Galilee School Opens Alternative Pathway to Year 12

The dream of a Year 12 certificate may now become a reality for young people who struggle in mainstream schools as Communities@Work Galilee School opens the doors of its new senior secondary college.

Communities@Work Galilee School Opens Senior Secondary College

The school fills a unique niche in the Canberra education ecosystem by providing education specifically for vulnerable young teenagers, who are dealing with issues such as homelessness, trauma, mental health and domestic and family violence.

This year Galilee School will be welcoming Year 11 students for the first time in its 20 year history, after observing that many of its Year 10 students were leaving the school with firm transition plans in place, but then not thriving once they moved into mainstream senior colleges.

Our principal Tim McNevin said that by expanding its specialist education services to include a Year 11 and 12 program, the school was meeting a community need by offering the opportunity for Canberra’s disadvantaged young people to continue on a positive pathway of academic success with a significantly improved chance of achieving their Year 12 certificate.

“We’re providing an alternative college environment that is much smaller and where relationships are able to be maintained and the social and emotional supports that our young people require can continue to be provided,” he said.

“We focus on the social and emotional wellbeing of students first and their education needs second, and I think this is the key to enabling these students to rediscover themselves as learners and grow into confident, capable young people with hope for the future. It’s a real privilege to be part of their life journeys and know we’ve made a positive impact.

Oliver O’Shea is among the first cohort of Year 11 students. Like many others before him, he believes that without Galilee School he would not have graduated from Year 10. “The support here is amazing,” he said. “It’s a much quieter learning environment and everyone’s pretty good friends with each other.” He’s looking forward to being part of the school’s first graduating Year 12 class next year.

The school has commenced the process of building a purpose built senior secondary college at its Kambah campus, with funding from the ACT Block Grant Authority and Communities@Work.

The school hoped to have that building completed in time for the 2022 school year. Students commencing Year 11 in 2021 will initially study at the school’s Holder campus and move to Kambah in 2022. Year 12s commence in 2022.

The school hoped to have that building completed in time for the 2022 school year. Students commencing Year 11 in 2021 will initially study at the school’s Holder campus and move to Kambah in 2022. Year 12s commence in 2022.

“We’re in a very exciting stage of our school’s history,” said Mr McNevin, “there’s a lot of good, strong positive momentum.”

For more information, visit the school’s webpage here, view their annual report, or get in touch with us.


Download the media release (2 Feb 2021) here.

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