Special program leads to great success as secondary college provides students 'second chance'

An Illawarra public school is giving struggling students another shot at their education by providing a unique experience and pathway that allows them to thrive in a non-traditional setting.

Five Islands Secondary College in Port Kembla, formerly Illawarra Senior College, has been praised by students and the State Government for its success in connecting with those who failed to prosper in more traditional institutions and supporting them to continue their educational journey.

Principal Jenny Flowers said the school was a regional resource with no specific catchment areas, and students from Years 10, 11 and 12 came from as far as Sydney, the Southern Highlands and the South Coast.

“Students are coming to us for a second chance,” Jenny said. “They haven’t found that their previous educational experiences have been very positive; many had very low attendance rates, some of them were non-attenders, and they’re looking for something different in a school.”

The school is trying to break down barriers between students and educators by ditching strict dress codes and formalities such as referring to teachers as Mr or Ms, and having students run assemblies and graduations.

“I think it’s really about that culture of belonging and inclusion,” Jenny said.

“We have lots of students that don’t feel like in a different school environment that they are actually able to be themselves.”

The institution has strived to build a positive reputation and reshape its perception within the community for the past decade.

Once a place for more mature students or those with behavioural issues, the college has shifted to a senior school-aged cohort and shown significant improvements in areas such as academic results and attendance.

With around 320 students, the school offers two main streams of learning, with about half participating in the Big Picture program.

“It’s about learning from your passions,” Jenny said.

“The students come in and they go through a process of identifying what their passions are and then they do self-directed research; in the early years it’s a scaffolded approach and as they go on that pathway becomes much more independent learning.”

For Year 12 student Anouk Walker-Levy, accessing the Big Picture program was crucial not just for her education, but also her mental health.

“I was previously at a really posh, incredibly mainstream private school which was very traditional and I was just having a really bad time,” she said.

The Big Picture stream allowed her to delve into her passion of music which led to different and surprising learning experiences and pathways, with further education now one of her future ambitions.

“My first project was the effect of music on the brain but I’ve been through a lot of different projects,” Anouk said.

“I did one on Pink Floyd, did one on ADHD, did one on film scoring – I’ve been through a lot and I’ve sort of completely changed pathways and am now into occupational therapy.”

Through the program students can access university pathways without sitting for their HSC, with other avenues such as TAFE or apprenticeships also supported by the school.

Topics explored by other students have also expanded Anouk’s horizons.

“My two closest friends here – one of them is so into gardening, so I’m often down in the garden helping her and learning all about companion planting which I would never know, and my other friend is obsessed with quantum mechanics and physics and stuff,” she said.

“Everyone I’ve ever met here I think I’ve got little pieces from the things they love and I think that’s really special as well.”

The college also offers a mainstream curriculum with smaller classes to boost support for students.

Taryn Ilievski is completing her HSC through the mainstream program, having transitioned into the school after being homeschooled to Year 10.

While the content itself was not too difficult to shift to, the support around areas such as applications and technology was important to help her adapt, but with staff familiar with these unique challenges, Taryn was prevented from slipping through the cracks.

“I never used Google Slides or Google Docs when I was homeschooled, it was all on paper or the website, so I had to entirely learn how to use those apps,” she said.

“I felt pretty confident because a lot of my teachers knew I was homeschooled so they helped me learn how to study and highlight notes and everything because I’d never done that before.”

But the idea of moving into a busy classroom was still daunting.

“All of my brothers had amazing experiences but obviously it would change depending on who was in your year group so I was very nervous about that but I got lucky and it all ended up being good,” she said.

Taryn is also exploring further tertiary education and a profession in either psychology, teaching or nursing after her HSC.

The mainstream system has proven its worth, with the college recognised as one of the top 10 regional public schools in the state that have shown the greatest improvement in results in the top band of the HSC.

While Jenny said she was incredibly proud of the hardworking staff and students to achieve this success, she said band sixes weren’t the only indication of achievement.

“We actually just want students to reach their potential and walk away from here saying, ‘I did the best I could’.

Enrolment in both streams at Five Islands Secondary College is through application, with more information available on the school’s website.