At Keating College, we believe in high academic standards.  We do not “dumb down” the curriculum or insist that students wait for the slower ones to catch up.  There are no limits.  Imagine if we told budding athletes to slow down so others could catch up in a race!  There would be cries of outrage. 

 

It should be no different when it comes to study.  If we keep holding kids back, we are in grave danger of becoming the “dumb” country and falling behind our competitors in an ever increasingly globalised world.

 

We concentrate on five core academic areas: English, Maths, Science & Technology, SOSE (History/Geography/ Economics/Life Skills) and LOTE.  The LOTE we offer is Chinese (Mandarin), the world’s most spoken language and an essential business tool as China’s economy continues to grow.  There will be a strong international focus, with students and staff encouraged to take part in tours and exchanges to other parts of the world.

 

The aim in these five core areas is to complete all the usual standard curriculum covered at other schools by the end of Term Three.  Term Four will then be spent on extension and enrichment studies, taking students way beyond the normal level.  Although the emphasis will be on challenging students to raise their standards, the basics will not be forgotten.  Even highly intelligent students still need to master spelling, times tables and other fundamental building blocks of knowledge.

 

Approximately 80% of the time will be spent on these five core academic areas (rather than 50-60%, as at most schools).  The other 20% will be spent on the Physical Arts (PE, Sport, Excursions, Health) and Creative Arts (Music, Art, Drama, Dance). 

 

Although there will be regular homework to reinforce what is done in the classroom, there will be no compulsory after school or weekend sport or other programs, so that there is still time for family and community activities.

 

The emphasis will very much be on preparing students for VCE studies, university entrance and adult life, in the tradition of so-called “Prep” schools in the United States.  This includes the development of good study habits – learning how to learn.

 

Since we believe in high academic standards and a culture of excellence, there will be regular homework, testing and assessment.  We do not believe in making a “rough guess” of where a student is at compared with some imaginary “benchmark”. 

 

Students will be encouraged to take part in national and international competitions, such as the Westpac Maths Competition and the various competitions run by the University of New South Wales.

Reports will be sent home to parents eight times a year (rather than only twice, as at most schools), so that you will always have up to date information about your child’s progress.  We will be using a simple A B C D E reporting system in plain language, not a jargon filled diatribe full of vague statements about “modules of learning”. 

 

 

 

At Keating College, all our staff will be experienced and highly qualified.  We will only be employing people who are genuinely interested in students and their learning.  We will not be employing anyone who is afraid of high achieving students or sees them as a nuisance to be sent away to play computer games whenever they have finished their work early. 

 

All our teachers will have a real passion for and be experts in their subject area.  In accordance with government regulations, they will all be subject to police checks.

 

 

Sadly, many schools, particularly secondary schools, believe that “bigger is better”.  In recent years, many schools, both government and private, have grown to be huge multi-campus conglomerates with thousands of students. 

 

In this environment, many students simply become “lost in the crowd” or, worse still, fall in with the wrong crowd and turn off their learning altogether.  Sometimes, no-one even notices whether they are making any progress or not. 

 

Larger schools may be able to offer wonderful facilities and a dazzling array of different electives, but they can’t really give your children the individual encouragement they deserve.

 

At Keating College, we have an absolute limit of 24 students per class, enabling the teacher to monitor each student’s progress. 

 

Perhaps even more importantly, the whole school will be kept small, so that every teacher knows something about every student.  At this stage, it is envisaged that there will be just one class at each year level, so even when the school has expanded to cover all the secondary years (Years 7-12), there will still only be a maximum of 144 students in the entire school. 

 

You will never be “just a number” at Keating College.

 

 

Students do not learn effectively if they are unhappy or feel unsafe.  Therefore, pastoral care is a key ingredient in the recipe for success at any school.  At Keating College, our small size will enable us to pick up on any problems before they become too serious. 

 

There will be a very strict anti-bullying policy.  Each class will have a home room teacher whose job it is to oversee the general welfare of all of the students in the class (not just those with obvious difficulties). 

 

There will be a strict behaviour management policy and students who disrupt the learning of others will not be tolerated.  Good manners and consideration for others will be expected at all times.