‘No sign of life': Dramatic ocean rescue captured
We go behind the lens with current and past photographers who tell us about the back stories behind some of WA's most iconic pictures.
For many West Aussies, the series will bring back memories of triumphant, harrowing, and joyful moments — all seen from a new perspective.
When the upturned hull of a yacht was spotted in the middle of the Southern Ocean, the Australian Navy embarked on a dramatic rescue mission, also onboard was photographer from The West Australian Bill Hatto.
Would English yachtsman Tony Bullimore be found alive?
Bill's photograph of the historic recovery made headlines around the world.
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The Age
10 hours ago
- The Age
We re-ranked schools by HSC average scores. Only one achieved more than 90
Advanced English and maths cohorts tend to be smaller at comprehensive schools as they also offer standard level courses, whereas most selective schools restrict access to standard subjects. Among schools with the greatest gains in average HSC marks was Endeavour Sports High, which has also doubled its enrolments to 1300 students in the past decade. Principal James Kozlowski credits the lift to overhauling the school's culture, having a high expectations policy and ensuring sport and academic success 'went hand in hand'. 'I emphasised to my teachers that we weren't going to see overnight change. The big shifts will come several years down the track,' he said. Several years ago, the school enlisted the retired former principal of Homebush Boys, Ian Paterson, to run an HSC mentoring program for students. During his decade in that role, Paterson helped the school become a beacon for boys' education, improving literacy results and year 12 completion rates. Endeavour, which offers 14 sports and enrols two-thirds of students in its targeted sports program, uses explicit teaching and regular teacher observation programs. 'Getting the right staff in the right positions is the most important thing, and having them buy into what we are doing here,' Kozlowski said. 'I also run an anonymous survey about my leadership. I want staff to feel comfortable giving and receiving feedback. We won't allow poor practice to go uncommented on; we are going to address it.' The school lifted its combined average score by more than five marks since 2019 while doubling the number of subjects offered, including modern history, physics and advanced maths. The analysis of results shows Sydney's fully selective schools still dominate the average score rankings, reflecting the end-of-year league tables which are based on band 6 results. Every December, the Herald publishes school league tables, which are drawn from band 6 results – or marks over 90 – as a proportion of schools' HSC entries. For the past two years, North Sydney Boys has topped these league tables. The NSW government releases data only about students who achieve the top band in each subject. Experts argue this recognises only a limited definition of success and has distorted subject selection, creating a perverse incentive to push students into lower-level subjects. The Herald's analysis of average scores aims to put a spotlight on schools achieving strong and improved results across their entire student cohort. Private and Catholic schools are excluded from the analysis as many non-government schools do not report average subject scores. On the average score measure, academic powerhouse James Ruse rose to the top with a combined mean above 90. Last year the school offered 15 subjects. Normanhurst Boys and North Sydney Boys offered 17. Chatswood High, which is partially selective and the state's second-largest public school, had a combined average of 81. It offers 36 courses – double the number of subjects at some selective schools. Cheltenham Girls offers 30 subjects and Burwood Girls 28. James Ruse principal Matthew Dopierala said there were misconceptions that his school was an ATAR factory, and that their students' interests beyond academics were extended through its 60 co-curricular activities and clubs, an annual musical and its cadet unit. Subjects such as physics, chemistry and extension maths – in which average scores are above 88 – were all in high demand, he said. 'We are looking at subject offerings, but we have to cater to what students want. I encourage them not to pick any particular pattern of subjects, but to follow their passion.' Dopierala said the number of students taking accelerated HSC courses in year 10 and 11 had increased. 'That's happened for a number of reasons – some of it is to give them a chance to get a taste for the rigours of the HSC.' More year 12 students are looking to apply to overseas universities, he said, including to Harvard and Oxbridge. At South Sydney High School, which lifted its combined average score by more than five marks, teachers use formal assessment programs in early high school to help students get in the habit of sitting exams. Principal Janice Neilsen said teachers focused heavily on exam technique and writing under timed conditions. 'Getting students to believe they can achieve is so important,' she said, which is helped 'through strong relationships between teachers and students'. 'We also reinforce the importance of attendance, kindness and respect, and building a positive and ordered learning environment across the whole school, from year 7 to 12,' Neilsen said. While some private and Catholic schools include average HSC scores for each subject in their annual reports, many choose instead to publish the proportion of students achieving a particular band and how that compares to the state average. Schools are not required to publish median ATARs or data on how HSC results are tracking over time. The NSW Education Standards Authority, which oversees the HSC, has previously flagged that authorities are looking at 'new and additional information to report the breadth of achievement of HSC students'.
