A Victorian school that allows students to pick their subjects and even their own starting time has made the education world sit up and take notice. RN Afternoons investigates.

It is the last day of term, and many students are not looking forward to the school holidays.

I just don't think it's healthy, from a mental health standpoint and every other standpoint, to define a student by one number. It's ridiculous. Peter Hutton, Principal of Templestowe College

They arrived for their first class of the day at a time of their choosing, and the subject of the class was their choice too.

Welcome to Templestowe College, where things are done a little differently.

By handing over a greater level of control to its students, the publicly-funded high school in Melbourne's northeast is quietly revolutionising the local education system.

'I'm yet to come across a kid who doesn't love the school. That's a pretty rare thing in this day and age,' says Principal Peter Hutton.

'If you ask them why, basically they are in control. They can do what they want to do, provided there is a positive learning outcome.'

He's not overstating the level of choice open to students either.

Aside from being able to choose from one of three start times—7:15 am, 8:50 am and 10:30 am—students are able to structure their subjects to fit their strengths and interests.

Does that mean students can leave behind otherwise mandatory core subjects like English, for instance?

'Six hundred and eighteen of 620 students have chosen to do English,' says Hutton. 'The other two have chosen philosophy and literature instead.

'They feel that it is their choice. That is why they feel empowered.'

Hutton says Australian students tend to experience school in one of three ways.

'School works for approximately a third of students,' he says.

'In the middle third, there are kids who are neither engaged nor inspired. They get through and go on, but they are nowhere near their potential.

'The final third is a complete disaster. We are a privileged country, and to have a third of students having such an abysmal experience I think is a disgraceful situation.'

Where did Hutton place as a student?

'Probably the middle third.'

He recalls hearing the phrase 'lifelong learning' used when he was in school.

'I literally remember feeling like I was going to be sick, because if this was how learning was going to be, and it was going to be for life, then I'm not sure I wanted to be part of that.'

Attendance at Templestowe College is markedly up since the new system was introduced.

Moreover, despite expectations, students have overwhelmingly chosen to arrive during the earlier start times.

Hutton says the school is not at a stage where it can accurately measure the success of the system on academic performance, but he is convinced the current standardised system is failing students.

'I think as a society, we have to move away from an ATAR system.

'Defining a kid by a number and saying: "That's who you are." If you're an 80, you're better than someone who is a 70,' he says.

'I just don't think it's healthy, from a mental health standpoint and every other standpoint, to define a student by one number. It's ridiculous.'

It's not just the students who are benefitting from the new way of doing things—according to Hutton, the teachers are finding life easier too.

'It's actually easier for teachers, because rather than having to differentiate the curriculum, they can teach it to a narrower band of kids who actually want to be there.'

Beyond the cultural shift that such a system promotes, what Hutton is most enthusiastic about is the ability for students to fully realise their potential.

'I interviewed a student a couple of weeks who is seven years old and passed the entrance exam for Year 12 chemistry. Kids like that do exist, but our system doesn't acknowledge that.'



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