Learning .... Optimism .... Enjoyment

Senior School Mural

The Mural was designed by students and artist in residence Lucio Crispino, himself a former student. Encoded in each panel is the title of Paul Gauguin painting 'Where do we come from? Where are we going?' The mural embodies this title in three panels which represent vision, motion and action; eyes to see where we are going, legs to take us there and arms to shape our futures.

Philosophy

We are committed to our student's academic progress and their welfare. Forgiveness and generosity are values that underpin what we do. We understand that our students have complex lives and we endeavor to reflect this in our policies and processes. Our philosophy statement drives our policies and our practice.

Philosophy statement (PDF - 171Kb)

What do we know about our students?

We are committed to understanding this generation of learners. We build our practices on our understandings of the characteristics of generation Y.

Who are our students? (PDF - 145Kb)

Policies, Processes and Protocols

Our policies are underpinned by

  • Senior school philosophy
  • Understandings of who our students are

Full details of all policies, processes, protocols and Quality Assurance processes are available in the Senior School Handbook. A selection of senior school policies can be downloaded from the Documentation page.

Learning and Methodology

Research shows that it is not intellect but rather a knowledge of how to study and learn that determines success.

We work with staff and students so that they develop an understanding of the relationship between learning and memory and how to build memories that last.

Teaching and Learning with the Curve in Mind PPS - 159Kb

Academic Achievement

The year 12 results are too startling to ignore and should be the subject of deeper research by the Education Department - Advertiser 2006

Number of A's have gone from 1.8% total enrolments to 29.6%. Merit Certificates went from 0 in 1997 to 40 in 2005/2006. Retention rates went from 31% to 85%. Failures at Stage 1 went from 7 times the state average to 0.8% below.

Highlights of Year 12 results across the last 5 years

In 2010

A comparison of our 2010 cohort against the state average

  • 16 Merits were awarded across 8 subjects
  • The students achieved 148 'A's. This is 27% of the grades.
  • 9 Students achieved 5 'A's.
  • Top student, Kristen Pietsch - ATAR 99.65 with 4 Merits
  • 16 students achieved an ATAR above 90 (17%)
  • 36 students achieved an ATAR above 80 (38%)

In 2009

  • The students achieved 192 'A's. This is 30% of the grades which is 50% above the state average.
  • Students achieved 9 Merit Certificates (Perfect Scores). This is above twice the state average.
  • 18 students achieved a TER over 90 and an additional 27 students scored a TER over 80. This means 44% of our students are in the top 20% of the state.
  • 18% placed in the top 10% of the state and
  • 5% placed in the top 5% of the state.

In 2008

  • 20 students scored a TER in the 90's and an additional 16 students scored a TER in the 80's. This means that 50% of the students placed in the top 20% of the state.
  • 30% of the students placed in the top 10% of the state
  • 16% (1 in 7 students) placed in the top 5% of the state.
  • Students scored 178 A's. This is more than 50% above the state average
  • 18 Merit Certificates (Perfect scores) were achieved (2 in 2007)

more Class of '08 - PDF 63Kb

In 2007

  • 26 students scored a TER over 80, placing them in the top 20% of the state
  • 7 Merit certificates were awarded in a range of subjects
  • Achievement in the A and B range was 5% above the state average
  • Students in English Studies scored 2 Merits, 2 19's and a further 10 A's - that is 78% of the class scored in the A range compared to the state average of 23.6%
  • The 68 students who sat for a TER scored a total of 140 A's
  • 60% of our students scored in the A and B range
  • One in seven students achieved an A in all the subjects they studied
  • In Food and Hospitality 40% of our students scored an A compared to the state average of 12.5%
  • In Specialist Maths 66.7% of our students scored an A compared to the state average of 36.9%

more Class of '07 - PDF 148Kb

In 2006

  • 17 students scored a TER in the 90's
  • 18 students scored a TER in the 80's
  • 42% of the cohort scored in the top 20% of the state
  • School average for A and B grades were 10% above the state average
  • 14 Merit certificates were achieved
  • Overall pass rate was 8% above the state average
  • 15 out of 15 students achieved an A in English Studies - with 7 achieving a Merit certificate
  • All 3 students of Italian achieved an A
  • 50% of students in Mathematical Applications achieved an A