Irrawang High School staff could be excused for doing a double take of the new year 7 students that arrived this week with a record six sets of twins among the cohort.
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Believed to be the most sets of twins to ever enrol in the one grade at the Raymond Terrace school, the students are 12 of about 220 that made the transition from primary to high school at Irrawang on Wednesday.
“We are amazed to see so many sets of twins in the same year group come to Irrawang High School,” principal Paul Baxter said. “We welcome them and the rest of their year group.”
Two sets of the twins are fraternal and the other four identical.
Four sets of the twins live in Raymond Terrace and the other two in Medowie.
While some of the twins had previously met through primary school, and are friends with each other, the first day of high school on Wednesday was the first time they had been all together.
Fraternal twins Kathlyn Stevens and her brother Leonardo Stevens, aged 12, previously attended Irrawang Public School while Isaac Keeley and his sister Abby Keeley, 11, attended Medowie Public School.
The Stevens siblings attended the same primary school as identical twin brothers Nick and Will Watts, 12.
Nick and Leonardo are best friends.
Identical twin sisters Libby Gentle and Hayley Gentle, 12, attended Wirreanda Public School while Breony Davies and Chloe Davies, 12, attended Grahamstown Public School with Alisha Snow and Mikayla Snow, 11.
The Gentle sisters said their bond is a close one.
“I can say half a sentence and she’ll understand,” Hayley said.
Twins finishing each other’s sentences – even saying the same sentence simultaneously – was a regular occurrence when the 12 students were together on Wednesday.
The word ‘jinx’, a quip made when two people say the same word at once, was uttered countless times during the meeting.
When asked what in their experience it was like to be a twin, the Watts brothers said it had its highs and lows.
“It does become annoying sometimes. We get mistaken for each other a lot,” Nick said.
“It’s almost like having a mirror following you around. But we are close,” Will said.
Mr Baxter said Irrawang’s strong transition program with its partner primary schools made it a top choice for parents and carers to pick when it came to sending their child to high school.
“We’re growing confidence in the community that sending their kids to this school means their learning needs and well-being are being catered for,” he said.
“Staff worked hard towards the end of last year and the start of this year in preparation for this large year 7 group.
“We’ll have nine year 7 classes this year of about 25 students in each class.
“I’m very confident in the staff being able to cater for the needs of every student that attends Irrawang High School this year.”
More than 900 students will attend Irrawang High School across all grades this year, up from about 850 in 2018 and 750 in 2017.
While numbers have not yet been finalised, the 2019 year 7 grade is expected to be about 220 students, which is a growth from 190 in 2018 and 150 in 2017.
Ellie-Marie Watts
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
A journalist with 10 years experience, Ellie-Marie connects readers to the stories that matter in their communities. A Port Stephens-based news, sport and event writer and photographer with a passion for human interest features.
