Education
Theory of Knowledge, the Extended Essay and Creativity, Activity, Service, in which students complete a project related to those three concepts. The six subject groups are: studies in Language and Literature, Language Acquisition, Individuals and Societies, Sciences, Mathematics and Arts.
Like the VCE, IB uses both external and internal assessment. At the end of year 12, students sit examinations which are the same across the world. The IB results are recognised by leading universities in Australia and around the world.
How do you determine a good school?
Although education is free in Australia understanding a school’s performance is important. Most state schools perform poorly compared to private schools. State schools that perform well in Melbourne are located in affluent suburbs of eastern Melbourne such as Kew, Balwyn, Camberwell, Toorak, Malvern, Glen iris, Box Hill, and Hawthorn just to mention a few. Some examples of good secondary state schools include: Balwyn High, Glen Waverly Secondary, Melbourne High, Mc Robertson Girls High, McKinnon Secondary college just to mention a few. There are also special schools for gifted students. Admission into these schools require students to pass a general knowledge examination. There are currently four selective entry high schools in Victoria for students in Years 9−12: Melbourne High School (boys only), The Mac.Robertson Girls High School (girls only), Nossal High School (coeducational) and Suzanne Cory High School (coeducational). Since not all students can get into these schools, most state schools also have programs for gifted students.
For those parents who would like to take their children to private schools Melbourne has many schools that can be divided into three categories. The low cost schools ($2000-5000 / year) include most Catholic schools, Christian schools and other faith schools. Middle cost schools ($5000-10,000 / year) include Christian schools and some non-denominational schools. High cost schools ($10,000- 30,000 per year) are mainly grammar schools and single gender college schools such as Presbyterian Ladies College, Methodist Ladies College, Scotch College, St. Kevin’s College etc. perform the best in VCE examinations. This is mainly attributed to the schools having good resources and teachers. It is important to note that many private schools have scholarships for gifted and talented students in areas such as academic, music and sports.
It is crucial as parents; we need to have a sound knowledge of the education system education system to guide our children and safeguard a successful future for them. Our involvement in our children’s education also requires that we understand the school community by participating in school activities through volunteering and attending parent -teacher interviews.
by Grace Kamuyu
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