Marryatville High School

Public school in Marryatville, South Australia

Marryatville High School (MHS) is a public state secondary school in Adelaide, South Australia. The school is situated on a large area of land in the eastern suburb of Marryatville, part of the City of Norwood Payneham and St Peters. First Creek cuts through the school grounds and large gum trees line the property. The school was founded in 1976 during the Dunstan era, from the amalgamation of the Norwood Boys' Technical High School and the Kensington & Norwood Girls' High School.

Marryatville High School's roots go back to 1877, moving through several incarnations until its naming in 1976 as a co educational high school: and by others in reference to its sports teams, etc. as MHS, formed in 1976 with a focus on a special interest music program, which it maintains today. The first principal was Glen McArthur, who served in the position till 1991, by which time the school had a well established reputation and enrolment. Severe floods in November 2005 overflowed the banks of First Creek and caused some damage to the school.

Marryatville High School was accredited as an international school by the Council of International Schools in 2003 and formed a number of sister school relationships in France, Japan and China. The school specialises in particular subject areas, including music, drama, languages and tennis.

One of the school's main focuses is music, as the school is one of four Specialist Interest Music Schools in South Australia. The Marryatville High School big bands have also won music competitions around the country, notably at Generations In Jazz several times over recent years. In 2007, the Concert Choir won the SA state final of the inaugural ABC Classic FM Choir of the Year Competition and second place in the national final, and won the Children's and Youth Choir section of the 10th International Choir Festival "Tallinn 2007" in Estonia. The school provides two types of music education in the junior high school, known as Music I and Music II, also known as 'Elective Music' and 'Special Music'. The Music I program is less intense than Music II, with only 5 lessons of music a week while Music II has 10 lessons. Music II is aimed at musicians with professional music potential, and includes lessons in Musical Development, Theory and Composition, Music Experience, Concert Practice and Choir.

The Performing Arts Centre, named "The Forge", is able to showcase drama, dance and musical performances. For the official opening of the school's theatre in 2005, a production by drama students was presented to guests including then South Australian Premier Mike Rann and state member for Norwood Vini Ciccarello. When talking to the cast and crew after the opening show, Mr Rann exclaimed, "I've never seen anything this good, at either a High School, University or TAFE". The drama department performs year level performances for students in year 10, 11 and 12, as well as putting on a Fringe performance in term 1, that for the first time in 2018, included a class of dancers, led by Ms K Cornish.

Marryatville High not only has an international student program, but has a large influence on languages for students. All students in year 8 do a language for the year, one of the three, Chinese, French or Japanese, and are then given the choice to continue languages later during their high school life. The language staff include 2 Japanese teachers, 2 Chinese teachers, and 4 French teachers.

Marryatville High School also has a strong tennis program for students who are chosen by the school when they are in years 6 and 7. Each year level contains an average of 7 tennis students. These students study tennis as a subject, with theoretical study, as well as practice lessons during, before and after school. The tennis program is taught by accredited coaches, and includes participation in many state and national competitions.

Eden Park, a grand two storey Victorian house, is now used as the high school's Year 12 campus; the timber stables have been converted into a music centre. In 2005 Marryatville's Performing Arts Centre, The Forge, was opened. It serves as a performance area for year 11 and 12 Drama Productions and is also used by outside theatre groups. There is also a large gymnasium. The school's most modern blocks are H Block and the Pines, the latter of which began operations in 2022 with the influx of Year 7 students, which the school was hosting for the first time. H Block is predominantly used for the sciences, having lab classrooms which include Bunsen burner gas valves, sinks, and other scientific equipment. The school has a very progressive agenda, being a 'discrimination free zone', and is one of only a few schools in Adelaide with Unisex toilets. The school provides significant support to the LGBTQIA+ community, with activities during Pride Month and on Pride Day and consistent engagement and representation of the LGBTQIA+ in the school community.

The film Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger (2008) included several scenes filmed at the school. The TV Series First Day (TV series) (2020) was filmed predominantly at the school.