Facilities
School Facilities
Featuring a blend of modern and historic buildings, the school is set on attractive grounds with two ovals and various lawn areas for students to relax, play, and learn.
The canteen courtyard was extensively upgraded in 2010 and re-landscaped in 2014 to provide an extensive undercover area for all seasons.
Classrooms
Our refurbished classrooms are comfortable and inspiring places to learn and share knowledge. They include digital screens and full access to the school’s wifi network.
Science Laboratories
Each of our four science laboratories is dedicated to a specific field: physics, chemistry, biology and general science. This focus ensures that equipment and teaching materials, such as posters, displays, word walls, and models, are subject-specific and focus students' attention on the specialist area they are working in.
The Howlett Resource Centre
In 2013, the Howlett resource centre was refurbished and is the central location of school resources. It contains an extensive collection of fiction and non-fiction printed and digital resources. The centre also features an extensive collection of SLR cameras, flip cameras, audio-visual equipment and other ICT equipment.
Visual Arts Studio
Encompassing four distinct teaching areas, the visual arts studio offers all the modern facilities and equipment needed to provide rich and varied visual arts experiences.
Fully furnished to allow students to explore a wide range of traditional and new media, the studio includes a designated ceramics area; a computer graphics and multi-media suite equipped with Apple Macintosh computers, graphics tablets and high-quality printers capable of printing up to A1+; as well as a dedicated year 12 studio, and general art rooms.
Specialist ICT Facilities
Our school offers several dedicated computer rooms using dual (Apple Macintosh and Windows) platforms. In addition, all teaching classrooms have full wireless internet access and digital screens.
A 21st-century technology area has been developed in the technology centre where students can learn the skills of CO2 laser cutting and three-dimensional printing.
Electrotechnology Centre
Purpose-built to provide an industry-standard learning environment dedicated to the electronics industry, the centre comprises an advanced computer room complete with Unitrain learning modules and sustainable energy systems.
An attached workshop contains tools and measuring equipment required to construct circuits and electrical devices.
Furniture Construction Centre
The specially designed furniture construction centre replicates a modern industrial cabinet-making facility. It contains all the tools a professional cabinet maker requires, including a rip saw, panel saw, mortising machine, radial arm saw, 800mm continuous belt sander, 800mm thicknesser, planer, jointer, edge bander, multi-hole borer, inverted router, bobbin sander and drop saw.
Design and Technology Centre
The light-filled design and technology centre embraces an open-space workshop where students can learn the skills involved in woodwork, plastics, metal machining, and welding. The facility also houses a dedicated digital photography suite.
There is a second specialist workshop for automotive studies for students interested in the automotive industry, with students benefiting from access to a vehicle hoist, industry-level tyre-changing equipment, and a range of engines.
Home Economics Centre
The home economics centre is made up of four teaching areas. The textiles room features modern sewing machines and overlockers, a programmable embroidering machine, a washing machine and a drier. The centre also comprises two recently refurbished kitchens and a general classroom.
Agriculture Centre
Our school has a long tradition of success in agricultural and horticultural studies. Spread across six hectares of land, the agricultural centre includes a range of paddocks (for livestock), chicken hutches, plant nurseries, vegetable plots, a shearing shed, storage sheds, and equipment for irrigation and livestock management.
Access for Students and Staff with Disabilities
Despite some of our buildings' age and multi-level nature, Mount Barker High School is committed to providing efficient and unrestricted access to all teaching areas for students, staff and visitors with restricted mobility.
Each ground-floor room in the school is accessible by a ramp, while a lift and ramp allow access to the upper floor of the school’s main building.