Challenge and Extend
In the Senior School, our Academic Extension offers intellectually rigorous and enriching opportunities for all students while maintaining a holistic and balanced approach to learning.
Our focus for gifted and talented students is to develop independence and resilience by providing options for extension within mainstream classes rather than through a separate gifted and talented education (GATE) programme.
Through these differentiated learning experiences, as well as those offered beyond the classroom, we aim to stretch thinking, spark curiosity, and empower students to explore their passions at an advanced level.
In-Class Extension & Breakout Groups
Teachers use differentiated strategies and assessments to ensure students are appropriately challenged within the classroom. This involves explicit instruction of expectations coupled with opportunities to transfer knowledge and principles to solve abstract and unfamiliar problems. Students identified for further enrichment may also engage in small group extension classes, particularly in Mathematics.
Data such as results collected from ongoing pre/formative assessments and standardised tests inform our Academic Extension Co-ordinator to support the identification process and to connect students with opportunities.
Competitions & Challenges
To further academic excellence, students can take part in national and international competitions and challenges, including:
- Da Vinci Decathlon
- Bond University High School Mooting
- WADL Debating
- Philosothon
- Ethics Olympiad
- World Scholar’s Cup
- Future Problem Solvers Australia
- Mock Trials
- UN Youth Voice and Youth Evatt
- AMC
- Solar Car Challenge
- Titration Stakes
- Perth Science & Engineering Challenge
- Faraday Challenge
- International Chemistry Quiz
- Dorothea McKellar Poetry
- Craig Silvey Award for Young Writers
- Book in a Day
- Novus Lux
These challenges and competitions can be offered both during school hours and out of school hours as a co-curricular.
Tertiary Acceleration
We offer tertiary acceleration opportunities from Year 10 for academically advanced students through partnerships with UWA and Curtin University. These programmes compliment the school curriculum by giving access to subjects at a university level to meaningfully accelerate their learning, strengthen their tertiary readiness, and foster an early transition into the university mindset.
High-achieving girls can participate in the UWA Plus programme, where they enrol in tailored micro‑credentials designed especially for school students. These condensed university-level units provide access to course content and resources, require modified assessments, and upon completion, earn two credit points towards a UWA degree.
Alongside this, eligible students can join the Curtin Rising Scholars programme, which grants access to university coursework while still at school. These are full semester units with standard university assessments, and upon completion, students earn six credit points towards a Curtin University degree.