Teaching and Learning

It is now the time of year for final assessments, examinations and celebrations.

Our Middle Years cohort are now completing their final Common Assessment Tasks for the year and are looking forward to the celebrations, excursions and events aimed to both highlight their success and provide ongoing opportunities to embed key knowledge and develop social skills that will support their transition into 2026.

Across years 9 and 10 students are now preparing for their upcoming exams. Revision tasks and activities have been designed to support student understanding of exam questions and the study skills needed to revise key knowledge. We are excited to celebrate students’ success and growth with you and exam results will appear on Semester Reports for year 10s and Compass for year 9s.

Our senior students are now completing their semester two exams and will soon commence their Step Up program, beginning their classes and course work for 2026. This program contains essential coursework from next year’s curriculum, which students must complete as part of their preparation for Term 1 and overall assessment. VCE subjects will set holiday homework which forms part of the first unit of work and must be completed as part of students’ coursework. We would like to thank our students for their engagement and the efforts they have put into their learning as they prepare to finish off the school year.

Finally we would like to offer a huge congratulations to our graduating class of 2025 and wish them all the very best of luck and success as they enter tertiary education, apprenticeships and the workforce - we could not be more proud!

Our final Semester reports for the year will be released to students, parents and carers during the last week of school. Here you will find details surrounding your child’s growth, PAT testing results for year 7s and exam results for years 10 and 11.

High Achievers: VCE Early Access

As part of our high achievers programme, Year 9 students can apply to be considered for early entry to a selection of VCE subjects. This model is a successful and supportive way for our highly academic and motivated students to experience the pace and expectations of VCE on a smaller scale, which helps them to prepare. Year 10 student Timothy A completed Units 1 and 2 Biology this year and had this to say about his experience as VCE early access student:

“My family encouraged me to apply for the early access VCE programme because they wanted to challenge me, and see me do my best. It was also a way to help me understand what year 11 would be like, which will hopefully be an advantage in Year 12. I chose to do Biology because I found it interesting, and wanted to know how things work.

The year 11 class is much more work, you have to be locked in. The class I was in was great. I had my friends there and my teacher Brianna is a really good teacher. She knows her stuff and she is funny and relatable.

I am a bit more nervous about going into Year 12 Biology because of the implications for my ATAR but I know if I commit and lock in I can do well. Having an extra study session in Year 12 will also help.

The advice I would give to Year 9s heading into Units 1 & 2 next year is to do your coursework, don’t let it snowball. Do your work and listen in class.”

When asked about his pathway after Year 12, Timothy said “I am planning to go to University, hopefully get a degree in Engineering but I am not too sure yet.”

We look forward to welcoming our next group of VCE High achievers into the programme in 2026.

2026: Student Curriculum Leadership opportunities

Next year, students in Years 7-11 will have the opportunity to apply to be a middle or senior school Curriculum leader. These new positions aim to recognise students who are excellent role models and passionate about subjects they study. Successful curriculum leaders will be advocates for their subject areas and work alongside their peers and teachers to design interesting units of work and whole school events that highlight and promote their subject. We are excited to see this group form their own identity as the first leadership group of their kind at Edgars Creek Secondary College.

Applications for these roles will open in Term 1 2026 and all creative, passionate and interested students should apply!

As part of this program, we are creating ‘learner identity’ posters that highlight what it means to be a learner here at ECSC. These posters will help both students and teachers articulate what strong and highly capable learners look like in each subject area - serving as a visual reminder of our high expectations connected to our value of ‘Inspire all’.

We are currently looking for artistic submissions from students of all year levels to place at the centre of each learning area poster. Submissions are open until early December!

VIT Inquiry

Congratulations to all of our graduate teachers on completing their VIT inquiry. This milestone is a wonderful opportunity for teachers to share their insights, learning and passions for teaching and the hard work they have invested this year in building positive, meaningful connections with our students across the College. It has been inspiring to see the dedication our early career teachers bring in the classroom and the impact they are making on our students’ learning experiences and academic growth.

High Ability

Our School Improvement Working Party is well and truly into the swing of developing the Year 7 SEAL and Year 8 High Ability curriculum for implementation in 2026. Staff have been working collaboratively to design engaging, challenging and purposeful accelerated learning experiences, and are excited to begin teaching these programs next year. Teachers involved in these classes will also participate in the Centre for Higher Education Studies professional learning day, Our High Ability Classrooms: Empowering Students to Excellence, to further strengthen their curriculum and pedagogical approaches for high-ability learners.

With Year 7 PAT re-testing now completed, we are currently in the process of selecting students for the 2026 Year 8 High Ability class. Selection will be based on PAT, NAPLAN, reporting and growth data, along with students’ demonstration of the College values. Students and families will be notified of class placement on the first day of school in 2026.

We are also looking forward to welcoming our incoming Year 7 SEAL students at the Grade 6 Transition Day on December 9th, where they will begin forming connections with one another and with the program.

It has been an exciting and rewarding year as we prepare our SEAL and High Ability programs for launch in 2026. We look forward to seeing the impact of these programs and will continue to use student voice and agency to ensure they are responsive to the needs of our learners.