Maybe ‘Nonsoon’ but ‘No Nonsense’ at Haileybury, Darwin
A wonderful feature of the Northern Territory cycle of life is the annual arrival of the monsoonal period, known locally as ‘the monsoon.’ In Darwin, the monsoon typically arrives around late December or early January, bringing heavy rain and thunderstorms as a result of shifting winds that draw moisture from the ocean across the land, creating a low-pressure system, and this usually lasts as the ‘wet season’ through to April. The monsoon typically marks the end of the ‘build up’ — a notorious time in Darwin when humidity grows, rain threatens, tempers perhaps become a little frayed and we wait for heavy rains. The latest recorded start to a monsoon in Darwin was previously 25 January 1973. As I write this on 10 February 2025 we have had enough of setting records and hope for the big wet shortly.
Locals are jokingly calling this unusually non-wet period the ‘nonsoon.’ But there has been no room for nonsense as Haileybury Rendall School has started our eighth year with record enrolments, wonderful new staff and facilities, and a lot of excitement.
For the first time, we start a school year with over 1,050 students from ELC through to Year 12. We have a record number of Indigenous students, 151 or 14% of our cohort, and we are also including 100 boarders living at school from across northern Australia and parts of Asia. We are also excited to include five NT Pangea students who will study with us online for 2025.
We have recently spent several days inducting our new staff and this group has included 20 new classroom teachers from Transition to Year 12. All reports are confirming that this is the most talented and committed intake of new staff ever. Quite incredibly, 13 of these new teachers have joined us from Victoria, where they have had great experiences and are now committed to a northern lifestyle of hard work and enjoyable tourist experiences. There is no doubt that the Haileybury name has helped us attract such quality new staff to join our team.
Across teaching, boarding, corporates, facilities and administration we now employ just over 200 staff. Our school is growing, our reputation is growing, and we can’t wait to share our successes from this exciting year.
Andrew McGregor
Principal, Haileybury Rendall School
