Assistant Principal -Curriculum

Mr Stephen Chapman

The Stage 5 What I Need (WIN) Project 2026

Dear Parents, Caregivers, Staff, Students, and Friends,

In my newsletter article this issue, I’m also discussing the Stage 5 WIN Project. In his Principal’s Report for this newsletter, Mr Gibney has gone into much of the background thinking and data we are using for this project. In essence, this project is a form of flexible ability grouping. A simple Google search on the advantages of flexible ability grouping provides this summary:

Advantages of Flexible Ability Grouping

Tailored instruction: Teachers can more easily differentiate lessons for students with similar ability levels.
For higher achievers: High-achieving students may not be held back and can move at a faster pace.
For lower achievers: Students may not have to struggle to keep up with higher-ability peers.
Teacher efficiency: Some educators find it easier to manage and plan for classes with a smaller range in ability.

(Source: AI Summary from Google Search: Advantages of using flexible ability groupings in Secondary Schools)

Flexible ability groupings are used in most secondary schools in Australia. Edith Cowan University completed a study earlier this year on the number of schools using ability groupings in Australia, stating, “Of the 147 participant secondary schools, 92 confirmed using ability grouping” (p 2, ECU, 2025). They also stated that schools used results from a number of areas to form the groupings, with NAPLAN results the most common (used by 76% of the schools).

I accept that just because many schools use flexible ability groupings doesn’t mean it’s automatically the right approach for O’Connor Catholic College. We have put a lot of effort into the thinking behind this proposal. We are committed to choosing the groupings accurately using a combination of data sources, including using NAPLAN data as a starting point.

We are also committed to carefully reviewing the progress of each student every 5 or 10 weeks. This is so we can move students regularly to a class that suits their needs.

More details about the Stage 5 WIN Project are coming in due course.

Thank you all for your continued support of our wonderful college.

Best regards,

Mr Stephen Chapman

Assistant Principal - Curriculum

Never stop learning; for when we stop learning, we stop growing - Jack Lewman

References

Class divided: How Aussie highschoolers are separated on ability. ECU (25 July 2025). Retrieved from: https://www.ecu.edu.au/newsroom/articles/research/class-divided-how-aussie-highschoolers-are-separated-on-ability