For a little minnow with just 440 students, Hazelbrook Public School certainly punches above its weight.
The school not only encourages academic studies, it also reinforces the importance of all-round skills, which shows in a string of successes in sport, chess, dance and debating.
The school now boasts being 2016 Upper Blue Mountains Primary Schools cricket champions and last month the Year 5 and 6 boys team were just pipped in the final of the T20 regional finals. They stood up well against other semi-finalists, Quakers Hill (1200 students), Westmead (1200) and Regentville (800).
They won the 2016 Blue Mountains Zone Cross Country Championships, after being runners-up last year and winners in 2014.
The soccer teams have performed exceptionally well this year. In the state knockout our girls went to the 4th round, becoming the last Blue Mountains team in the competition, and the boys did even better, making it all the way to the Sydney West Final, where they were narrowly defeated 1-0 by Winston Hills PS. Next year they should be even stronger as the large majority of the side (including an Australian Futsal rep) are in Year 5. Winston Hills were all Year 6.
The stage 3 debating team has had great success this year, moving into round 5 of the Year 5 and 6 Premier's debating challenge. In this state- wide debating competition, open to government schools across NSW, Hazelbrook’s students have remained undefeated since round 1.
When the competition started at the beginning of the year there were 763 teams competing across the state. They are now one of only 12 remaining teams for the western Sydney region.
The senior dance group of 30 girls auditions annually for the Nepean and Blue Mountains Dance Festival and are accepted every year. There is an ex-Conservatorium of Dance teacher at the school, which certainly helps.
And in the recent Blue Mountains one-day chess tournament, Hazelbrook tied for first with perennial rivals Grammar.
Assistant principal, Quentin Kidd, said the school encouraged a wide range of activities outside the classroom.
“We’re very proud of our students, who show such wonderful all-round abilities.”
