Heyington

Ask yourself what you want for your son; the answer will probably be that you want him to love, and to be loved, to be happy and good, and for him to have choices that facilitate a sense of contribution and success. St Kevin’s boys are accompanied towards their preferred futures by expert teachers who are well versed in the special requirements of boys’ education. Our programs reflect current thinking and understanding of the developmental stages through which boys journey.

The Academic Journey

Boys begin their St Kevin's life at Glendalough - the Junior School - where they are challenged with energy and a relevant curriculum to explore and understand the world in which they live.

Heyington is about developing passions. In Year 10, boys need a broad based curriculum to allow for passions to develop, worlds to open up and language to sprout. It is then that they can see that learning is not about seeking a professional vocation. The ability to think critically, create and make, understand literature, philosophy, history and art, are the foundations upon which a later vocation may be built.

The final two years at Heyington are concerned with the boys achieving to the very best of their ability and here is where a burgeoning sense of self-reflection is used to make wise, prudent decisions about life beyond school. These decisions usually result in St Kevin's boys receiving their first tertiary choice, and importantly, remaining in the chosen field for the following years.

Attaining Academic Success

The brain has 150 billion neurons each capable of connecting directly to 1,000 others. Learning, therefore, is about connectedness: yet, how do we make those connections to other people? We do so through language, hence the significance of developing skills in operational literacy which is the single biggest indicator for a young man’s academic success - his ability to write. St Kevin’s boys learn how to master written language. In 2018, 51% of Year 12 boys achieved a study score in the top 9% of Victoria in English. Such outstanding results reflect the students' understanding that in order to achieve well in all areas of the broader curriculum, literacy - analysis, creativity, deconstruction and re-construction - are crucial to be able to respond to all disciplines across the school. This has to be coupled with a genuine sense of self-esteem, based on doing rather than simply being. High-level instruction based on research and accumulated wisdom, clear and transparent pastoral structures, expert teachers and a climate of energy, enthusiasm and hope are the hallmarks of learning at St Kevin’s.

One of the things we talk to the boys in Years 10, 11 and 12 goes to their resilience in all areas of their lives: they are encouraged never to give up, even when subjects become more challenging, concepts become more complex and the workload inevitably increases. The boys - through their teachers - are given every opportunity to strive, to seek, to find and not to yield (as Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote in Ulysses). The College hopes that the boys will be fascinated by their discovery of new learning experiences in all of the subjects they encounter throughout their journey.

When a setting is caring and people are engaged by and intrigued in intellectual challenges, then both important aspects of learning are covered – learning environment and the emotional climate. The first deals with organisational structures, the other with sensory and language stimuli. Learning at St Kevin’s begins with relationships. Emotions are the gatekeepers to the intellect so boys are led to develop a genuine sense of self-esteem in a nurturing environment.

Curriculum Overview

The College offers a comprehensive curriculum at both primary and secondary levels. Educational programs and activities, supported by dedicated, highly qualified teaching staff, are designed to stimulate and challenge our students. We encourage self-discipline and self-motivation, and we place great importance on providing for different needs and talents.

In Years 10 and 11, the College encourages the boys to study a Liberal Arts program so that they will be exposed to a variety of disciplines, all of which invite the boys to engage with a variety of skills and learning processes. In Year 12, where students have found that they are more capable in a particular area of study - such as the Mathematics and Sciences or the Humanities or the Arts or Commerce - they are very welcome to study in one predominant area of the curriculum. All students at St Kevin's will study English (or English as an Additional Language). Where students in Years 11 or 12 have a desire to study Literature, they must do so as one of their electives. It needs to be noted that while every attempt is made to accommodate all students' elective subjects at Years 10 and 11, there are some, very few occasions, where the timetable constraints might mean that re-selection of one elective is made. Families will always be contacted where this is the case.

Study Skills Handbook

The ELES Study Skills Handbook provides a comprehensive and interactive online guide to the study skills needed for success in high school studies. The handbook can be used by students, parents and teachers.

Topics currently covered by the handbook are: