Students will read and analyse a range of poems, using Peter Skrzynecki’s The Rainbow-birds & other poems as the base text. Peter Skrzynecki is one of Australia’s best poets and his works are studied as part of the NSW HSC curriculum.
Poems from other writers are included in addition to the poems in the book. Students will learn techniques to help them read poetry as well as to analyse the poetic devices that support a poem’s theme and meaning.
Students must have a copy of the book ready for the course. You may purchase one from the office.
Below is the preferred version, but you can use another version.

| School | Offered | Reserved |
|---|---|---|
| James Ruse AHS | 0 | 0 |
| North Sydney Girls HS | 0 | 0 |
| Baulkham Hills HS | 0 | 0 |
| North Sydney Boys HS | 0 | 0 |
| Normanhurst Boys HS | 0 | 0 |
| Sydney Boys HS | 0 | 0 |
| Hornsby Girls HS | 0 | 0 |
| Sydney Girls HS | 0 | 0 |
| Fort Street HS | 0 | 0 |
| Girraween HS | 0 | 0 |
| St George Girls HS | 0 | 0 |
| Hurlstone Agriculture HS | 0 | 0 |
| Penrith Selective HS | 0 | 0 |
| NBSC Manly Campus | 0 | 0 |
| Others | 53+ |
| School | Offered | Reserved |
|---|---|---|
| James Ruse AHS | 0 | 0 |
| North Sydney Girls HS | 0 | 0 |
| Baulkham Hills HS | 0 | 0 |
| North Sydney Boys HS | 0 | 0 |
| Normanhurst Boys HS | 0 | 0 |
| Sydney Boys HS | 0 | 0 |
| Hornsby Girls HS | 0 | 0 |
| Sydney Girls HS | 0 | 0 |
| Fort Street HS | 0 | 0 |
| Penrith Selective HS | 0 | 0 |
| Girraween HS | 0 | 0 |
| NBSC Manly Campus | 0 | 0 |
| St George Girls HS | 0 | 0 |
| Hurlstone Agriculture HS | 0 | 0 |
| Others | 14+ |
| School | Offered | Reserved |
|---|---|---|
| Beecroft Public School | 0 | 0 |
| North Rocks Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Ermington Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Artarmon Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Matthew Pearce Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Dural Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Waitara Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Hurstville Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Summer Hills Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Lindfield Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Ryde Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Ironbark Ridge Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Chatswood Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Greystanes Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Neutral Bay Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Wahroonga Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Others | 27+ |
| School | Offered | Reserved |
|---|---|---|
| Beecroft Public School | 0 | 0 |
| North Rocks Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Ermington Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Artarmon Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Matthew Pearce Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Dural Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Waitara Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Hurstville Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Ryde Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Ironbark Ridge Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Chatswood Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Woollahra Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Neutral Bay Public School | 0 | 0 |
| Others | 25+ |
| School | Offered | Reserved |
|---|---|---|
| James Ruse AHS | 0 | 0 |
| Baulkham Hills HS | 0 | |
| North Sydney Girls HS | 0 | |
| North Sydney Boys HS | 0 | 0 |
| Hornsby Girls HS | 0 | |
| Normanhurst Boys HS | 0 | 0 |
| Sydney Boys HS | 0 | |
| Sydney Girls HS | 0 | 0 |
| Penrith Selective HS | 0 | 0 |
| Girraween HS | 0 | 0 |
| NBSC Manly Campus | 0 | |
| Fort Street HS | 0 | 0 |
| Others | 16 |
| School | Offered | Reserved |
|---|---|---|
| James Ruese AHS | 0 | 0 |
| Baulkham Hills HS | 0 | 0 |
| North Sydney Girls HS | 0 | 0 |
| North Sydney Boys HS | 0 | 0 |
| Hornsby Girls HS | 0 | |
| Normanhurst Boys HS | 0 | 0 |
| Sydney Boys HS | 0 | |
| Sydney Girls HS | 0 | 0 |
| Penrith Selective HS | 0 | |
| Girraween HS | 0 | |
| NBSC Manly Campus | 0 | |
| Fort Street HS | 0 | |
| Others | 0 |
| School | Interview | Scholarship |
|---|---|---|
| Abbotsleigh | 0 | 0 |
| Arden Anglican School | 0 | 0 |
| Barker College | 0 | 0 |
| Brigidine College St Ives | 0 | 0 |
| Cranbrook School | 0 | 0 |
| Danebank School | 0 | 0 |
| Hills Grammar School | 0 | 0 |
| Kambala School | 0 | 0 |
| Knox Grammar School | 0 | 0 |
| Meriden School | 0 | 0 |
| MLC School | 0 | 0 |
| Monte Sant'Angelo | 0 | 0 |
| Newington College | 0 | 0 |
| Northholm Grammar | 0 | 0 |
| PLC Sydney | 0 | 0 |
| Pymble Ladies' College | 0 | 0 |
| Queenwood | 0 | 0 |
| School | Interview | Scholarship |
|---|---|---|
| Ravenswood School | 0 | 0 |
| Reddam House | 0 | 0 |
| Santa Sabina College | 0 | 0 |
| SCEGGS Darlinghurst | 0 | 0 |
| Shore School | 0 | 0 |
| St Andrew's Cathedral | 0 | 0 |
| St Catherine's School | 0 | 0 |
| St Joseph's College | 0 | 0 |
| St Luke's Grammar | 0 | 0 |
| Sydney Grammar School | 0 | 0 |
| Tara Anglican School | 0 | 0 |
| The King's School | 0 | 0 |
| The Scots College | 0 | 0 |
| Trinity Grammar School | 0 | 0 |
| Wenona School | 0 | 0 |
| Others | 0 | 0 |
| Year 5/6 | Year 7/8 | |
|---|---|---|
| First Prize | Rose Asgari | Aditya Paul |
| Second Prize | Ian Jung | Indraneel Jishnu |
| Third Prize | Richelle Lam | Cynthia Cai |
| Highly Commended | Jaithra Vasani Anooushka Vijay Anand Lehan (Olivia) Xu |
Anna Crowley |