Fort Street High School (FSHS) is a government-funded co-educational academically selective secondary day school, located in Petersham, an inner western suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1849, it is the oldest government high school in Australia and, notably, the first school not founded by a religious organisation. Today, it remains a public school operated by the New South Wales Department of Education. As an academically selective secondary school, it draws students from across greater metropolitan Sydney. To avoid confusion arising from the school's history of separation, amalgamation and relocation, the present school is designated Fort Street High School, Petersham for official government purposes. The school's Latin motto is Faber est suae quisque fortunae, translated as "Each person is the maker of their own fortune", a phrase attributed to the ancient Roman Appius Claudius Caecus. Fort Street High School has a sister school, Suginami Sogo High School, in Tokyo, Japan. In 2010, The Age reported that Fort Street High School ranked equal fourth among Australian schools, based on the number of alumni who had been honoured as a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC). History Creation of the Fort Street Model School The history of public education in Australia began when the Governor of New South Wales Charles FitzRoy established a Board of National Education on 8 January 1848 to implement a national system of education throughout the Colony. The board decided to create two model schools, one for boys and one for girls. The site of Fort Street Model School was chosen as the old Military Hospital at Fort Phillip, on Sydney's Observatory Hill. This school was not only intended to educate boys and girls, but also to serve as a model for other schools in the Colony. The school's name is derived from the name of a street which ran into the grounds of the hospital and became part of the playground during its reconstruction. The street name is perpetuated in the small street in Petersham that leads to the present school. Establishment of Fort Street The school was officially established on 1 September 1841, when the conversion of the building was approved by the government. This original school building is visible today beside the southern approaches to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The establishment of Fort Street School marked the establishment of a non-denominational system of school, where the government undertook the education of its