Gazette January 2020
17
AC A DE M IC E XC E L L E NC E
Excellence Outside of the Curriculum As a non-selective School, it’s essential for King’s to challenge boys giving them opportunities so they may follow their passions. This means they need to be pushed beyond the general curriculum and be encouraged to work at a level which is matched with their abilities, otherwise, we would have a number of students underperforming and at risk of not reaching their potential. Yet, how do we know what a student’s potential is if we confine them to only reaching as high as the NSW curriculum or a classroom teacher tells them?
At King’s, we aspire to aid our students on their journey to becoming global thought leaders who make an outstanding impact on the world around them, not only during their time at the School but well beyond our gates when they graduate. A unique aspect of King’s is the diversity of its student cohort, and their many passions. When a student is allowed time and support to follow his passion, the sky is the limit and they can share his successes with the world. Success for a Kingsman is not defined by the School or society, but by the boy himself. Success is for each individual student to feel a sense of rigour, motivation, achievement and enjoyment from what he is learning. This is different for each boy, which is why it is essential to ensure we cater for all students, particularly those whose passions lie outside the mould of the general school curriculum.
What is academic enrichment? Within schools, enrichment aims to take the basic curriculum subjects and expand them, looking at them in more depth or from a different perspective. At King’s, our teachers do this in multiple ways; from the promotion of innovative educational strategies, critical and creative thinking skills and providing choice for personal interest projects. Opportunities for solving real world problems, excursions, guest speakers and exhibitions of student work are all embedded within each Department’s classroom programs. “Boys at King’s benefit from a wide array of co-curricular and extension activities advanced through many different opportunities. Boys are able to find new passions to which they can aspire throughout their Senior years. Personally, I have found my passion in debating,” says, Charlie Maple-Brown, Year 7. Clubs, study tours, debating, drama and music ensembles all offer more depth and breadth to enrich learning outside the classroom. Students have the opportunity to take the knowledge and skills they have learnt and apply them to new situations, often with students outside their year level, offering another dimension to their learning.
“I have enjoyed viewing unique circumstances and challenges from angles separate to those I have been taught in class. I think this is a crucial part of co-curricular and enrichment activities that enables students to think innovatively as they approach unknown ideas,” says Charlie.
What is academic excellence beyond the curriculum? All students benefit from enrichment, but for gifted and talented children it can give them opportunities to explore areas of passion and use their imagination. Therefore, extension beyond what peers their age are learning is essential. We offer this for both groups of students or individually depending on the needs. Our accelerated Mathematics program provides talented Mathematicians a pathway from Year 7 to follow an advance program, skipping over Year 7 Mathematics to Year 8 giving them more time in Year 12 to focus on their Extension Mathematics courses, having finished the HSC Advanced course in Year 11.
