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| Key College :: Program |
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Each day, the school
generally operates as a single class group, but within that, individual learning
programs are determined to meet the backgrounds and needs of the students. The
classroom part of the school program is relatively formal and structured, though
it can be varied, responding both to opportunities and incidents.
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The overall program
consists of several elements:
a) Formal core skills in English and Mathematics are taught at the School Certificate level (Year 10) and externally examined - students go to a nearby school to sit these examinations. Some students also study for assessment within the (Year 12) Higher School Certificate.
b) Other study areas - under the overall heading of Life Skills - are school-based and school-assessed. This includes areas such as History, Geography, Physical Education/Health/Personal Development, Science and Music. These subjects can also be studied formally, but some are undertaken in association with community agencies such as the Belvoir Street Theatre, where students have taken part in a theatre course culminating in production of a play.
c) Social and broadening activities introduce students to new experiences and aim to develop personal and social skills. For example, once a week the school organises recreational activities such as plays, having lunch together, horse-riding, or harbour cruises, and there is an annual camp. The group has also taken part in the Community Greening Program and carried this over to planting and greening the courtyard of the school.
d) Work placements, either for short-term exploration or experience, or longer-term more extensive traineeships, introduce work-related skills and attitudes. The program starts with Year 10 students on placements, but one current student has moved into a six-month traineeship that the employer has now extended. These placements provide opportunities for students to try out work situations; they are testing out specific work areas, exploring the requirements of a work culture and clarifying their goals.
Each day has a strong regularity to it: journal writing, an hour of English (novel reading, grammar, essay writing, idioms etc), an hour of Mathematics (trigonometry was big during this visit!); the afternoon programs vary according to classes or activities organised in the school (Science, Art) or in the community. The regular structure is regarded as very important: "Key College works best as a fairly traditional system"; "Routine is relished."
However, within this regularity the small size of the school population allows for flexibility to meet needs and opportunities. Within the formal classes there has been some choice of relevant materials (eg novels) and assignments to be completed. And, importantly, if there is a flare-up of behavioural issues with a student, that student can be taken out of the school for one-to-one work (or simply told "If you get really stroppy, then walk out the door and come back in half an hour"), or the other students can be taken out to provide space and time to resolve the issue and settle the behaviour.
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