Schools
In February 2004 there were 139 public and non-governmental schools in Canberra; 96 were operated by the Government and 43 were non-Government. Most suburbs are planned to include a primary school and schools are usually located near open areas for play and sports. Children begin formal schooling at primary school in February when they are five or six. Primary school consists of seven grades: kindergarten and years 1 to 6. From years 7 to 10 children attend high school, generally a different institution to their primary education.
Students in years 11 to 12 attend college (except for private schools where most students stay on at school for year 11 and 12 some choose to go to state colleges) and normally study five to six courses over two years. Certificates are awarded on the basis of continuous assessment of students' progress at the end of years 10 and 12 by the ACT Department of Education and Training. Year 12 students wishing to pursue tertiary study must sit the ACT Scaling Test (AST) as part of a required Tertiary Entrance Statement. The ACT Scaling Test is used to scale the results of schools relative to each other rather than affecting the marks of individuals directly. It is based on students' general knowledge, critical and analytical skills. Traditionally students intending to pursue a trade have ended their schooling at the end of high school in order to take up an apprenticeship. In recent years it has become common for students with no tertiary education plans to continue through year 11 and 12 in an accredited scheme.
In 2005 there were 60,275 students in the ACT school system. 59.3% of the students were enrolled in government schools with the remaining 40.7% in non-government schools. There were 30,995 students in primary school, 19,211 in high school, 9,429 in College and a further 340 in special schools.
The ACT has the highest retention rate in Australia with 89% of the number of students who were enrolled in year 7 in 1999 were enrolled full-time in year 12 in 2004. This retention rate has declined from a peak in 1994 when the rate was nearly 5% more, probably because of poor job prospects for young people at that time compared with 2004.
During 2006 the ACT Government announced closures of up to 39 schools, to take effect from the end of the school year. After a series of consultations the Government announced its "Towards 2020: Renewing Our Schools" plan that closed ten schools at the end of 2006 with more in 2007 and 2008, while consolidating school campuses and opening other schools through to 2010. The Government paid $750 ‘transitional funding’ to students whose schools have closed, provided they attended another government school, to facilitate provision of new school uniforms.
The communities associated with Cook Primary School and Flynn Primary School lodged appeals through the ACT Supreme Court. While Cook withdrew its appeal within a week, Flynn's appeal is still ongoing, with the community having raised $50,000 for security of costs.
Read more about this topic: Education In The Australian Capital Territory
Famous quotes containing the word schools:
“We’re for statehood. We want statehood because statehood means the protection of our farms and our fences; and it means schools for our children; and it means progress for the future.”
—Willis Goldbeck (1900–1979)
“Columbus stood in his age as the pioneer of progress and enlightenment. The system of universal education is in our age the most prominent and salutary feature of the spirit of enlightenment, and it is peculiarly appropriate that the schools be made by the people the center of the day’s demonstration. Let the national flag float over every schoolhouse in the country and the exercises be such as shall impress upon our youth the patriotic duties of American citizenship.”
—Benjamin Harrison (1833–1901)
“Good schools are schools for the development of the whole child. They seek to help children develop to their maximum their social powers and their intellectual powers, their emotional capacities, their physical powers.”
—James L. Hymes, Jr. (20th century)