From the Principal

Heralded as “The biggest education shake-up in 30 years”, the NSW Government announced this week a plan for all students in that state to be learning a new curriculum within four years.

The changes have been suggested in Professor Geoff Masters’ report, which includes fewer subjects and fewer time restrictions on teachers delivering content.

Importantly, the changes mentioned also included exploring “the feasibility of not calculating and reporting the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR)”.  

Such a move would actually be unsurprising, given the gradual decline in students relying on the ATAR pathway to achieve tertiary entrance: in WA in 2018, 53.8% of eligible Year 12s sat the required number of ATAR exams, and this dropped to 50.4% in 2019.

How many West Australian students will sit the ATAR in 2020? I’d suggest the number might this year slip below 50%. 

This is, I am sure, more than partially due to the fact that the universities are being increasingly creative about their entrance pathways: one university academic with whom I was speaking recently said that only 26% of their entire first year cohort had used the ATAR to gain entry to the university… three quarters of first years are using different means. 

Happily, our College’s well-established and constantly evolving “ATAR Plus” approach sees All Saints’ graduates particularly well placed in response to this shifting position from our universities.

Prof. Masters’ report said the proposed new syllabi are designed to address concerns about the need to focus on depth rather than breadth of learning, to better integrate knowledge and skills, and to provide greater flexibility for teachers.

Prof. Masters said the changes would mean more flexibility for students who require more time, while also allowing others “to move on when they're ready”.

This, too, resonates with ASC’s support for, and ongoing evolution towards, a “stage not age” approach to learning.

As our curriculum continues to evolve, we look forward to seeing further details of the NSW review and to the role that ASC and our Beyond Boundaries Institute might be able to play if a similar review is held in WA.

Ms Belinda Provis

Principal