CHES Excursion

The Center of Higher Education Studies (CHES) Expo was an extremely valuable experience that 9 students across Years 10 and 11 were lucky enough to attend.

CHES is a state-wide provider for enriching senior students through offering various studies that may not be available in a student’s home school, either in-person at their school in South Yarra or virtually. This gives students the opportunity to partake in subjects that will not only extend and challenge themselves but also contribute to their ATAR and importantly, skill sets.

The expo day itself was with the goal of granting students’ insight of what studying at the CHES may look like, the potential pathways they can take through the centre as well as to deliver information about their overall senior studies and university courses. 

The day was comprised of 3 main segments:

The first segment consisted of an initial presentation by the Principal of the CHES, Stewart Milner, as well as the Leading Teacher, Sapphira Talbot-Strettle, describing the subjects offered, as well as explaining the process for study at the centre. This was subsequently accompanied by a presentation by Professor Eva Kyndt about shortlisting possible career options and deciding a pathway with a holistic approach, considering your own strengths, input from your social circles and keeping the future in mind.

These presentations were followed by rotations through various stations run by 7 different universities as well as subject-oriented stations facilitated with current CHES students and staff members. 

This helped give more close-up understanding about the prerequisites required for studying a subject and helped provide first-hand perspectives about what studying at the centre would be like. What characterised the CHES students was their unwavering passion for their respective subjects, each one of them brimming with energy as they shared their valuable experiences.

Afterwards, the day was concluded by a presentation from Professor Dan Woodman from the University of Melbourne about the evolving world of work amongst generations, further reiterating the importance of diversifying your skill set for optimal success - something that the CHES itself fosters.

Overall, the consensus was that the knowledge acquired through the presentations and discussions was highly beneficial for our students to understand their options and narrow-down both their VCE options through possible CHES study and their further tertiary education. It was also an enjoyable day, giving students free reign of the modern facilities and the satisfaction of feeling more concrete about their senior school journeys!

Ket Win