Education guinea pigs prepare for graduation

Queensland’s graduating class of 2020 has been at the coal face of all the biggest educational changes in the state in the past half-century.

QUEENSLAND’s high school graduating class of 2020 has been at the coalface of all the biggest educational changes in the state in the past half-century.

Students heading into Year 11 this year were the first cohort to have compulsory Prep, the first cohort to move into high school in Year 7, and will be the first to graduate with an ATAR under the new system.

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The Courier-Mail spoke with students from Clayfield College and Brisbane Boys’ College to gauge how they were felt, going into the new year of ATAR, and being the “guinea pigs” of the Queensland education.

Alister Gomersall, from BBC, said there were “lots of uncertainties and unknowns” heading into Year 11, but said he felt like his peers were up for the challenge with the support they’ve received from the school.

“As a cohort, we have experienced this sort of change before, with Year 7 becoming part of high school,” he said.

“But this is probably the most change we’ve experienced as a group.”

Year 11 students Blaise Campbell, Pembrook Alcantara, Alister Gomersall, Jack Ham and Georgia Lennon. Picture: Tara Croser

Fellow student Blaise Campbell said he felt “slightly daunted” to know that his cohort were the guinea pigs.

Clayfield College student Sophia Kelly said everyone felt it was time not only to catch up with the other states, but to change the OP system.

“(I’m) not going to lie, it was slightly daunting at first, being the guinea pigs,” she said.

“However, the school has been preparing us extremely well, with semester and yearly exams, and also introducing us to new useful learning methods.”

Pembrook Alcantara said she was excited to graduate with an ATAR, and wants to pursue a career in enterprise journalism.

“I personally believe it will be very effective,” she said.

“As daunting as it originally was to me, I’m now very eager to see how everything goes.

“For the first time since the OP system, everyone will be able to have their own rank.’’ She said that this would mean less comparison and greater opportunities.

“Once our cohort has graduated, we’ll be able to inform the next of what we did wrong in the system and how they can improve that.”

Another Clayfield College student, Georgia Lennon, said she believed ATAR was a fairer system for all schools.

“I am a little bit apprehensive, being part of the first group going through the system,” she said.

Year 11 students Pembrook Alcantara, Alister Gomersall, Blaise Campbell, Georgia Lennon, Sophia Kelly and Jack Ham. Picture: Tara Croser

“I suspect there will be issues to be sorted as our year group goes through Year 11-12, but let’s just see how things go.”

All students had one thing in common – excitement over the new subjects offered, such as psychology, engineering, design and literature.

“I do believe that the new subjects will pose as a great opportunity to those with interests that lay outside the usual subjects, than are currently presented to us,” Pembrook said.

“I believe they will serve as a way for many students to not only extend their current wealth of knowledge, but learn new things that could serve as a future career path.”