The Power of Choice

It has been well documented that the STEM workforce needs females and that females need STEM. It has also been well documented that Australian girls have one of the lowest STEM education participation rates in the Western world.

Having transformed our approach to STEM education in recent years, our girls are responding. In 2020, Year 10-12 Science enrolments have increased by 15% with enrolments in VCE Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics higher than ever before. Also, over 40% of our Class of 2019 graduates were offered University placements in STEM degrees. This included Medicine, Biomedical Science, Physiotherapy, Optometry, Medical Imaging, Veterinary Medicine, Aerospace Engineering, and even Game Design!

We know that our girls have broad and varied interests and passions, and we are fortunate to offer our VCE students over 30 subject choices. Being able to continually update our program and offer subjects that align with the interests and needs of our girls is a critical component of our students success.

In the Performing Arts, VCE Dance has recently been introduced with great success. Visual Art subjects remain popular, with many girls recently electing to study Product Design and Technology to focus on fabrics and fashion.

The interest in our world and how we as human beings think and operate is an area that our students are keen to explore. Social Science subjects such as Psychology continue to increase in popularity, as do Global Politics and Sociology, which for the first time is being studied by students in Year 12.

Year 10-12 language enrolments have seen a considerable rise this year, with many girls placing importance on having deep cultural and intercultural knowledge.

In a continually changing educational environment, we are committed to ensuring a broad and varied offering. What shifts will come next? I have no doubt our girls will let us know!

Mrs Diane Furusho - Head of Senior School, Deputy Principal