Our learning frameworks serve as the blueprint for an innovative, dynamic and inclusive classroom experience. Grounded in the latest educational research, these frameworks shift the traditional focus of education toward active, inquiry-based discovery and transdisciplinary learning.
We are dedicated to providing a structured yet highly personalised educational journey – one that builds deep discipline-based skills, encourages collaboration and prepares our graduates to make meaningful, compassionate contributions beyond our campus.
We are an authorised IB World School, delivering the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) across Years 7 to 9.
The MYP is a rigorous, internationally recognised framework that develops students as thinkers, communicators and ethical actors. It is not a separate curriculum; it is a lens through which everything we teach is seen. The MYP asks students to make genuine connections between disciplines, understand the real-world relevance of their learning and reflect on what it means to be a responsible and engaged global citizen.
At Sacred Heart the Middle Years Programme is implemented in a way that is deeply grounded in our Mercy values and responsive to the specific strengths and needs of our students. This student experience is entirely concept-driven; through a philosophy of inquiry, students engage in inquiry-based learning across all subject areas, asking not just what, but why and so what.
To deepen this understanding, transdisciplinary units across all three McAuley years are carefully designed so that each learning experience draws on knowledge and skills from multiple disciplines to address complex, meaningful questions. We uphold rigorous assessment and feedback standards by utilising standards-referenced assessments in each subject to evaluate learning against objective outcomes. Each assessment includes detailed written feedback to support progress, which is ultimately reflected in our meaningful progress reporting – providing MYP achievement levels alongside qualitative insights designed to be genuinely useful to both students and families.
VCAA is responsible for developing high-quality early learning and development frameworks, curriculum for school-aged students and assessment products and services. VCAA is the owner of the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) and the Victorian Pathways Certificate, including the VCE Vocational Major (VM) and Vocational Education and Training (VET).
The VCE is Victoria’s senior secondary credential and one of Australia’s most recognised pathways to university and beyond. At Sacred Heart students selecting VCE choose from a broad range of subjects across the Arts, Sciences, Humanities, Languages, Mathematics and more.
English is compulsory. It is a state requirement that all VCE students must complete an English subject. We offer a range of English studies and work with each student to find the one that suits them best.
Subject selection is a guided process. Our learning advisors work with students and families from Year 10 to ensure choices are informed by personal strengths and future goals.
The ATAR is one outcome, not the only one. The VCE is valued by universities, employers and further education providers alike.
The VCE VM is a two-year senior secondary credential that sits fully within the VCE. It is not a lesser pathway; it is a different one, designed for students who learn best when their education connects directly to the real world.
This pathway is built around four core components – Literacy, Numeracy, Work-Related Skills and Personal Development Skills – taught through applied, authentic contexts that connect learning to life beyond Sacred Heart. Students also complete Vocational Education and Training (VET) subjects, earning nationally accredited qualifications recognised by employers and TAFE institutions across Australia.
At Sacred Heart VM students are a valued and visible part of our senior community. Their achievements are celebrated as fully as those of any VCE student because we understand that the measure of a pathway is not its score, but whether it opens genuine doors for the student who walks it.
Graduates earn the Victorian Certificate of Education, providing a recognised secondary qualification that marks the successful completion of their schooling.
Students gain one or more Vocational Education and Training (VET) certificates, providing them with industry-specific skills and credentials recognised across Australia.
Through hands-on, practical experience in real-world settings, students apply their classroom knowledge to professional environments and build essential networking connections.
Graduates are fully prepared to transition directly into the workforce, secure an apprenticeship or traineeship, or pursue further specialised study at TAFE.
School-Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships (SBATs) are also available for eligible VM students, allowing students to begin a formal apprenticeship while still completing their senior schooling.
If you are unsure whether VCE or VM is the right fit, our Pathways Coordinator is available to assist. These conversations are best had in Year 9 or 10. There is no such thing as a question that is too soon.
Pathway Queries?
Please contact Megan Den Dryver, Pathways Consultant.
P. 5221 4211
E. careers@shcgeelong.catholic.edu.au
