Ryde Secondary College


Ryde Secondary College is a government-funded co-educational dual modality partially academically selective and comprehensive secondary day school, located in Ryde, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Established in 1965 as Malvina High School, Ryde Secondary College caters for approximately 1,000 students from Year 7 to Year 12. It is one of the few schools in New South Wales which takes enrolments for selective students, mainstream students as well as those who need special education.

History

The school opened in 1965, designed in an innovative "doughnut" style by NSW Government Architect's Branch architect, Michael Dysart. However, this and other "doughnut"-shaped building designs have been criticised due to the poor rain water drainage and inefficiencies in the heating and cooling of rooms. Ryde Secondary College was originally named Malvina High School due to the school's location on Malvina Street, Ryde. A Support Unit was introduced in 1999, after the closure of Peter Board High School at North Ryde, where the Unit had previously been. In 2001 it was announced that Malvina High School would receive a $6 million upgrade, under the New South Wales Government's controversial "Building The Future" plan to improve the infrastructure and environment of the school. From 2002 the school was renamed Ryde Secondary College, to properly identify the school to its suburb locality. The school also took selective stream students from 2002.
Ryde Secondary College has taken on new Information Technology infrastructure which was linked to Macquarie University. As well as new refurbishments taking place, a new building has been constructed to facilitate a new IT lab and audio visual theatre. Ryde Secondary College also has an outstanding performance record in grade sports against other competing schools in the area, and has maintained the title of zone champion for swimming and athletics.
Ryde Secondary School has several musical ensembles; a concert band, jazz band, choir and string ensemble.
It is only one of three surviving co-ed secondary schools in the Ryde/Hunters Hill district, along with Marsden High School at West Ryde and Hunters Hill High School. Other local government schools have progressively closed due to declining student numbers, alongside a gradual increase in popularity of single-sex and independent secondary schools. Since 2002, Ryde Secondary College has seen a healthy increase to student numbers, and in 2007 it had approximately 860 students.

Since re-establishment