drawing, and additional lavatories. However, these extensions were deferred until mid-1943, because of restrictions on non-military activities due to the War.

In 1946 classification for ‘Central Schools’ changed to ‘High Schools’ under Director of Education Murray Little. At this time Kent Street started accepting students for three years of study.

By 1947, there were 668 students at Kent Street, which placed a great strain on the existing facilities. Students from the High School used several rooms at Victoria Park Primary School in 1942, 1948 and 1950.

In 1952, Kent Street was reclassified as a five-year High School, from which students could proceed to university courses. With this influx of students, five prefabricated units (of two classrooms each) were added to the site. With 1954 and 1955 seeing the building of the Home Economics and Manual Training buildings, in brick and tile – mimicking the style of the original build.

1953 aerial – Prefab buildings clearly visible.

The 1960s the school underwent a series of additions:

  • In 1963, a U-shaped block of classrooms, a canteen, a typing room, and administration facilities.
  • In 1965, the Manual Training Building was extended.
  • In 1966, a new Science Building was built
  • In 1969-1970, a new Library.

1965 aerial – New “U” shaped classroom block and pre-fab buildings.

1971 Athletics carnival – the Bristol Prefab buildings can be seen in the background before their partial removal in 1973.

1971 Athletics carnival – Science building can be seen in background – this structure is still existing.

The 1970s included several more additions to the site including a pool and a two-story building in 1973 necessitating the removal of some of the prefabricated buildings. By 1977 most of the prefab structures had been removed.

1974 Aerial – New two-story visible with partial removal of pre-fab units. Pool underway.

1977 Aerial – Pre-fabs removed and pool clearly visible.

1979 introduced large changes to the school with a new hall-gymnasium named in honour of E.E. McGrath, Principal of the school from 1943 to 1956, the construction of a Pre-Vocational Centre and most notably the introduction of the Aviation course.

The school was the first to teach Aviation as an accredited part of the curriculum, the first Government school to own an aeroplane (first Cessna purchased in 1982), the first school to own two aircraft, the first school to have flight instructors, and the first school to build and fly its own aircraft (1990-1992). The addition of a dedicated Aviation studies building was constructed in 1989 which includes a university style lecture theatre and adjoining workshop.

The 1980s afforded schools greater autonomy in attracting students which led to the creation our of Cricket program in 1988.

Fashion and Design was established at Kent Street in 1991. The Approved Specialist Program was developed to encourage creativity in young men and women. The program also provides them with both general vocational skills and skills related to employment in the fashion and design industry.

2015 marked the formation of the CoRE (Centre of Resource Excellence) Learning Model which originated as a secondary school specialist program at Kent Street under the guidance of Suzy Urbaniak OAM. From 2019 the program was adopted by its first external school – burgeoning to 15 schools in 2026.

In 2026, Katalyst was introduced as Kent Street Senior High School’s specialist science program, replacing CoRE. This program enriches learning beyond the standard curriculum through deeper exploration of scientific concepts and their real-world applications.

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