Senior School

Welcome to Brookhill, Aitken College’s Senior School, which caters for students in Years 10, Year 11, Year 12 and VCAL.

Brookhill is a school of approximately 450 young adult learners. As students progress through Brookhill, from Year 10 to Year 12, they develop the skills of discipline, independent thought, academic rigour and social responsibility which enable them to become life-long learners.

Priority is given to the academic and classroom process in Brookhill, with high expectations of all students in the areas of classroom participation, work ethic and behaviour. Students are supported in developing best practice study skills by a program of seminars and follow-up classes in effective study skills and habits, conducted by Elevate Education, which is ongoing throughout Senior School.

Year 10

Students in Year 10 study a mix of traditional academic subjects, practical subjects and life skills classes which build on the strong foundation of previous years and equip them with the core skills and personal knowledge to enable them to successfully undertake an appropriate Senior School course of study.

All Year 10 students study the core subjects of English, Mathematics, Humanities, Science, Physical Education and Religious and Values Education. Students also have the choice of undertaking 4 Semester length elective subjects, drawn from the areas of Commerce, Visual Arts, Performing Arts, Media and Design and Technology.

Within their core studies, students and families are able to choose from specialist or general streams of Science. Students are also offered different streams of Mathematics study, each of which caters for a particular post Year 10 Mathematics pathway.

Year 11

Year 11 students choose to study either VCE or the equivalent qualification pathway of VCAL (Please refer to VCE and VCAL areas of this site).

As befits a rigorous, externally set curriculum, very high academic standards are expected of all Year 11 students. Students are expected and encouraged to take increasing responsibility for their own learning and to work closely with their teachers. Particular emphasis is put on preparing students for the range and type of assessment tasks (In particular, exams) which they will be undertaking in Year 12.

Year 12

In Year 12, VCE students undertake Unit 3 and 4 subjects, which contain formal assessment that is used to determine students’ Australian Tertiary Admission Ranking (ATAR) score. This score plays a big part in determining a student’s post school tertiary study pathway. Therefore, students undertaking year 12 VCE must remain focussed and disciplined, so as to capitalise fully on the excellent preparation they have had in previous years .

All Year 12 students begin the year by participating in the Student Learning Conference at Moonee Valley Racecourse. At this professional-level Conference, incoming Year 12 students undertake a series of seminars which frames the academic year. Students hear from High Performance mentor, Mark Dobson; undertake their final two Study Skills seminars with Elevate Education and work with adolescent counsellors on tactics to maintain mental health and wellbeing. Please follow the link below to view a video of this event.

Similarly, students undertaking Year 12 VCAL programs are expected to display high levels of self-motivation, organisation and discipline, in order to prepare themselves and maximise their opportunities in their chosen post-school field.

Pastoral Care and Discipline

The Head of Senior School has overall responsibility for the pastoral wellbeing and discipline of Brookhill students. As befits a community of young adult learners, a cooperative approach is taken to discipline, with the emphasis on mutual understand, respect and obligation. Discipline is underpinned by the following simple statement:

No student may behave in a way that interrupts the learning of another student, or prevents the teacher from teaching. Behaviour which negatively affects the wellbeing (Physical or emotional) of another member of the College community will not be tolerated.

To support our students, we have a strong home room pastoral care system. All staff who teach at Brookhill are readily available to students and parents for support and advice.

The four Heads of House personally oversee the academic and personal wellbeing of the students in their House and should be the first point of call for students and families, should there be any problems.

The College’s team of student counsellors and Head of Student Services work closely with the Brookhill Leadership Team to provide individual and individualised support to students experiencing difficulty, or in need of assistance outside class.

As well as the serious business of education, we warmly encourage students to participate in sporting, artistic and cultural pursuits, and to take up the variety of opportunities for leadership and participation in the school community, to help them achieve their potential, not just for learning but for life.

EXPLORE PRIMARY SCHOOL (CUMBERLAND) EXPLORE SECONDARY SCHOOL (DUNHELEN)VIEW VCE & VCAL RESULTS