Principal James Kozlowski felt like a sleuth as he trawled social media sites looking for alumni of Endeavour Sports High School.

Late at night he put posts on Facebook and LinkedIn and entered names and maiden names into search engines to track down connections.

Eventually, Mr Kozlowski found around 75 per cent of the duxes and captains from 1964 to 2024. He invited them to the school’s 60th anniversary celebrations this week and to contribute their biographies to a commemorative book.

“I felt a bit like a stalker but for a great cause. It was like a family tree search without the connecting DNA,” he told the former students at a recent open day.

Bruce Lord was the first Endeavour Dux in 1969. He became a civil engineer and managed bridge and railway construction projects in Sydney and the Hunter Valley.

The second Dux was Ken Oldfield in 1970 and his sister, Lynne, was the 1973 Dux. Their mother, Audrey Oldfield, was a well-known children’s writer and suffragette historian.

Endeavour, on Dharawal Country, opened in 1964 as a comprehensive secondary school with 284 Year 7 students. It became a sports high school in 1997.

Today, it has 1350 students and is known equally for its sporting and academic achievements.

The school’s latest sporting champion is Paris Paralympian runner Telaya Blacksmith, who joins swimming legend Craig Stevens, former Matilda Teresa Polias and world champion boxer George Kambosos Jr on the sporting dais.

Mr Kozlowski said he was impressed by the diversity of careers of the public school alumni from Endeavour.

“Among our former captains and duxes we have successful doctors, research scientists, lawyers, performers, teachers, business owners, academics, vets and engineers, to name a few,” he said.

These include renowned obstetrician Dr Emmaneul Karantanis; the original Red Wiggle Murray Cook; Australia’s next Special Representative on Afghanistan, Amanda McGregor; pathologist Professor Leslie Burnett; and forensic odontologist Dr Pamela Gower.

Endeavour Sports High School started a Hall of Fame seven years ago and this year’s inductees are award-winning adolescent health researcher Dr Lauren Gardner (HSC class of 2008) and award-winning investigative journalist Stephen Long (1982 vice-captain).

NSW Department of Education Secretary Murat Dizdar said Endeavour Sports High embodied the ethos of public education.

“I want everyone in the Endeavour Sports High School community to stand proud for everything your school represents – opportunity, excellence, inclusivity, and community,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, public education is a place where everyone can feel proud to belong.”

Mr Kozlowski asked the alumni to keep returning to Endeavour to inspire the current generation of students.

“You are proof that what we do in education matters,” he said.

“Enjoy your return to our school and make a promise to remain attached to us over the coming years. You are role models for our current and future students, and we need you to remain so.”