Croydon Community School
Location
Croydon Community School is a small government secondary school located in Croydon. The school has a current enrolment of 110 students in Years 7-12 and attracts young people from across a wide area. The school provides an alternate secondary education to students who for various reasons have experienced difficulty in their previous schools, or who are returning to study in order to prepare for work or further study. Croydon Community School provides a learning environment which is supportive and safe. It promotes close and constructive relationships between parents, students and staff and individualises programs to effectively meet the needs of each student.
Croydon Community School is a Conversion/Exhibition Big Picture School; it joined Big Picture education Australia in January 2010 and began implementing Big Picture design principles immediately.
Students are organised in Advisory Groups, based on the Big Picture Education model. Grouped according to year levels. The aim is to develop strong relationships with a student-teacher ratio of 1 to 15. The teacher and students are supported in the classroom by an Education Support staff member. There is no school uniform, no bells and a strong focus on literacy, numeracy and personal development. The learning program is individualised and aims to provide each student with the opportunity to choose a relevant and rigorous curriculum which meets their needs and assists them to achieve their full potential. The aim for all students is to experience success and to develop a positive attitude to life-long learning. To maintain focus on this every student develops an individual learning plan which covers all learning areas. The key aspect to this is the development of Learning Though Internship and mentoring. Students are required to exhibit their project work at the end term.