Sydney Morning Herald
10 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
We re-ranked schools by HSC average scores. Only one achieved more than 90
Advanced English and maths cohorts tend to be smaller at comprehensive schools as they also offer standard level courses, whereas most selective schools restrict access to standard subjects. Among schools with the greatest gains in average HSC marks was Endeavour Sports High, which has also doubled its enrolments to 1300 students in the past decade. Principal James Kozlowski credits the lift to overhauling the school's culture, having a high expectations policy and ensuring sport and academic success 'went hand in hand'. 'I emphasised to my teachers that we weren't going to see overnight change. The big shifts will come several years down the track,' he said. Several years ago, the school enlisted the retired former principal of Homebush Boys, Ian Paterson, to run an HSC mentoring program for students. During his decade in that role, Paterson helped the school become a beacon for boys' education, improving literacy results and year 12 completion rates. Endeavour, which offers 14 sports and enrols two-thirds of students in its targeted sports program, uses explicit teaching and regular teacher observation programs. 'Getting the right staff in the right positions is the most important thing, and having them buy into what we are doing here,' Kozlowski said. 'I also run an anonymous survey about my leadership. I want staff to feel comfortable giving and receiving feedback. We won't allow poor practice to go uncommented on; we are going to address it.' The school lifted its combined average score by more than five marks since 2019 while doubling the number of subjects offered, including modern history, physics and advanced maths. The analysis of results shows Sydney's fully selective schools still dominate the average score rankings, reflecting the end-of-year league tables which are based on band 6 results. Every December, the Herald publishes school league tables, which are drawn from band 6 results – or marks over 90 – as a proportion of schools' HSC entries. For the past two years, North Sydney Boys has topped these league tables. The NSW government releases data only about students who achieve the top band in each subject. Experts argue this recognises only a limited definition of success and has distorted subject selection, creating a perverse incentive to push students into lower-level subjects. The Herald's analysis of average scores aims to put a spotlight on schools achieving strong and improved results across their entire student cohort. Private and Catholic schools are excluded from the analysis as many non-government schools do not report average subject scores. On the average score measure, academic powerhouse James Ruse rose to the top with a combined mean above 90. Last year the school offered 15 subjects. Normanhurst Boys and North Sydney Boys offered 17. Chatswood High, which is partially selective and the state's second-largest public school, had a combined average of 81. It offers 36 courses – double the number of subjects at some selective schools. Cheltenham Girls offers 30 subjects and Burwood Girls 28. James Ruse principal Matthew Dopierala said there were misconceptions that his school was an ATAR factory, and that their students' interests beyond academics were extended through its 60 co-curricular activities and clubs, an annual musical and its cadet unit. Subjects such as physics, chemistry and extension maths – in which average scores are above 88 – were all in high demand, he said. 'We are looking at subject offerings, but we have to cater to what students want. I encourage them not to pick any particular pattern of subjects, but to follow their passion.' Dopierala said the number of students taking accelerated HSC courses in year 10 and 11 had increased. 'That's happened for a number of reasons – some of it is to give them a chance to get a taste for the rigours of the HSC.' More year 12 students are looking to apply to overseas universities, he said, including to Harvard and Oxbridge. At South Sydney High School, which lifted its combined average score by more than five marks, teachers use formal assessment programs in early high school to help students get in the habit of sitting exams. Principal Janice Neilsen said teachers focused heavily on exam technique and writing under timed conditions. 'Getting students to believe they can achieve is so important,' she said, which is helped 'through strong relationships between teachers and students'. 'We also reinforce the importance of attendance, kindness and respect, and building a positive and ordered learning environment across the whole school, from year 7 to 12,' Neilsen said. While some private and Catholic schools include average HSC scores for each subject in their annual reports, many choose instead to publish the proportion of students achieving a particular band and how that compares to the state average. Schools are not required to publish median ATARs or data on how HSC results are tracking over time. The NSW Education Standards Authority, which oversees the HSC, has previously flagged that authorities are looking at 'new and additional information to report the breadth of achievement of HSC students'.
