Our past students, families, staff and community will always part of our alumni. The Palmerston College infinity symbol AIMS to show always remaining connected to our community and PROUDLY embraces our connectedness with our students, our staff and our INFINITE successes and learning pathways. The smaller to larger elements within our logo illustrates students working towards preparing for their future from Years 7 – 9 and continuing to succeed in Years 10 – 12, as well as student’s knowledge expanding and continuing to more GLOBAL.

Governance

2018

Palmerston College was gazetted on 1 January 2018, creating the very first dual campus College in the Northern Territory. Palmerston College consists of two campuses, Years 7 – 9 Campus and Years 10 -12 Campus, with one Leadership Team. Palmerston College will provide seamless and connected pathways as the secondary campus within Palmerston City Schools.

2017

The Department of Education and the Minister for Education considered community consultation and advised in May 2017 Rosebery Middle School and Palmerston Senior College would be amalgamated to form Palmerston College from January 2018.

History of Our Campuses

1987 – 1999

Years 10-12 Campus History

In 1987 Driver High School was opened. It was the first high school facility in the Palmerston area. 

In 1999 it was renamed to ‘Palmerston High School’.

2006

In 2006, a review of education in the Northern Territory led to the introduction of the stages of schooling. The middle years phase of schooling was identified to be from Years 7 to 9, while the senior secondary phase of schooling was from Years 10 to 12. Work commenced to build the first purpose built middle school in the Northern Territory in Palmerston.

2011

Years 7-9 Campus History 

The Years 7 -9 Campus was the first purpose built middle school facility in the Northern Territory with a capacity for 850 students. Opening as ‘Rosebery Middle School’ in 2011, the campus catered for 515 students in Year 7 and 8 growing to an enrolment of 745 with the inclusion of Year 9 in 2012. Located in the suburb of Rosebery within the City of Palmerston, it has been a special place for travellers and explorers in the Northern Territory’s foundation days. It has been a crucial location for our defence forces in times of war and is the gateway to several airstrips of major significance in the outcome of World War II. It is also an important place in the Indigenous and natural histories of our land. Mitchell Creek runs across the back of the Years 7-9 Campus and connects Palmerston to the ocean through the Elizabeth River. The location at the corner of Forrest Parade and Belyuen Road is named after Crab Billy Belyuen, a senior Aboriginal elder of the Larrakia people. His name means “Sacred Water Hole”. Contemporary Indigenous people of the Northern Territory believe in the notion of freshwater and saltwater coming together for improved communication and fellowship with non-Indigenous Australians. Where saltwater and freshwater meet the result is a unique and thriving ecosystem where new ways of living together emerge. The concept can be further enhanced to consider the meeting of land and water – where Indigenous knowledge is represented by “knowledge from land” and Western knowledge by “knowledge from water”.

Years 10-12 Campus History

In 2011, the Years 10 – 12 campus was renamed to ‘Palmerston Senior College’ and catered to students from Years 9-12. In 2012, the Senior College was able to focus on Years 10-12 and the middle school took on the Year 9 cohort. 

2015

The Years 10-12 Campus was one of the inaugural Independent Public Schools, selected on merit, with the ability to exercise a greater level of autonomy in many key areas including staff selection, management and development.

In 2015, Palmerston Senior College was formally recognised for an innovative range of senior secondary specialist programs, a supportive pastoral care network, provision of excellent facilities, a committed professional staff and vibrant arts program.

Palmerston Senior College governance structures included the College Council and connectED Partnership Board. The connectED Partnership Board was in place from July 2015 to June 2017 and comprised of three partnering schools – Palmerston Senior College, Rosebery Middle and Woodroffe Primary School. The purpose was to proactively lead innovation in the seamless delivery of educational outcomes through the opportunities of joint partnerships. The board provided high level strategic advice to the principal of each school and each school council.

2016

Community consultation was undertaken in November and December of 2016 to seek the views of students, parents, staff and the community of Palmerston, including key education stakeholders for the creation of a dual campus secondary college in Palmerston.

2018

Palmerston College, a dual campus, independent public school and secondary college, the first of its kind, opened its doors to the public. Current students remained enrolled, but were now given the opportunity for a smoother transition through their schooling. 

School Council – Parent Representative Body

The Palmerston College Council is made up of parent, student and staff members who represent the best interests of all students at the College. Members aim to work together to develop the broad strategic direction and vision through the College’s strategic planning process. Council members provide valuable input into the development and implementation of policies at the College, contribute to decision making, and approving distribution and monitoring of the annual budget performance. Members meet 8 times per year (twice a term) and parent members fill the positions of Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. Parents and guardians who are not council members are also welcome to attend any of the meetings throughout the year. If you are interested in joining the Palmerston College Council, please contact the College for more information. 

 

Performance

School Review

School Review Report 2021: School Review Summary 2021 – Top End – Palmerston College

 

Academic Results

In 2017, our Years 7 and 9 NAPLAN results in all areas was above the NT Mean with growth in writing and numeracy from 2016. NAPLAN data shows our AIM Class had 38% of students achieving in the top 20% of Australian Students in Reading and Writing.

In 2016, we doubled the number of students achieving their NTCET, with 3% achieving a 90+ ATAR, a 96% completion rate and 14 aboriginal students achieved an NTCET. More importantly, improvement across the board, including our average ATAR score increasing by over 20 points in the last two years.