Excellence Outside of the Curriculum

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

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.

Profile Alexander Lin

Academic excellence is achieved when you can explain everything in the curriculum from a fundamental level, as well as many applications in the world today.

Alexander Lin has been a part of the King’s accelerated Mathematics program since he arrived in Year 7. In the start of Year 10 it became evident that Alexander also had outstanding abilities in Physics. After thorough consultation and off-level testing, a flexible progression plan was constructed for him to move into the Year 11 Physics course. Alexander not only kept up with the work, but has excelled. Through his ability to think abstractly and at a deeper level, Alexander has received first-place in his cohort throughout the Year 11 and 12 courses.

“I was able go beyond curriculum which is a taster to what you can learn in a subject, often sacrificing depth and breadth. I believe if you truly want to exceed in a subject, you should investigate that depth yourself - you never know what interesting connections you may find,” said Alexander.

Beyond the School, Alexander represented Australia in the 2019 Asian Region Physics Olympiad, qualifying through his outstanding achievements in the Physics Olympiad qualifying exam and Summer Program exams. He has also gained acceptance for the 2020 Summer program where he can hopefully represent the National team once more.

“Academic excellence is achieved when you can explain everything in the curriculum from a fundamental level, as well as many applications in the world today. Acceleration really helped me explore my passion and make new friends and connections with students in various years, both at King’s and beyond.”

Profile Callum Taylor

Callum Taylor has been hard at work developing a working prototype to assist farmers, called AgX. Through a large amount of his own ingenuity, King’s flexible pathways and with support from his family, he has been able to do so. By winning a number of external grants and awards he has been able to fund his project. Most notably, Callum was awarded the US based First Act Fund that offers support and funding for technology innovators with great ideas that are likely to have a regional or global impact.

Callum has also won a number of accolades in the Young Scientist Awards, amongst his winnings a sponsored trip to the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Anaheim, California next year.

“The Young Scientist Awards challenged me to go beyond the school curriculum and create practical solutions for pressing issues faced by society. The contacts and opportunities I have obtained throughout the last 12 months have enabled me to scale my project, where I hope, in the near future, it will address the challenges experienced within the agricultural industry.”

As part of his work leading the academic portfolio, Callum would love to see more students following independent pathways to connect their outside passions within their school learning. “I highly recommend any students who are passionate about STEM, regardless of academic ability, to pursue their own projects under the School’s Academic Enrichment and Extension Department. With the wealth of resources provided by King’s, every student has the potential to imagine innovative solutions and execute them at an international level.”

Along with the many achievements earned, both these King’s students have maintained academic excellence and are strong characters, being voted by their peers to be in leadership positions in the Academic Portfolio. As King’s is fortunate to offer so much, it is really important for students to find their passion, working independently while being supported by the School.

Kathryn Fraser Head of Academic Enrichment and Extension