Secondary School

Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE)

Our VCE program offers a broad range of subject choices that allow students to pursue their interests, and at the same time provide opportunities and learning pathways to continue with their choices of tertiary education. Subjects offered for VCE may vary slightly from year to year and are dependent on student choices. Subjects are offered from maths, sciences, humanities, arts, technologies and language. Our students achieve fantastic results each year as a result of our small class sizes that offer individual attention and support.

The VCE program consists of students completing 6 subjects in Year 11 and 5 subjects in Year 12. Each subject is comprised of Unit 1&2 and Unit 3&4.

VSV

If our students wish to study a course we do not offer, we offer individualised support and learning through Virtual School Victoria. This gives students access to over 500 different subject areas. We support these students with additional tutoring on campus as needed to help them succeed in their VCE subjects of choice.

Fast Track

Gilson College students are able to apply to complete any VCE units before the scheduled years if they are capable of doing so. We offer a Fast Track academic program that allows students to complete Units 1&2 in Year 10 and Units 3&4 in Year 11. High-achieving students also have the opportunity to extend their studies and enrol in a range of first-year university undergraduate subjects through Federation University.

Career support

Students are encouraged to study in their areas of strength. Initially, to select their subjects for Year 11, students are interviewed by the Careers teachers, where they look at both their goals for a career in the future and their learning strengths. This is used to assist them in selecting choices for Years 11 and 12.

The Vision

To implement a progressive program for Year 9 students that enables them to develop greater responsibility, independence and leadership by providing challenges that increase their level of flexibility, tolerance and cooperation, enhancing self-understanding and developing a greater appreciation for, and understanding of, the outdoor environment created for them to inhabit and preserve, and the needs of the wider community.

An Overview of Learning 4 Life

Learning 4 Life is an experiential education program that focuses on outdoor experiences and service opportunities. It aims to develop skills such as confidence, persistence, flexibility, resilience and organisation. This flagship program has obvious positive outcomes that improve the life skills of all students. Many teachers and parents have also indicated positive developmental changes in their students as a direct result of the program.

Our three core special-character elements:

• Belonging (caring for the individual),
• Believing (in self, group, and God) and
• Being (a contributing member of the community)

Our three fundamental experiences are:

• Bushwalking - dealing with the individual and personal capabilities
• Urban Studies - familiarising students with city life through planning and exploration
• Service - taking students beyond themselves to engage with their local communities

Philosophy

“Children in every culture need to belong. Depriving a child of care is universally evil. Children by their nature are created to strive for mastery; thus, schools that sabotage this motivation for competence are maltreating children. Children from any background have the need for self-determination; to block this development of independence is to commit an injustice. Finally, from the dawn of cooperative civilisation, children have sought to give back to others the concern they have been shown by others. If educators fail to provide children with opportunities for caring and generosity, they extinguish their students’ human spirit.”

Invictus Wellbeing Experience

All of our secondary students participate in four years of well-being programs from years 7-10. We believe that developing a sense of self is vital to understanding how we learn and carry ourselves through an ever-changing modern world. The Invictus Experience offers students the ability to focus on their psychology, their environment and each other.

Throughout the secondary journey, students are involved in four key elements of the experience:

• Journey
• Network
• Master
• Serve

In each of these elements students undergo a variety of learning experiences both on campus and off campus as they learn to navigate a variety of challenges that develop their agency and voice. Invictus explicitly teaches students to recognise their own emotions, regulate emotions, find meaning and purposeful living, maintain resilient relationships and serve the communities around them. It also prioritises a brave, curious and compassionate mindset that develops thinkers with empathy and creativity.

When our students finish secondary school we want them to be empowered with a sense of purpose and kindness that will change the world around them.

Each of our students has a limitless number of leadership opportunities during their journey through secondary school. We have three key areas of student leadership that develop our students' agency, voice and professional skills. These are:

• Student Representative Council
• School Captains and Prefects
• House Captains

Students can apply to be SRC members from year 7 and have the opportunity to attend a variety of professional leadership courses. We also prioritise student leadership in our assembly and chapel programs. Our students leaders demonstrate what it means to proudly represent our school to the community and other schools at functions throughout the year.

The future is what we make of it and we know that with the right skills and learning moments, our students can achieve anything they are willing to work for. From years 9-12, we prioritise the knowledge and understanding of how the world works and how our students can actively seek out inspiring work opportunities. We provide opportunities such as:

• Subject counselling
• Work experience and ongoing placements - year 10s and 11s
• VCE counselling
• VTAC application support
• University open days
• Avondale University Campus Camp

School Sport Victoria delivers an extensive school sports program to primary and secondary students across Victoria. As a member school, we provide pathways from local right through to national competitions. We have students that have represented at nationals in a variety of sports and have been district and state champions in a variety of sports including badminton, table tennis, basketball and soccer. Students have a variety of opportunities to trial for school teams throughout the year. We often provide access to three or four selection squads a term, outside of our major carnivals (athletics, cross country and swimming).

SSV works collaboratively with partners across community, state and elite sporting organisations to support the delivery of our school sports opportunities, connect school and community sports pathways for students and provide opportunities for students facing additional barriers to participate. We also work with sector partners to collaborate on ways to engage children and young people in physical activity and sports.