Personalised Learning
In Secondary, we take the time to truly understand the background, goals and aspirations of each student and how we can best support them pastorally and academically to achieve and excel in their pathway of choice.
This personalised approach has earned us the honour of being recognised as Secondary School of the Year (non-government)in the 2024 Australian Education Awards - the leading independent awards in the K-12 education sector across Australia.
Staff work collaboratively with students and their parents/guardians to build authentic relationships and support them from Year 7 through to graduation. This includes initiatives like focus student conversations, career and pathway interviews and guidance, surveys and experience days, enrichment and extension opportunities, traineeships, co-curricular activities, tutoring and supporting students to better understand the direction they would like to pursue as they consider subject selections for Years 11 and 12.
Our curriculum provides opportunity for student choice and caters for interest and ability. St Andrew’s students are encouraged to think critically, apply knowledge in new situations and develop the skills needed to become lifelong learners. We use data to track student progress and inform a deep understanding of student strengths and areas for improvement.
Middle Years
As students enter Secondary schooling in Year 7, their sense of self expands and they begin to question and explore wider issues.
Our Middle Years approach is based upon research into the needs and specific developmental challenges of students during early adolescence. This approach focuses on instilling confidence in students to become lifelong learners, develop personal capacity and independence and build critical and creative thinking skills, along with numeracy and literacy skills in readiness for the senior phase of schooling. The core subjects of English, Mathematics, Humanities and Science are constants throughout these three years as are Music, Christian Education, Student Wellbeing and Physical Education.
The Year 9 Connections program at St Andrew's is a unique part of our Secondary program, which aims to assist student's in becoming independent young adults by taking them out of the classroom and connecting them with real-world environments. Students experience four opportunities including three trips throughout the year where the key objectives range from learning about local Indigenous heritage and current perspectives, a service-learning experience and understanding urban development and complex sustainability challenges.
Our goal is to maximise the academic and/or vocational potential of all of our students.
Senior Years
Years 10, 11 and 12 are a time for deep learning, personal discovery and considering the future. In Senior School, we challenge our students to reach their potential by showing them what is possible.
A broad curriculum with diverse experiences assists students to identify passions and strengths and provide pathways to university, TAFE and the workforce. Our goal is to maximise the academic and/or vocational potential for all of our students. The Academic Program in Year 10 is designed to provide a challenging yet accessible suite of courses for all interests and abilities. Students are required to study the core academic subjects of English and Mathematics along with the specialist areas of HPE, Sport, Pastoral and Academic Care and Chapel/Assembly. In addition, students identify five elective subjects to study each semester.
Year 10 courses are designed to prepare students for the rigor and challenge of the senior subjects that they will encounter in the Years 11 and 12. Students are provided with opportunities to extend themselves through extra investigations, competitions, and academic clubs. In the final years of school at St Andrew’s, the character, integrity, sense of justice and student preparedness for life beyond the College is as important to us as a good ATAR. We aim to equip our young people with the dispositions and skills to contribute, influence and bring about change in the world beyond graduation.
Curriculum
- Ancient History
- Biology
- Business Finance
- Business Innovation
- Business Enterprise
- Business Development
- Chemistry
- Design
- Digital Solutions
- Drama
- Engineering
- Exercise and Sports Science
- Geography
- Hospitality and Events
- Industrial Technology
- Legal Studies Literature
- Marine Studies
- Modern History
- Physics
- Pre-Specialist Mathematics
- Psychology
- STEM
- Sustainability
- Spanish
- Music
- Visual Art
- Cert II & III Allied Health
- Accounting
- Ancient History
- Biology
- Business
- Chemistry
- Design
- Digital Solutions
- Drama
- Economics
- Engineering
- English
- English & Literature Extension (Year 12)
- General Mathematics
- Geography
- Legal Studies
- Literature
- Marine Science
- Mathematical Methods
- Specialist Mathematics
- Modern History
- Music
- Music Extension (Year 12)
- Physical Education
- Physics
- Psychology
- Spanish
- Visual Art
- Essential English
- Essential Mathematics
- Hospitality Practices
- Industrial Technology Skills
- Sport and Recreation
- Certificate III in Fitness
- Certificate II in Hospitality/Certificate III in Events
- Certificate IV in Justice Studies
- Diploma in Business with elective options in...
- Entrepreneurship
- Social Media Marketing
- Project Management
Uniquely St Andrew's
Opportunities for students to develop leadership skills during their Senior Years at St Andrew's are provided for all students who are interested in exploring their leadership potential.
We deliver a distributed leadership model that allows students to experience positions of responsibility in an authentic way. Opportunities include becoming a College Captain or Vice-Captain, House Captain or Vice-Captain, Sport Captain roles, Music and Arts Leader roles and taking part in the St Andrew's Student Council. Service Learning is another key component of the College’s leadership program, by providing opportunities for students to serve and develop an understanding of the responsibilities that come with being part of a local and global community.
At St Andrew’s, our Tertiary and Careers program is designed to assist students in planning their senior years schooling to prepare themselves for their futures.
Students in Queensland are provided the opportunity to obtain a Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) which is an official record of education and training qualifications completed during secondary school (and in some cases in the years after completing Year 12). These programs not only provide students with their QCE but also form their pathway towards obtaining tertiary entrance scores and/or vocational education qualifications.
Find out more about our program below.
As part of the College's goal of each student achieving their personal best, St Andrew's provides an optional academic tutoring program for students.
Subject sessions are scheduled before and after school, except for in the first and last week of each term. Students are not required to book sessions and there is no additional charge to attend. The program is aimed at helping Year 7-12 students to consolidate concepts learned during class-time, providing guidance with set work and general revision.