High school

A high school (also secondary school, senior school, secondary college) is a school that provides adolescents with part or all of their secondary education. It may come after primary school or middle school and be followed by higher education or vocational training.

Terminology

The term "high school" originated in Scotland, with the world's oldest high school being Edinburgh's Royal High School from 1505. The Royal High School was used as a model for the first public high school in the United States, Boston Latin School founded in Boston, Massachusetts.

The precise stage of schooling provided by a high school differs from country to country, and may vary within the same jurisdiction. In all of New Zealand and Malaysia, along with most of Britain and parts of Australia, Bangladesh and Canada, high school means the same thing as secondary school, but instead of starting in 9th grade, these "secondary schools" begin at ages 11 or 12.

Country by country

Australia

In Australia, high school is a secondary school, from Year 7 or Year 8 through to Year 12, varying from state to state. High school immediately follows primary (elementary) school; therefore, a Year-7 Australian high-school student is sometimes as young as 12. In Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, the term "high school" generally refers to Years 7–10, whereas the term "College" is used for Years 11–12. In Victoria the term "secondary college" has largely replaced the term "high school" following the reforms of the Labor Government in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Some schools have retained the name "high school" (such as Melbourne High School) and many have now dropped the "secondary" and are simply known as "college".

Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn

Sheepshead Bay is a bay separating the mainland of Brooklyn, New York City, from the eastern portion of Coney Island, the latter originally a barrier island but now effectively an extension of the mainland with peninsulas both east (the neighborhood of Manhattan Beach) and west (the neighborhoods of Coney Island and Sea Gate). The mouth of the bay is about 1.0 mile (1.6 km) southwest of Marine Park, Brooklyn. The area is part of Brooklyn Community Board 15.

History

The name "Sheepshead Bay" applies to the neighborhood north of the bay as well as the bay itself. Sheepshead Bay was named for the sheepshead, an edible fish found in the bay's waters. The fish, now rare, can still be caught in the local waters occasionally.

The bay itself was originally the easterly entrance to Coney Island Creek, but the filling-in of the central part of this waterway during the 1930s, in conjunction with construction of the Shore Parkway portion of the Belt Parkway, eliminated access to that waterway. At the same time, the bay was widened, deepened, and bulkheaded at its western end. Recreational fishing fleets are now located there, though the fishing fleets have been shrinking every year and are being replaced by dinner boats. Holocaust Memorial Park, located at the western end of the bay, is used throughout the year for commemorative events.