These conversations happen because Blackwood High alumni go on to do interesting things. Some become household names. Others build quieter, equally meaningful careers. All of them started their journey right here in the foothills.
Dr Susan Close graduated in 1984 and served as SA Education Minister from 2015 to 2018. She was also the local member for Port Adelaide and Deputy Opposition Leader in State Parliament from 2022 to 2025.
Matt Lambert (Suffa) and Dan Smith (Pressure) walked these halls before becoming the Hilltop Hoods, one of Australia's most successful hip hop groups. Their creative talent flourished here long before they became nationally recognised.
Adam Cooney graduated in 2002, won the 2008 Brownlow Medal, and played AFL football for the Western Bulldogs and Essendon.
Ben Rutten left us in 2000 and played for the Adelaide Football Club from 2003 to 2014, earning All-Australian honours in 2005. He later returned to coaching, eventually becoming senior coach at Essendon. In 2025 Rutten was announced as Port Adelaide Football Club new General Manager of Football.
Bianca Reddy graduated in 2000, played netball with the Adelaide Thunderbirds, and later came back to Blackwood High to teach in our Special Interest Netball Program for two years. That's the kind of connection we love to see.
Rebecca Morse finished Year 12 in 1993 and became a breakfast radio presenter for SAFM while previously working as a newsreader for Channel 10. She was named Journalist of the Year at the SA Media Awards in 2005.
Brenton Ragless also graduated in 1993. He's now a presenter on Channel 9 News and has filled in as host of the national early morning show Today.
Chloe Fox graduated in 1987 and later served as a South Australian MP for the Bright electorate.
Kristian Moliere finished in 1988 and went on to produce films including The Babadook, Cold Comfort, and Wake in Fright.
Abbey Holmes graduated in 2008 and went of to become the first woman to kick 100 goals in a season in an established women's football league in 2014, won a premiership with Adelaide in the inaugural 2017 AFL Women's season, and has since worked as a commentator and boundary rider for the Seven Network.
Terence Tao attended Blackwood High at age seven, completing Year 11 and 12 maths and physics while studying Year 8 geography, biology and chemistry. He enrolled at Flinders University at age nine while still studying here. Terence is now a professor in the Department of Mathematics at UCLA. His story shows how we adapt our approach to meet individual students where they are.
The Ones You Don't Read About
These public figures represent just a fraction of our alumni. Walk into any classroom here and ask the teacher about former students. They'll tell you about the apprentice who now runs their own successful business. The student who struggled through Year 9 and is now thriving in aged care. The quiet achiever who became an engineer, a teacher, a nurse, a tradesperson.
We have students who've gone to NASA. Others who found their calling in local sporting clubs or community organisations. Some return Years later to thank their teachers or ask them to be referees for job applications.
Cambiums
Most people have never heard the word "cambium" outside of a biology class. It's the living layer just beneath the bark of a tree, the part that grows quietly, steadily, year after year, turning each season into something permanent.
Since 1961 we named our yearbook the Cambium for exactly that reason.
Every year, a new cohort of students moves through Blackwood High School. They grow in ways that are sometimes invisible from the outside, finding their confidence, their friendships, their direction. The Cambium captures that layer of growth and holds it for good.
Long after the year is over, it's the record that says: this was the living, breathing heart of our school.
Past student and want to order a Cambium? Complete the form below, let us know which Cambiums you'd like to purchase, and we'll be in touch.