A Sense Of History

Mount Lawley High School first opened in 1955.
In 1971 it was developed into a Special Language School.
In 2006 work was completed on the "new" Mount Lawley Senior High School and a new era for the school began in earnest.

The focus for this blog is the area of Languages.
We are a Department of Education specialist high school offering special placement and programs in five languages including:
Chinese, French, German, Indonesian and Italian.


A group of high ability students is selected to form the Special Language Class. The students in this class study two languages over three years and continue with one or two languages to Year 12.

Over many years the students in the Languages Program have demonstrated high standards of proficiency in Languages by winning Subject Exhibitions and Certificates of Distinction in the Tertiary Entrance Examinations. Others have excelled in the privately organized language examinations held by Chinese, French, German and Italian associations. A significant number have won Department of Education scholarships enabling them to travel overseas to further their linguistic skills. Many of our students have pursued their Language studies at Western Australian Universities as well as universities overseas. Recently in the Uniview Magazine UWA PhD student Russell Harwood recalled that passionate Mandarin teachers at Mt Lawley Senior High School, Geoff Davis and Anita Chong, spurred his interest in the culture of China, and that a school visit during summer holidays further increased his appreciation of things Chinese. “When you learn a foreign language at school or university, only using it in the classroom, it seems quite abstract,” observed the UWA researcher. “However, on a visit to the country you become immersed in the language, speaking it every day and appreciating its
relevance and practical advantages.”

When Russell began studying the complex tonal challenges of Mandarin, he never suspected that his language studies marked the start of an incredible journey that would provide him with rewarding career prospects. This blog aims to highlight the achievements of Language students at MLSHS both past and present with the hope that it inspires others to embark on the rewarding journey that the study of languages can provide.

[The full article containing Russell's comments can be found at this url: http://www.publishing.uwa.edu.au/uniview/2008/uniview_Vol27No2_2008-06.pdf ]

The aim of our Languages program is to give students a varied, enjoyable program which provides them with every opportunity to develop linguistic skills as well as gain an appreciation and understanding of the culture whose language they are learning.