PARKES High School celebrated Education Week, embracing the 2025 theme of 'Ignite Your Potential'. It is important to celebrate and reflect on the journey of our students and what part our local Secondary Public Education school plays in creating fulfilling futures for our students. From the first day in Year 7, to the last day at the Year 12 Graduation and beyond, PHS is preparing young people to be agile thinkers and lifelong learners, with the ultimate goal of helping students to ignite their potential. Each PHS lesson is embedded with rich, challenging content that creates interest for each and every student, to light a spark to help set the motion towards success.

At our Education Week Assembly, Deputy Principal, Mr Pigram reflected on some of our very successful graduates. Mariah Williams - Hockey Olympian, Monique Dixon and Lisa Phipps - Doctors, Kelly Yoon - Lawyer, Tom – Australian Defence Force – Dianna Corcoran – International Musician, Sarah Hartin – Physiotherapist, Ethan Pay – V8 Super Car Engineer, and Yasmin Potts – who went to London to the International Youth Science Forum , which ignited her science career and numerous successful business owners in Parkes and the surrounding district. He discussed that each of the students started at Parkes High, that they engaged in their education and embraced all the wonderful opportunities we have to offer, and that each student ignited their potential to succeed.

This year already, we have seen students excel in their chosen areas; Our Guwal Indigenous Dancers have danced at primary schools and local events and will be performing again at this year’s school spectacular, Rhys Hutchins placed in the CWA public speaking competition, Dancer, Isabella Hughes performed at Pulse Alive, two of our talented musicians attend the Western Rock Camp. This year already Parkes High has produced Australian, State and Western Region sporting representatives in in Squash, Athletics, Swimming, Cross Country, Hockey, Lawn Bowls, Soccer, Rugby Union, Rugby League, Touch and Chess.

Community Service and Leadership is also an area we celebrated this year, our school ignites the potential to give to others in our community, whether it is volunteering at Primary Schools, the Parkes Show, ANZAC Day events or organising fund raising events for charities, Parkes High provides our students to chance to thrive.

This year during Education week we celebrated our Work Experience, Skills Training and Employment Program (STEP), School Based Trainee and Apprenticeship and Vocational Education and Training (VET) Programs. These programs are highly successful and give many of our students the opportunity to get experience in the workplace. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our local and surrounding businesses who consistently support our local students in the pursuit to find their dream career.

The PHS community continually works closely together to deliver a rich public education curriculum which is academic, sporting and cultural, where all staff and students learn together in a positive environment to ignite the sprk for an amazing futures.