Year 7 | Thinking for Learning

Building the habits of an effective learner

The transition to secondary school brings new expectations and opportunities. Thinking for Learning helps students understand how the brain works, how learning happens, and how to develop practical strategies they can use across their subjects.

Students learn to manage their attention, organise themselves, strengthen their memory and practise effectively. They also learn how to respond to challenges, use feedback and take increasing responsibility for their progress.

Four themes guide the year:

• Ready to Learn — establishing routines, organisation and focused attention.
• Make Learning Stick — understanding memory, retrieval and effective practice.
• Respond to Challenge — developing strategies for managing difficulty and learning from mistakes.
• Own Your Learning — setting goals, reflecting on progress and becoming more independent.

For students who require targeted literacy support, the Literacy Acceleration Program provides an alternative to Thinking for Learning, strengthening the reading and language skills needed to access learning across the curriculum.

Year 8 | Thinking in Action

Applying learning to meaningful challenges

Thinking in Action builds on the foundations established in Year 7. Students apply their learning habits and thinking skills to challenges that require them to investigate, create, collaborate and make decisions.

Four units guide the year:

• Think Like a Problem Solver — investigate real problems within the College or wider community, consider evidence and different perspectives, and propose well-reasoned solutions.
• Think Like a Designer — understand people’s needs, generate ideas, develop prototypes and refine designs through testing and feedback.
• Think Like a Communicator — evaluate information, recognise bias and communicate ideas clearly and persuasively for different audiences and purposes.
• Think Like a Changemaker — investigate a social, environmental or community issue and work collaboratively to plan, take and evaluate action that makes a positive contribution.

Throughout the year, students practise asking useful questions, explaining their reasoning and improving their work through feedback. The emphasis is on making connections: drawing on knowledge from different subjects and recognising when and how to use it in new situations.

Year 9 | Future Ready

Discovering strengths and exploring possibilities

Future Ready will support students to develop a stronger understanding of themselves and the opportunities available to them. Its purpose is exploration: broadening students’ horizons while helping them make thoughtful choices about their learning.

The subject brings together four connected areas:

• Discover — Know Yourself: recognise strengths, interests, values and learning habits.
• Skill Up — Build Your Toolkit: develop practical skills in organisation, communication, collaboration, problem-solving and responsible use of digital tools and AI. Where appropriate, short courses, workshops and microcredentials will support this learning.
• Explore — Discover Possibilities: investigate senior subjects, vocational education and training, university, apprenticeships, traineeships and emerging industries.
• Connect — Learn Beyond the Classroom: learn through community connections, guest speakers, service and experiences that introduce different perspectives and possibilities.

Students will be encouraged to remain curious and open-minded. They do not need to have a career decided at this early stage; they need opportunities to discover what interests them and what they might pursue.

Year 10 | Future Forward

Turning exploration into informed choices

Future Forward builds on students’ earlier exploration and helps them prepare for senior secondary learning and life beyond school.

Four connected stages will guide the year:

• Know — deepen understanding of personal strengths, interests, values and aspirations.
• Experience — explore and test possible directions through experiences that build understanding of further learning, training and work.
• Decide — evaluate options, consider pathway requirements and make informed choices through the Senior Education and Training (SET) planning process.
• Act — identify and take practical steps towards personal goals and a successful transition into senior schooling.

Reflection and discernment will remain central: students will consider what matters to them, where their abilities and interests may lead, and how they can use their learning in service of others.