In 2023 we are offering classes 7, 8 and 9. Class 10 will be offered in 2024.
Our Educational Approach
In High School, Steiner education challenges students to awaken their capacity for rational judgment and independent thought.
Questioning begins – of authorities, values, problems, hopes, failures. Questioning becomes deeper until in Year 11 the profound questions are ‘Who am I’, ‘What am I supposed to be achieving?’ ‘How will I know what it true?’ ‘What will my values be?’
This connection, this search for meaning and purpose, is so important for young people to explore and, in our high schools, we understand that need and provide a safe and secure environment for it to be recognized and supported.
Understanding arises through students wrestling with the questions they confront in the study of the different subjects. Stimulating original thinking and developing their independent judgement enables students to find their place in the world; this is what gives them their ground for independence and frees them to follow a path into life that allows them to grasp and shape their future.
We accept that students develop at different rates and also that each child has gifts and talents. The concept of success and failure is not a focus; rather, our aim is to develop and maximise each child’s unique potential, whilst establishing the core skills, knowledge and understanding necessary for their future life and career.
Music lesson
The Curriculum
The curriculum, linked to the National Steiner Curriculum and meeting the requirements of the NSW Educational Standards Authority, builds on and extends the subjects covered in the Primary School, unfolding a rich panorama of world and life through the sciences, arts, humanities and practical subjects.
The subjects on offer include:
Mathematics
English
Technology
Visual Arts
Music
History
Geography
Language (Indonesian - Class 7)
Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE)
Philosophy and Ethics
Food Technology (Class 9 only)
Photography and Digital Media (Class 9 only)
The driving focus of the curriculum is the development of individuals with a deep understanding and knowledge of the world in which they live as well as the development of those capacities that will stand young people in good stead for their future; amongst these capacities are: imagination, inspiration, creativity, critical thinking, empathy, maturity, social consciousness, determination, and an enthusiasm for the future.
In the high school years, this foundation becomes so important as particularly the early years of this stage can be such a turbulent period: adolescents are intellectually aware of all the dangers, prone to mood swings, risk-taking and extremes of behavior; however, there is energy at this time that is so powerful. Here students need to see cause and effect, to debate positives and negatives, to critique current systems and attitudes and above all to feel empowered to suggest solutions.
A focus on improving these key capacities during adolescence is a priority practice for teachers.