Randwick Girls' High School

Randwick Girls' High School is the only public non-fee paying single sex girls' comprehensive school in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs.

We are an innovative educational community specialising in girls' education, with a commitment to...

• Empowering young women to be tomorrow's leaders

• Supporting female students to achieve their personal best in education

• Offering the widest possible range of innovative curricular and co-curricular programs

• Underpinning learning with an exceptional wellbeing program targeted at girls

• Providing highly qualified and dedicated staff who possess a broad base of expertise

• Nurturing a love of learning in an academic rich learning environment

• Providing educational opportunities in STEM and vocational education

Small group tours with the principal or an executive staff member are held every week. You can contact us to arrange a private tour and gain an insight into the diverse curriculum and opportunities on offer at our school, and meet our students and staff.

Some of our outstanding 2022 HSC results include...

• 2nd in the state in Swedish

• 3rd in the state in Korean

• 4th in the state in Chinese Continuers

• 76 Band 6s and E4s

• 4 Design & Technology nominations

• 2 Visual Arts selections to Art Express

• 2 Music 1 Nominations

• 6 Dance Nominations

Local Artist... James Robinson from Bronte

Bronte’s James Robinson is the Art Director at Surfing NSW and the talent behind Bound by Sea, handshaped and illustrated Alaias and Paipos inspired by the ocean. Robbo shares his local favourites with The Beast...

How long have you lived here? 51 years. I grew up in Clovelly and Bronte. It’s home, I love it, and I have surfed Bronte since I can remember. It’s a great community, like a country town, it’s beautiful.

What's your favourite eatery? Wet Paint has always been our favourite. The food is amazing. But they do have to bring back the lemon meringue pie.

Where do you like to have a drink? The Nelson Hotel in Bondi Junction is easily my favourite pub. It has stayed true to what a pub should be - cold beer, great staff, amazing food, a place to catch up or run into old friends.

Best thing about the Eastern Suburbs? We’ve seen a lot of change - some good, some bad - but the one thing that has remained constant is the sense of community. I love being part of Bronte Boardriders, a true community club.

Worst thing about the Eastern Suburbs? Overdevelopment. Just because you can, doesn’t make it right. But we still have a voice, and Bronte Surf Club is a great example of that. The first round of designs got a big ‛no’ from the local community. We came together and voiced our concerns and disappointment, and it looks like our voice was heard, commonsense should prevail, and hopefully we will get something that fits the space, the environment and the community’s needs, because it should be a community space, not just a private club for one small group of people.

How would you describe your art? My artwork has one common theme, the ocean, and it is central to my world. I build all my own wooden paddles and boards from sustainable or recycled materials, then hand draw the artwork into the fibres of the wood using a technique called ‘pyrography’. I also work with ink on bristol, and I’m known for the ‘Captains’ series (I bring at least one or two out each year).

Where can people see your work? A lot of my work is commissioned. Up until COVID I was showcasing my art with at least 2-3 shows each year locally (something I hope to return to). Most of my artwork goes overseas and I am a featured artist in Wy’s Galleries in Haleiwa, Hawaii. My website is the best place to view past and current pieces - www.boundbysea.com.au.

Who are your artistic inspirations? Surf/skate culture, Ben Brown, Jim & Jimbo Philips, Ben Ogden, Rocking Jellybean, Ken Taylor, Travis Price, VC Johnson, Aaron Horkey and many more.

What are you working on at the moment? I am working on 9-10 pieces for Wy’s Galleries and heading over mid-year to showcase this work.

Do you have any exhibitions coming up? Nothing in the works locally for Bound by Sea, but it is early in the year, so who knows? I am the curator of the Sydney MOSS Foundation Skate Artshow, something I’m super proud to be a part of. 100 artists will be given a blank skateboard to work their magic. We host a night at AMBUSH Gallery, Waterloo, in August and each of the decks are auctioned off and all funds raised go to building and supporting clean water systems in Eswatini, Africa. Check out www.mosswater.org.

Any other local artists to look out for? Caleb Reid, he is an amazing artist.

Did you study art? Only at high school. I did an Associate Diploma in Graphic Design after year 12 but learnt most of my skills on the job. I was lucky enough at my first job to work alongside Cavan Lenagan, an Art Director for many of the biggest magazines locally and globally.

Any words of wisdom for young aspiring artists? Books - study the best in the business, these are your guides and your bibles. And practice - art is basically a muscle memory skill, the more you draw the better you get.

Who is your favourite person? My wife Row and my daughters. They are my support crew, they encourage me, inspire me, and I couldn’t do it without them.

What do you get up to on the weekends? Surf as much as possible, family time and art.

Do you have a favourite quote? “There are no mistakes in art - what you see as a mistake, someone might see as beauty.”Eva, my school art teacher.

Any other words of wisdom for readers of The Beast? Life is short, tick off everything on your bucket list, what are you waiting for?