What Do we teach?

The Department of Education does not endorse coaching for the Opportunity Class or Selective High School Placement Tests as they are designed as a measure of academic ability or potential.

It is up to parents to make informed decisions about what is the best learning environment for their child. However, caution should be used when undertaking coaching. Students may find the pressure of additional coaching difficult to manage and become anxious about the commitment made to coaching work.

It is natural that parents want to feel that they have done their very best to support their children's success, but there is more than one way for students to be successful and every child is different.

It is not only students who go to selective bigh schools who enter universities; many students in comprehensive high schools achieve excellent results and go on to rewarding careers. Looking at the yearly HSC High Achievers List, it is clear that academically successful students come from a wide range of schools: small, large, selective, comprehensive, rural, urban single-sex, co-educational, private, public. There are many pathways to success. The main thing is to have a student who is physically and mentally well; engaged in their learning and working to their potential. If these things are in place, opportunities will follow for them to study beyond school.

Children can feel keenly the pressure of expectations. If they are anxious, they will do less well than if they are relaxed, rested and able to think clearly. Some ways to reduce anxiety include:

• Giving positive feedback about the effort they make, rather than the results they achieve

• Not comparing students to others. Talking about marks and scores with others can heighten their anxiety and make them feel that they are a disappointment

• Ensuring that students' lives have a healthy balance of activities, rest, play and work

• Keeping a sense of proportion about tests, schools and achievements. Some children may feel that they will lose their parents' love if they don't achieve the required marks or gain entry to particular schools.

Anxiety can affect children's wellbeing and stop them achieving their best. It is important for parents and teachers to be aware of this and seek help to reduce children's stress levels. Visit our 'You Can Do This' page for more.

Assessments vary from year to year. In general, there is a variety of questions and tasks, as well as some multiple-choice questions to ensure consistency in marking across a large candidature and to give students practice in completing such tests in a timed environment. English assessments cover reading comprehension, writing and grammar and spelling. Mathematics assessments cover number and algebra, problem-solving, measurement and geometry, statistics and probability.

Our teachers and executive prepare the assessment tasks using a variety of sources. This is to ensure they are relevant to our students and so they can't be found online, in books, at coaching colleges or in other ways that could allow them to be practised before they are administered at school.

As well, the assessments that are included in deriving the school marks for OC and SHS placement are confidential as they form part of the application process. The integrity of the assessment materials must be maintained so that there is no unfair advantage to any student or family.

We recognise the need to prepare our students for a rapidly changing world, where technology plays a large role in our personal, social and professional lives. Our findings from student consultations have revealed that students want to access devices available to support learning activities in the classroom. Our findings from parent surveys have revealed that parents feel that technology is important to their child's learning as well.

The success of this program relies on several factors and we hope that with student access to technology, student responsibility and access to apps, parental and staff understanding will improve the educational outcomes for our students

We design homework to be relevant, rewarding and enjoyable for your child. It's not meant to be dull and repetitive learning by rote. Quite the opposite; it's intended to help students retain information by revisiting similar material in a different environment.

• Homework is the revision of concepts already covered in class.

• Get into a routine of doing homework at a set time.

• Ask your child to tell you about their homework.

• If your child is struggling with homework, talk to their teacher.

• It also helps if students start work on tasks as soon as they’re assigned, giving leeway for any delays.

While it's true that parent and carer support helps, this has to be balanced against the fact that homework is partly there to let children develop independent working habits. Teachers view mistakes as an important part of the learning process, and we try to help children to see it that way too.

Homework Tips for Students

• Try to do your homework at the same time everyday--right after school, just before dinner, or right after dinner. Try not to leave homework until just before you have to go to bed.

• Collect up all the books and supplies you’ll need (and your snack) before you begin to work. Do your homework in the same place every day.

• If you know what’s easy and what's harder, do the harder work first. Take a short break if you are having trouble keeping your mind on a question.

• If your parents are busy and you have an older brother or sister, ask them for help, or ask your teacher or a friend at school. Only ask for help if you really need it.