Might only be upstaged by the 5 new faces at HH this year in year 10 plus the anomalies in the current opens ....
My son tells me that only one new face has impressed and is in the 2nds. Very fast kid. The remainder are in the A's, B's and even one in the D's he thinks. I will ask him to confirm. The 15's age group was quite strong in 2018. The 14's though were the weakest and will struggle again. The 15A's though in 2019 do have some fresh faces as Year 9 is a big intake year. Normally 20 new boys turn up.
At Joeys they have an unusual entry into the school. Normally in year 7 they start with about 130-150 kids. Then over the years there are those who turn up each year with year 9/10 and year 11 being the years the largest number of kids turn up. When my eldest was in year 10 there were over 200 kids and eventually 220 in year 12. Many schools maintain steady numbers across all year groups. I know that at some schools that over a six year cycle there maybe only up to 20 boys join the cohort. At Joeys you can see up to 70+ join over the cycle. In addition, BOYS LEAVE to go back to farms when families struggle or some leave to pursue trade options. My son lost his best mate at the end of year 10. He is now making $$$ as a 2nd year apprentice plumber.
Why?
Most boys who join later do so for a variety of reasons. The main one is that these boys have come from the bush and families can only afford $40k a year fees for a short while. This is why in year seven you see approx 30% boarders and 70% day students. By the time year 12 comes round the percentages almost switch entirely with only a smaller percentage now day boys. As well, the country/city split changes too with an even number of country boys in year 12 where when the cohort started it was city dominated. Finally, some families were not able to get entry into the school for years 7 or 8 as Joeys likes to cap numbers based on the space they have. This space is "dining rooms seating". Joeys could actually take over 1500 students tomorrow as they do have the classrooms to cope BUT the cap is based on the tradition that ALL students eat together at lunch. To an outsider there is little obvious difference between a boy from Barraba and a boy from Balmain.
Yes, there are some boys who turn up at Joeys with skills. Some are indeed athletes, some come in on Music and Drama scholarships, many though have nothing extraordinary other then a smile. Those on performing arts scholarships have to maintain a certain level of performance and commitment over the time they have the scholarship. This would be the same at other schools I presume. If they fall behind academically, they are supported for a time, but can be shown the door. Hard I know, but if the school is paying their way they must perform. I recall a boy at Joeys was on a Maths Scholarship. But, he also played 1st XV. While many thought he was there to play rugby it turned out he was brilliant at Maths and did very well in the HSC. He never went on to play club rugby but he now studies in the USA I am told.
I hope this has assisted many to understand the enrollment ethos at Joeys.
