Humanities News
Beginning Term 3 :
Humanities News
VCE Legal Studies
Unit 2 VCE Legal Studies
County Court & VCAT Excursion
On Tuesday 30 July 2026, the Unit 2 VCE Legal Studies students visited the both the County Court of Victoria and the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
In the morning, students made their own way into the CBD to meet at the County Court, the modern building posing a stark contrast to the ornate heritage-listed Supreme Court directly across the road, that we visited during Unit 1. We were met by Her Honour Judge Hawkins, who with her Associates Jack and Emma, put our very own Aryan on trial for aggravated burglary!
Her Honour then answered the students’ questions about working in the law. She was very candid and open with us, and shared that even as a judge, she can still feel some ‘stage fright’ on occasions, in particular when there are members of the media in the courtroom.
We were then given the opportunity to view part of a civil case, right up close. The plaintiff was making a claim for compensation against the TAC for a single-car collision, which he alleged was the fault of an unknown driver of another unidentified car. We were fortunate to observe the end of the examination-in-chief, as well as the beginning of the cross-examination of the plaintiff himself. During a break in proceedings, counsel for the plaintiff was kind enough to speak to the students and answer some burning questions!
In the afternoon, we visited VCAT at its brand-new premises on La Trobe Street. The dizzying heights of the 19th floor, with floor to ceiling glass walls overlooking the Melbourne Central shot tower, proved a little too much for some of us. However, once we were safely in the hearing room, the students performed some dazzling role plays of common types of dispute brought to VCAT.
The students really enjoyed the interactive sessions, and learnt so much from seeing the curriculum come to life in authentic contexts. Staff at both sessions were impressed with the way the students conducted themselves – following the precedent set by previous groups from South Oakleigh, they did the College proud!
Jacinta Marlborough
Legal Studies Teacher
2026 Australian Geography Competition
Congratulations to all students who participated in the 2026 Australian Geography Competition
Students received the following awards
Year 7
Distinctions
Eyal Elango Srilatha
Oscar Larkin
Ethan Lim
Rishaan Nandur
Credits
Benjamin Perry
Gio Rahman
Jasmir Safwan
Victoria Mandel
Participation
Nazaaha Zehna Majid
Vedanshi Rathi
Nazaaha Zehna Majid
Reyansh Kesarwani
Year 8
Distinctions
Kintan Chakraborty
Participation
Tanvika Iyer
Divyam Setia
Year 9
Credit
Revan Patel
Participation
Anusha Kesarwani
Kyryl Yemak
Year 10
Credit
Owen Maisey
Participation
Athulya Sivakumar
lshaan Jayaprakash
Niharika Iyer
Dhruvi Chakraborty
Year 11
High Distinction
Alex Robertson
Adam Plantenkamp
Humanities Teacher
Students in International Relations Conference
On Tuesday 14 July, South Oakleigh College hosted its inaugural Students in International Relations Conference, welcoming five distinguished guests: the Ambassadors of the Netherlands, Latvia and Estonia, the Consul of Chile, and Australia's Representative to the United Nations in Geneva.
Our Year 11 and 12 students filled the auditorium to hear each guest speak about their path into diplomacy, before members of our Model United Nations Club joined our visitors for an informal networking session over morning tea.
As Public Speaking and Debating Coordinator, I was proud to help turn this into a smoothly run event, coordinating with each embassy on protocol and scheduling, and arranging the staging, run sheet and networking session that let our students engage so directly with our guests. More than one visitor made a point of telling me how impressed they were by our students' composure and curiosity, and how warmly they'd been welcomed, a lovely reflection of our school community.
A special congratulations to Model United Nations Club President Jack Wright, whose initiative brought these guests to our school, and sincere thanks to our five visitors for so generously sharing their time and insight.
Ben Gough
Public Speaking and Debating Coordinator