With students of All Saints’ College coming from a variety of educational and cultural backgrounds, importance is placed on providing learning experiences that are reflective of that diversity.
Science classes provide a range of teaching formats to reflect the different skills and interests of students including group work, first-hand practical investigations and small group or individual revision tutorials on the Flexible Learning Day.
To engage students effectively with the contemporary curriculum, the science faculty utilises a flipped-learning approach, blending video resources with other teaching methods to adapt to varying student learning styles.
Inclusive curriculum
The NSW Stage 6 syllabuses implemented at St Mary’s Campus provides an inclusive learning experience for the needs of all students.
The teaching approaches utilised support a diverse range of student’s’ needs including special education needs, gifted and talented students and students learning English as an additional language or dialect.
St Mary’s Campus offers a number of single discipline courses including Biology, Chemistry, Earth & Environmental Science and Physics. The college also offers Investigating Science which is a multi-disciplinary course designed to assist students of all abilities to engage with scientific processes and apply them to relevant personal, community and global scientific issues.
Students of All Saints’ College are able to study one, two or three science courses in Year 11, with the possibility of an additional unit of Extension Science in Year 12.
Expert staff and exceptional outcomes
Teaching staff in the Science faculty at St Mary’s Campus have extensive experience, with specialisations in one or more scientific disciplines.
Around 70% of students at St Mary’s Campus choose to study science courses for their Higher School Certificate, significantly exceeding the average of 60% for NSW schools.
Many graduates of All Saints’ College have gone on to pursue tertiary study involving science and followed a professional career path in a number of medical fields (doctor, physiotherapy, pharmacy, radiography), engineering (chemical, industrial, mechanical) and other areas.
Stepping out from behind the desk
Students engaging with science at St Mary’s Campus have the opportunity to participate in a number of activities outside their regular classroom learning.
Students can take part in The Chemistry Quiz run by the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. Open to all students, this international event is spread over 21 countries, seven languages, 1,400 schools and over 100,000 students.
Fully-equipped facilities
Many St Mary’s Campus science courses involve first-hand investigations. The campus contains fully-equipped specialist laboratories which enable students to effectively carry out these investigations as a part of their studies.
The college’s Learning Hub facilities are also available to students for secondary-sourced investigations. These include an extensive video catalogue, the latest scientific magazines and journals and a school-wide wireless network giving access to these resources anywhere on campus.
