Port Lincoln High School has entered into two sister school partnerships in recent years; both relationships align with the international languages that we offer as subjects here at PLHS - Japanese and Indonesian.
In 2021, we signed a sister school agreement with our long-term friends at Muroto High School in Japan. In 2026, we became sister schools with Maktab Sains Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan school in Brunei.
Muroto High School (Japan)
Since 1994, PLHS has shared a close relationship with Muroto High School (in Japan’s Kochi prefecture), through over three decades of biannual cultural exchanges between the two communities. When COVID-19 made international travel impossible in 2020, we turned to technology to maintain contact with our friends in Muroto – this was achieved through email and Zoom video calls between our Japanese and their English classes. As the bond between our two schools developed, it seemed appropriate to establish a more official affiliation.
Accordingly, representatives from PLHS and the broader community signed a sister school agreement with Muroto High School in a formal ceremony (linked to Muroto HS via Zoom) on Thursday April 8, 2021. Our copy of the document was signed by Ms. Rowena Fox (Education Director, Department for Education), Mr. Todd George (Principal, PLHS), Mr. Brian Gabb (Chairperson, PLHS Governing Council), Miss Ursula Clarke and Mr. Ned Moxey (Principal Student Leaders, PLHS), Mr. Brad Flaherty (Mayor, City of Port Lincoln) and Mr. Rob Watson (Chairperson, Port Lincoln Muroto Friendship Group).
In celebration of our agreement, gifts were exchanged between the two schools; these were officially presented during the Zoom ceremony. We were privileged to receive a traditional glass fishing buoy from Muroto, whilst our gift to them was a stunning artwork produced by Year 10 Indigenous art student Leightahnee Henry – the screenprint on linen is aptly titled ‘Gadiya’, a Wirangu word meaning ‘friend’.
As per the agreement, staff, student and parent representatives from both schools pledged to continue developing good relations, and to strengthen the ties between Australia and Japan through educational and cultural exchange.
In October 2024, our first school trip to Japan in many years was conducted by 24 senior Language students and four accompanying teachers – the absolute highlight of the hectic 10-day itinerary was a visit to our friends at Muroto High School, with treasured time spent participating in a variety of Japanese classes and activities. Further trips (in both directions) have since been planned and completed.
Maktab Sains Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan (Brunei)
Late in 2025, Port Lincoln High School was announced as one of nine schools across the nation for the second cohort of the ASEAN–Australia BRIDGE School Partnerships Program – this exciting initiative saw our school partner with the staff and students at Maktab Sains Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan school in Brunei, an independent Islamic sultanate on the northern coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia.
This connection enables our Indonesian language classes (and other curriculum areas) to engage in assorted learning activities such as:
- conducting video calls into classrooms in both schools
- creating and sharing digital storyboards featuring “A Day In The Life” in each country
- exchanging treasure boxes containing artefacts of importance to each culture
- swapping recipes and making cuisine from the other country
