As a bookish child, who read every biography in her primary school library, Gladys Berejiklian just wanted to score top marks and make her parents proud.
She loved maths even more than reading and had university in her sights from a young age.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
Photo: Fairfax Media
But in the mid 1980s, her local high school, North Ryde High, had a reputation of being full of drugs and drop-outs.
She was petrified. "I didn’t even know what drugs were but I was pretty sure they were bad," the Premier will reveal in a speech on Thursday night.
"I was extremely competitive and wanted good marks but from the talk of the kids I hung out with in our neighbourhood, I was doomed.
"Based on what the local kids told me, every kid who went to North Ryde High got bashed up and was forced to take drugs."
Ms Berejiklian will give the Sydney Institute annual address on Thursday, where she is expected to outline her vision for the state as she prepares for a tough election campaign.
Gladys Berejiklian (at the back) in her early childhood.
Photo: Supplied
The intensely private premier will also use the speech to reveal some details of her background, which includes being the daughter of Armenian migrants.
Her family lost 40 relatives in the 1915 Armenian genocide and her four grandparents were all orphaned, forced to leave their homeland and settle in the Middle East.
Her parents migrated to Australia in the 1960s and as their first born child, Ms Berejiklian only spoke Armenian until she started school.
"They spoke Armenian at home not only because it was their first language – but also because they felt a responsibility to preserve their heritage given the atrocities committed against our family and the Armenian people," her speech says.
She says that she is usually reluctant to talk about her personal story because she does not like to "stray from core business". But she accepts people are shaped by their "upbringing, background, and experiences".
"My experiences have given me the perspective that hard work and respect are the greatest indicators of future success, not your background or your postcode," she says.
And her fears about North Ryde High were unjustified. Ms Berejiklian not only did well, but went on to university, a career in banking and public life.
Berejiklian family photos. The Premier is on the left.
Photo: Supplied
"These formative years toughened me up, taking me outside my comfort zone and the protection of a very tight knit family life," her speech says.
"I learned to be self-disciplined and self-motivated and to work hard."