Perth Now
20 hours ago
- Perth Now
‘Worst' of Bali bombings victims in unforgettable pictures
Five months pregnant, armed with just her camera and a steady hand, young photojournalist Sandra Jackson stood at Royal Perth Hospital, unsure of what was about to happen. While she couldn't prepare for what was about to happen she was ready to capture history as it passed across the lens. 'I was a young photographer . . . I was working on a normal shift,' Jackson recalled. 'We heard that the plane was coming back in with survivors. '(I) didn't know what was going to come out of that plane, what was going to come out of the ambulance, I just knew they were the worst of worst, and they were coming.' The year was 2002. The victims of the Bali bombings — Australia's worst-ever terror attack — were being flown home. 'Seeing that some were not conscious, some were conscious, and just seeing the actual, you know, trauma,' she said. 'Horrific.' Today, Jackson is the visual editor of The West Australian. Watch each video of The West Australian's Worth A Thousand Words series here. But back then, she was a young photographer on one of the most confronting assignments of her life. And yet, when it came time to raise the camera, instinct took over. 'It is part of the job,' she said. 'We're used to confronting things and seeing horrid things. We see people on their worst days, and we see people on their best days. A victim of the Bali bombings arriving in Perth. Credit: Sandra Jackson / WA News 'When you're taking it, you're doing your job, and you just, you're in automatic mode. It's usually when you drop your camera that you then are part of it. Jackson's story is one of many being brought to light in Worth a Thousand Words, a powerful new video series produced by Natalie Bonjolo, which peels back the curtain on some of the most unforgettable images in WA news history — and the unsung heroes behind the lens. 'Behind every photograph there's drama, pressure and passion to get it right, Bonjolo said. Bali bombings victims arriving in Perth. Credit: Sandra Jackson / WA News 'The West's pictorial collection is a living historical record, any event you can think of has been photographed, catalogued and filed, it's an absolute treasure trove.' From the chaos of crime scenes to the euphoria of sporting parades, Bonjolo's series digs into the emotional and often unpredictable reality of news photography. 'We wanted to highlight some of the defining images in West Australian history and hear from the photographers who took them,' she said. 'The videos feel very intimate and raw, the photographers featured open up about how they felt in the moment, whether it's sadness, triumph, or something else.' The idea for the series was born while Bonjolo was doing a little treasure hunting of her own in The West's photo archive — a rabbit hole of negatives, film rolls and forgotten frames. Stuart Henderson arrived at Royal Perth Hospital. Credit: Sandra Jackson / WA News 'We all know the famous photo of Alan Bond holding up the America's Cup during a street parade through Perth in 1983 as thousands of West Aussies lined St Georges Terrace to welcome the yachting heroes,' she said. 'But the librarian handed me dozens of packets of old film negatives, and I was sitting there over a lit-up desk with JUa magnifying glass seeing hundreds of frames, some which had never been published. 'It was wild, there were images of John Bertrand, the skipper of Australia II and Ben Lexcen the designer, pushing the car because it had broken down in the middle of the parade. 'In another, Alan Bond is leaning out of an open-top Rolls-Royce to grab a can of coke from a spectator, because it was a warm day. 'Worth a Thousand Words speaks with photographer Nic Ellis who reveals how he captured these candid shots,' Bonjolo said. One of the victim's of the 2002 Bali bombings arriving on the tarmac at Perth Airport. Credit: Sandra Jackson / WA News
